Big Night of the Guitar 1
Hall One, Kings place
Cristina Galietto is a 20-year-old classical guitarist from Naples in Italy, whose guitar playing has taken her to many countries in Europe, where she has given concerts, participated in masterclasses with artists such as Aniello Desiderio and Carlo Marchione. She completed her studies at the Conservatory of Music ‘San Pietro a Majella’ of Naples, and the Conservatory of Music ‘Domenico Cimarosa’ in Avellino in the class of Lucio Matarazzo with honours, and a special mention, and is currently studying with Paolo Pegoraro and Lukasz Kuropaczewski at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst, in Graz. Her new album Avant l’Aube, released at the end of 2020 (Timespan recordings), features music by composers such as Joaquín Rodrigo, Domenico Scarlatti, and Alexis Rago, all of whom are representative of an intimate, delicate, and passionate musical feel – characteristics that stand out in her playing and to which her audience are drawn.
At the age of eight, Aniello Desiderio performed in public for the first time, displaying such outstanding gifts that music critics started to speak of him as an “enfant prodige”, “wunderkind”, “a genius”, “the Orpheus of the guitar”, “a guitarist of the century”, and “il Fenomeno”.
He quickly established himself as a concert artist with a distinct voice when he won 18 first place International Awards in both national and international competitions. Notable among them are 1st Prize and Special Prize for the best interpretation of South American music at the International Guitar Competition in Havana, Cuba (1988); “Neapolitan of the Year” Award in Italy (1988); 1st Prize and Special Prize of the best interpretation of Tarrega’s music at the International Francisco Tarrega Competition, Benicasim, Spain (1992), and 1st Prize at the International “Guerrero” Competition, Madrid, Spain (1994).
Tom Kerstens is a major figure in the guitar world. He is highly regarded as a versatile performer on modern and period instruments and is an influential champion of the guitar in his roles as player, recording artist and artistic director. He was chosen in Classic FM’s list of the ‘100 best classical artists’ and ‘Five best guitarists world-wide’ whilst hailed as a ‘refreshing musical explorer’. He has commissioned 108 works for IGF in the past 20 years.
His G Plus Ensemble consists of one or two guitars, string quartet and percussion and is exclusively dedicated to new music.
Big Night of the Guitar 2
Hall One, Kings Place
Flamenco Pasión with
Dani de Morón & Patricia Guerrero
Hall Two, Kings Place
