Biography
Andrea Raffanini has conducted symphonic and operatic repertoire, ranging from late Baroque to contemporary, with many prestigious orchestras, including CityMusic Cleveland chamber orchestra, the Opera Circle Orchestra, USA, the North Caucasus State Philharmonic Orchestra, Russia, the Szeged Philharmonic Orchestra, Hungary, the Oradea Symphony Orchestra and the Satu Mare Philharmonic Orchestra (Dinu Lipatti Philharmonic Orchestra), Romania, the Divertimento Ensemble, the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, the Cantelli Orchestra in Italy.
“The performance benefited enormously from the presence of Andrea Raffanini, an italian conductor in his debut with the company, who brought supple, vigorous authority to Bellini’s score. Under his baton, the Opera Circle Orchestra played with sonorous assurance and keen attention to detail, [...]” (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
“Together with his musicians, Andrea Raffanini expressed his entire musical focus, giving the audience a performance full of colors, shades and vigorous texture, demonstrating undoubtedly a sure connoisseur of the work […]” (Sempionenews)
He has performed in many prestigious theatres and concert halls, including La Sala Verdi at the Conservatorio di Musica ‘Giuseppe Verdi’ di Milano, the Teatro Dal Verme, Milano, Italy, the Scriabin Concert Hall, Kislovodsk, Russia, the State Theatre, Oradea and the Filarmonica de Stat Dinu Lipatti Satu Mare, Romania, the ALTI (Art Live Theater International) Hall, Kyoto, Japan, the Ohio Theatre, Cleveland, USA. Raffanini has collaborated with eminent artists such as Enrico Dindo, Gaetano Nasillo, Emanuele Segre, Regina Chernychko, Maria Perrotta, Daria Masiero, Manuela Custer, Fabio Armiliato, garnering critical acclaim.
“[...] Raffanini guided them with bountiful energy and taste, phrasing elegantly and calling for crisp articulation. Mozart’s Symphony n. 40 benefited from the conductor’s vigorous tempos, attention to contrasts between light and dark and ability to achieve sure balances [...]” (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
An engaging and attentive leader, he has been principal conductor and musical director of the Orchestra Città di Vigevano since 2014, based at the historic Teatro Cagnoni, and under his leadership the orchestra has steadily developed into one of the most exciting ensembles in northern Italy. Since 2003 he has been one of the chief conductors of the Magenta Symphony Orchestra, based at the Teatro Lirico, Magenta, with whom he has conducted dozens of concerts to much acclaim. He has also worked with many youth orchestras, including serving as chief conductor of Dedalo Youth Orchestra and Totem Youth Ensemble between 2008 and 2013, a chamber group comprised of the students from the final courses of many conservatories.
“The great sound impact of the work and the seductive melodic nature of the Requiem had in Andrea Raffanini an ideal interpreter, which offered a precise and engaging reading of the work, enhancing the orchestral potentials […]” (La Nuova Sardegna)
“Conductor Andrea Raffanini paid close attention to the interpretive needs of the singers. The orchestra was well balanced and their level of professionalism added the crowning touch to this Verdi masterpiece [...]. (clevelandclassical.com)
"The ‘Città di Magenta’ Orchestra, on the occasion directed by conductor Andrea Raffanini, is much more than a pleasing confirmation. You can feel it immediately, from the very first hollow, deep, quiet notes performed by a string array in the opening of the Hungarian Rapsody n. 2 in C-sharp minor by Liszt. You note it when the composer’s creativeness and the energy the conductor manages to convey, lead the musicians to inebriating rhythm variations in a series of crescendo, which depict on their faces the sensation that, apart from the difficulties, everybody is having fun […]” (Ordine e libertà)
"[...] Maestro Raffanini, full of vigor and understanding for the music of Bellini, was a fantastic leader for the ensemble [...]” (Review of Polish-American Cultural Centre, Cleveland)
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His wide and skilled gesture, his grit without exhibitionisms, were those of his orchestra, which left everybody speechless when the concert started. What a energy! And above all, what a clear sound! […] Here it is not always easy to keep up with all the shades, but the Orchestra didn’t slow down and in the final Molto Allegro it literally exploded […]” (Città Oggi)
Alongside his work as a conductor, he teaches orchestral practice at the Conservatorio di Musica ‘Luigi Canepa’ di Sassari in Sardinia, musical language and Conducting at the Conservatorio Gaetano Donizetti in Bergamo, Italy. He is also invited to hold an annual masterclass on Italian opera performance for the vocal students at the Academy of Music and Drama at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Raffanini began his conducting studies with Ervin Acél at the Szeged Philharmonic Orchestra, and also attended the Sommer Wiener MusikSeminar at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, receiving First Prize in 2003 for Best Conductor. He began his career as a conductor while still a student at the Conservatorio di Musica ‘Giuseppe Verdi’ di Milano, where he was awarded a Master’s Degree in both orchestral conducting and in composition: during his studies he served as an assistant on the orchestral practice course, and began conducting professional orchestras, also gaining experience as a choral conductor with a cappella and lyrical choirs. He furthered refined his skills at the prestigious Fondazione Accademia Chigiana in Siena with Gianluigi Gelmetti. During his studies he recorded Giovanni Salviucci’s Serenade for Nine Instruments, published by Stradivarius in a series released under the banner ‘Musiche del Novecento Italiano’, as well as Architetture sonore, an album and companion book featuring live recordings of premiere performances published by Libreria Clup, Milano
Raffanini has been awarded prizes in many international conducting competitions, including the 2006 IBM Foundation Award for Best Conductor at the International Masterclass led by Lior Shambadal, chief conductor of the Berliner Symphoniker, in San Gemignano, Italy.
In 1999 he was awarded a Master’s Degree with honours in Italian Literature, with his thesis focusing on the history of music. His thesis on the operas of Bellini, considered one of the best of the year for its exploration of the culture of the city of Milan, resulted in his being awarded a graduate scholarship from the Milan Chamber of Commerce. After his studies he held many conferences for public and private institutions on the connections between music and literature in the history of music