Laura Manzini, Pianist
After graduating with honors and honorable mention from the S. Cecilia Conservatory in Rome under the guidance of Sergio Cafaro, she specialized with Canino, Lonquich, as well as (for chamber music) with Brengola and the Trio di Trieste. At the age of eight she won her first competition, followed later by a series of important prizes that launched her in an intense activity of concert performances. In '89 Salvatore Accardo invited her to perform in a duo at the Palazzo del Quirinale in honour of M. Gorbachev. Since then she has toured with the famous violinist throughout the world, and has also recorded a number of CDs. Her love for chamber music also led to collaborations with other well-known performers in the most important chamber music festivals. She is currently professor of Chamber Music at the Latina Conservatory.
Laura has one son, Riccardo. She is a great dog lover and for over 10 years has managed a website on disabled animals (www.oscardog.it), dedicated to her three-legged dog Oscar.
Estrio
“[…] technically excellent musicians and artists capable of both unsettling and relaxing, playing under the name of Estrio: solidity and imagination, culture and instinct in the beauty of sound […]” (Lorenzo Arruga)
Right from the start, Estrio has captured the attention of audiences and critics alike as one of the best Italian chamber music groups.
Laura Gorna (violin), Cecilia Radic (cello) and Laura Manzini (piano) have taken and reinterpreted the tradition of the great Italian school made famous by their maestri, Salvatore Accardo, Rocco Filippini and Bruno Canino.
Estrio has to its credit numerous concerts for the main Italian concert seasons, including Serate Musicali of Milan, Unione Musicale of Turin, Amici della Musica of Padua, Vicenza, Siracusa and Palermo, Filarmonica Laudamo of Messina, Società dei Concerti of Milan, Festival of Ravello, Musica Insieme of Bologna, Mito Festival, Accademia Chigiana of Siena, Teatro San Carlo of Naples, Amici della Musica of Florence and Accademia di Santa Cecilia Rome. For several of these associations Estrio has performed chamber music integrals by Schumann and Mendelssohn.
As soloist, Estrio has interpreted the Beethoven Triple Concerto and the “Albatro Concerto” by G.F.Ghedini with the Balkan Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Ducale and the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana.
In March 2009 Estrio gave a performance at the Quirinal Palace in the presence of the Italian President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, which was broadcast live on the national Radio 3 network.
The international experience of the musicians extends far beyond the European borders - from Japan to the United States, from South America to the Middle East, playing alongside such instrumentists as Salvatore Accardo, David Finckel, Bruno Canino, Rainer Kussmaul, Bruno Giuranna, Toby and Gary Hoffmann, Rocco Filippini and Franco Petracchi.
Estrio’s eclecticism and desire to experiment has led the group to collaborate with artists from mixed backgrounds of expression, such as theatre, choreography and jazz. This spirit of research gave rise to a joint project with Sonia Bergamasco and choreographer Antonella Agati, named Pochi Avvenimenti, Felicità Assoluta, a concert dedicated to the artistic and human bond between Robert and Clara Schumann, which was performed for the first time ever in Italy at the MiTo Festival.
The name Estrio is a fusion of different references: the German E flat Es, the Es of Freudian conception and the concept of estro: the passion of fantasy and imagination in the classic Greek culture.
Estrio records on the Foné label.
May 5th, L'Aquila, Italy - Estrio and Sonia Bergamasco celebrate Clara Schumann - Music by Clara and Robert Schumann - info
