Performance
February 17, 2004 at 8:00 pm
All Saints Episcopal Church
1710 South Foothill
Salt Lake City, UT

Master Classes
February 18, 2004 at 6:30 pm
Acoustic Music
857 East 400 South
Salt Lake City, UT

More Info
Program Guide
Map to the Performance

Biography

Fabio Zanon is recognized as one the most all-embracing talents in the international guitar scene. His command of a vast repertoire that includes all the major works written for the guitar, more than 30 concertos and the championing of new works written expressly for him have set new standards of interpretation and contributed to change the perception of the guitar in the classical music scene.

Although not greatly drawn to competitions, he came to international prominence in 1996 when he was the first prize winner of two of the most prestigious ones – the 30th Francisco Tarrega Prize in Spain and the 14th Guitar Foundation of America GFA Guitar Competition in the USA – in a space of a few weeks. These were followed by a successful tour of 56 concerts in the USA and Canada and by the launching of his first three CDs. His recording of Villa-Lobos’ guitar works was hailed as a landmark and his debut recital CD on Naxos was chosen best CD of 98 by the guitar critic of Gramophone magazine. His debut with a major orchestra was in 1998, when he stepped in at short notice for a performance of Piazzolla’s Concerto with the London Philharmonic. Since then he has been invited to play at venues like the Royal Festival Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, Musikhalle in Hamburg, Carnegie Recital Hall in New York, Verdi Hall in Milan and the São Paulo Hall and Rio Opera House in Brazil, and he has toured most European countries and returned regularly to North and South America. In 2002 he played for the first time in Russia, where his concerts at the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow and at the Philharmonie in St Petersburg met with immense success. In 2001 he was invited by the London Philharmonic to celebrate the centenary of Joaquin Rodrigo with a performance of the Concierto de Aranjuez.

Fabio Zanon was born in Brazil, where he had his formal music training, first with his father and later with Antonio Guedes, Henrique Pinto and Edelton Gloeden. He gave his first concert at the age of 16 and his debut as an orchestral soloist happened two years later, but he only decided to concentrate on guitar performance after completing his education at the University of São Paulo, where he also studied composition and conducting. By the age of 20 he had been a top prize winner at a few international competitions but still decided to carry on with his studies with Michael Lewin at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he also attended Julian Bream’s masterclasses and obtained a Masters degree from the University of London. He returned to the stage in 1995 with a concert at the Wigmore Hall in London.

Amongst the many awards Fabio Zanon has received one should mention the Moinho Santista Prize, the major artistic and scientific award in Brazil (which had never been awarded to an instrumental performer before), in recognition to the major role he has played in the development of Brazilian music. Past winners of this prize include architect Oscar Niemeyer and writer Jorge Amado.

He is also a generous and inspirational teacher; he has given masterclasses at many of the most prestigious institutions, including the Royal Academy and Royal College of Music in London, the Gnessin School in Moscow, University of Vienna and at several music colleges in the USA, from New York to Los Angeles.

Fabio Zanon's investigative and learned approach, refreshingly devoid of dry academicism, has opened up many possibilities for the guitar repertoire, both as a solo and as a chamber instrument. In the past few years every season has seen him première solo and orchestral contemporary works (most recently Faria's Guitar Concerto no.2, Kenyon’s Guitar Concerto no.1 and Keeley’s Bagatelas), unearth forgotten masterpieces from the past (from the Spanish Renaissance to the 20th century) as well as perform the standards of the repertoire like Rodrigo and Villa-Lobos for new audiences, from Brazil to Australia and from Canada to the Middle East. Recent activity in the studio include his benchmark transcriptions of Scarlatti; soundtracks written by Luís Bacalov for films like Les Enfants du Siècle and Woman on Top; première recordings of British music (Cyril Scott, Berkeley and Nicholas Maw); van der Roost's Concierto de Homenaje with I Fiamminghi Chamber Orchestra in Antwerp; and the epic 12 Studies by Mignone, as well as many chamber music projects, most notably with flautist Marcelo Barboza and cellist Antonio Meneses (a member of Trio Beaux Arts).

When not on tour Fabio Zanon divides his time between residences in London and São Paulo.