Valentino Zucchiatti
Valentino Zucchiatti is the principal bassoonist of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. He studied bassoon with Voiko Cesar and Gilberto Grassi. In 1979, he moved to Turin to attend computer courses at the university. There, he met Maestro Vincenzo Menghini, with whom he graduated with distinction three years later.
He immediately distinguished himself in several international competitions. In 1983, he attended advanced courses with Ovidio Danzi at the Portogruaro Academy. In 1984, he won the first bassoon competition of the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra, becoming the principal bassoonist of the Filarmonica della Scala. Since then, he has participated in all concerts, recordings, and television appearances of this prestigious orchestra.
In 1986, he went to Philadelphia to study with Bernard Garfield, principal bassoonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He continued his artistic development with Brian Pollard, who was principal bassoonist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra for fifty years. He collaborates with leading chamber music ensembles and soloists from the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Bavarian State Opera, and Orchestre de Paris.
In 1989, he undertook a major solo tour in Japan, where he also gave lectures at several top universities. In 1992, he performed a recital at the I.D.R.S. convention in Frankfurt and was a jury member for the Ferdinand Gillet International Competition. In March 1993, he recorded a Vivaldi concerto as a soloist with Riccardo Muti and the La Scala Philharmonic for EMI. In 2002, he toured with the Friuli Venezia Giulia Orchestra, performing as a soloist in Vienna’s Musikverein and at La Scala.
He has been a professor for 16 years at the prestigious course in Riva del Garda and is regularly invited to the international masterclasses in Hamamatsu. From 2002 to 2004, he taught summer courses in Città di Castello. He has been a faculty member at the orchestral refinement academies of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Arturo Toscanini Foundation in Parma, Ca’ Zenobio Academy in Treviso, and advanced programs at the conservatories of Udine and Padua. He regularly teaches masterclasses at the universities of Tokyo Geidai, Stuttgart, and Würzburg.
Valentino is currently teaching at the Conservatory of Cologne, Aachen campus.
