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Reviews
GIOVANNI GNOCCHI
CELLIST
When music speaks for itself
...together with the young conductor Gustavo Dudamel,
the cellist Giovanni Gnocchi in Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D major showed technical brilliance and visible joy in music making
...the cellist Giovanni Gnocchi also let himself be carried on the wings of song, with quiet devotion and great
shyness of pathos...
The joy of listening
The beauty of live listening provides moments of deep emotion. Such was the encore offered by cellist
Giovanni Gnocchi, a postlude by Valentin Silvestrov, a slow, rarefied procession of silences and
alternating sounds with a profoundly metaphysical feel. The hall, hushed after the warm roar of
applause in Gnocchi's address, melted into a moving tribute of affection that had the value of uniting
all those present in a sort of meditated prayer.
Brilliant and refined, this is how one could define the performance of the Cremonese cellist, grappling
with Haydn's witty and articulate Concerto in C major. In the customary three movements, he
alternated moments of lyrical cantabile with others of playful extroversion, in constant dialogue with
the orchestra, which demonstrated its ability to modify its timbre, expanding and reducing it as the
expansion of the solo phrases required.
MUSICA, Emanuele Amoroso, aprile 2022
Splendid Concert at the Ristori Theatre
...absolute mastery of the instrumental means ... mastery and awareness of the performers in every
single moment of the performance ... magnificent contrasts ... ineffable depth. A delight. Indisputable
technical qualities... fine musical sensitivity. Enthusiastic success from the large audience.
L’Arena, January 2016
The virtuoso cello hits the mark - Giovanni Gnocchi's virtuosity enchants
A concert that at times became a dreamlike experience... A very intense, interior, almost psychological
performance; an attentive audience in devout silence, enraptured by the notes of the talented maestro
who, in a crescendo of intensity up to the final, unbridled rhapsody, masterfully enchanted and
amazed the entire hall. An experience shaken only by the copious applause of the audience, which
underlined their appreciation and admiration for the great mastery with which the pieces were
performed. [...] two encores, both much applauded.
RovigoOggi, September 2017
Giovanni Gnocchi enchanted the audience... a monologue by the cellist: György Kurtág, Joseph
Dell'Abaco, Domenico Gabrielli... the Ricercare No. 7 imbued with virtuosity... a free fantasy of notes,
like those that make up Bach's Suite No. 2 in D minor BWV 1008... very high technical level, a triumph
of music and talent.
Luca Cianfoni, Fatto Latina , July 2019
...great revelation... that far exceeds what one might require from professional chamber musicians...
intensity and passion and impeccable taste, which makes listening more than just a pleasure: it is truly
an enriching experience that has all the ingredients to make a recital unforgettable.
Claus-Christian Schuster, Altenberg Trio Wien
Fascinated, charmed, hypnotised by a concert of a solo cello, played by an intelligent energetic
generous masterful musician. An amazing and innovative choice of program... numerous foreign
spectators, happy and admiring... greeted by an attentive and enchanted silence. Monumental Sonata
by Kodaly, which only such a complete artist could interpret and offer. Phantasmagorical closure for
the 2019 Festival! We now have proof of the magic of a magical instrument. Thank you, Giovanni
Gnocchi, for giving us such immense joy.
Amfiteatrof Music Festival, September 2019
A conduction dripping with freshness... on a track stretched like a thread over the centuries, Giovanni
Gnocchi lit a torch pregnant with ideas and intentions, capable of lifting the astonished and moved
Schumannian voice a few feet off the ground with ethereal, fairy-tale timbres.
Il Cittadino, Lodi
duo with Mariangela Vacatello
"...my young colleague Giovanni Gnocchi... has an intense musicality, a strong personality, a brilliant
technique..."
Mario Brunello
"I worked with Giovanni Gnocchi, it was a real joy; he is extremely talented, intelligent, motivated;
someone who doesn't just play the notes, but what's behind and between them!
I highly recommend him for great musical events and organisations anywhere in the world!"
Gàbor Takàcs-Nagy
....Specially moving was Giovanni Gnocchi's interpretation of the Canzona in F minor by Sergei Taneyev. The cellist played simply but extremely
profoundly. In this way, he gave the
music space to speak from itself.
...Taneev came with his Canzona for Violoncello and Orchestra, interpreted by Giovanni Gnocchi with
such a consciousness in the style as beauty of his sound.
...he underlined the melancholy, but not sweetish character this extremely discreet piece...
A great Elgar with Gnocchi
The cellist was applauded with the Sinfonica, [...] Elgar's concert was tackled by Gnocchi with
masterly elegance in a perfect expressive understanding with orchestra and conductor ... interpretative
ability, lightness, control of the bow and deep sound captivated the audience also in the encore with
the Sarabande from Bach's first suite.
La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, October 2020
Songs like poems
Gnocchi, already applauded in past editions, confirmed extraordinary technique and musicality, a rare
ability to transform any kind of piece into poetry for the ears. Each page, when listened to, flowed
limpidly through careful and coherent phrasing and impeccable control of the instrument...
Il Gazzettino, September 2019
Gnocchi and the magic of the cello - A great performance
An evening of sublime poetry, great impact and suggestion [...] skill in technique, taste for phrasing,
personality and artistic maturity ... marked originality, always with excellent control of sonority.
Closing brilliantly, sections of acrobatic virtuosity and poignant lyricism ... long, warm applause ... two
splendid encores."
Il Gazzettino, September 2017 - (cello solo recital, Rovigo Cello City Festival)
Brilliant finale for the Cello Festival
Brilliant and solid technique, both agility, ductility and bow strength, subjugated to the need to sing:
that 'cantabile' that is almost synonymous with the cello itself. In Piatti's 'Capriccio sulla Niobe', he
mixed the technical and spectacular element -the typically romantic virtuosity- with operatic cantabile,
a limpid and balanced reading, great brilliance and incisiveness in the left hand, as well as in the
energy, the decisive and sharp vigour of the arches. The 'Piatti' Festival closed on a high note.
B. Zappa, l’Eco di Bergamo
(solo cello concert at the Sala Piatti in Bergamo)
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...appassionata dizione strumentale [...] ...l’eccellente violoncellista Giovanni Gnocchi.
Leonardo Pinzauti, La Nazione
(concerto per gli Amici della Musica di Firenze)
A sumptuous concert by the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana
Volcanic Giovanni Gnocchi... energy, concentration and enthusiasm, dynamic and intense
phrasing. ...the young musicians were all with him, participating and attentive as members of a
chamber ensemble... The high emotional temperature of the concert infected the audience at the
Teatro alla Pergola, who gave the Youth Orchestra and its valiant conductor thunderous applause and
insistent requests for encores, fulfilled both by Gnocchi with two solo outings and by the ensemble
with an electrifying Tritsch-Tratsch Polka.
Amici della Musica di Firenze, 2019
Soloist and conductor with Orchestra Giovanile Italiana
The intimate charm of improvisation
impeccable professionalism (intonation, cleanliness, attention to sound) and at the same time with a
nonchalant manner...[...] a fine cellist like Giovanni Gnocchi.
Luca Segalla, “Musica”
(Varese, Teatro Santuccio, 4 dicembre 2016, concert with Pekka Kuusisto, Alexander Lonquich)
"Giovanni is a cellist of extraordinary solo skills. He possesses a brilliant technique, a great warm
sound with a wide range of colours, and is an extremely lively musician.
After studying a musical page with due skill and knowledge, he is able to take it to a level of
performance that is not just analytical, but energetic, full of life, great expression, and with great stage
presence."
Clemens Hagen
"Giovanni is an excellent cellist with superb technique and is also a very fine, sensitive and intelligent
musician."
Thomas Riebl
"Giovanni was my pupil for many years in Cremona, where he distinguished himself for his
magnificent talents, and was chosen to play concerts with me and my colleagues Salvatore Accardo
and Bruno Giuranna. I believe his most distinctive characteristic is his great efficiency in concert, and
you will certainly admire his playing, as many have done in the past years."
Rocco Filippini