Matteo Lo Bracco

Matteo Lo Bracco

Violin

Italian         Age: 24

Johann Sebastian Bach
Violin Sonata No.2 in A minor, BWV 1003, Allegro

Max Bruch
Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, 2nd Movement, Adagio

Pablo de Sarasate
Caprice Basque, op.24

 Matteo is a violin student of André Swanepoel. He is currently studying for the MA in Classical String Performance at the University of Limerick, in association with the Irish Chamber Orchestra.

In 2023 he was awarded the Lyric FM Scholarship by RTE Lyric FM for young talented string players. In the same year he was awarded a scholarship by the Caript Foundation, for students with an outstanding career. In 2018 he won the first prize in the Riviera Etrusca competition, as a member of the EstrOrchestra ensemble.

He has taken part in masterclasses with renowned violinists and musicians such as Stefan Milenkovich, Giuseppe Gibboni, Christoph Schickedanz, Julia Berinskaya, Corrado Bolsi, Addison Teng and Josep Colomé. In 2022 he attended the Xenia Chamber Music Course in Pracatinat.

He has participated in national and international festivals such as Entroterre, Mascagni Festival, Leonel Morales and Friends.

Born in Italy, Matteo began his musical studies at the age of 6 with the violinist Chiara Morandi. Under her guidance, Matteo attended the Mascagni Conservatory in Livorno and the N. Paganini Conservatory in Genoa. In 2023 he graduated with the highest marks, performing Chausson’s Poème and the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto.

From 2020 to 2022 he studied with the winner of the Queen Elizabeth Competition, Andrey Baranov, in Pavia.

He is regularly invited to play in orchestral and chamber music formations.
Programme Notes

J.S. Bach, Allegro from Violin Solo Sonata No.2 in A minor.
This is the finale of Bach’s violin sonata BWV 1003. It is amazing how the composer creates different worlds of sound, hiding an incredible harmonic structure in a very pleasant flow.

M. Bruch, Violin concerto No 1 in G minor, Adagio.
Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 has become a prominent masterpiece of the violin repertoire. This movement is often played as a single piece because of its enormous emotional content. Listening to this movement, we can experience the musical representation of the main themes of the Romantic period – such as the poetry of humanity’s tremendous inner struggles.

Pablo de Sarasate, Caprice Basque op. 24
Various techniques are used in this showpiece – pizzicato with the left hand, harmonics, trichords, etc. The piece ends with an electric finale in which the violinist plays rapid arpeggios and overtone sequences.