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Maestro Salvatore Di Vittorio conducting the Chamber Orchestra of New York.

Meet Maestro Di Vittorio

As the Chamber Orchestra of New York prepares for the upcoming season, Musical Director and composer Salvatore Di Vittorio has returned to New York from his home in Palermo, Sicily. He recently completed a photo shoot at the ancient archeological site of Segesta, which provided inspiration for his new compositions. Maestro Di Vittorio has been recognized by Luigi Verdi of the Philharmonic Academy of Bologna, as a “lyrical musical spirit, respectful of the ancient Italian tradition… an emerging leading interpreter of the music of Ottorino Respighi.”

Di Vittorio began music studies with his father Giuseppe in Italy, then studied composition with the late Ludmila Ulehla and Giampaolo Bracali at the Manhattan School of Music in the United States and conducting with Giampaolo Bracali, Francesco Carotenuto and the late Piero Bellugi in Italy.

During his career, the Maestro has worked with orchestras in more than 20 cities in ten countries and has written works for the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, the Chamber Orchestra of New York, Teatro Massimo Opera Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and The Morgan Library & Museum.

In 2007, Di Vittorio gained considerable attention with the Chamber Orchestra of New York when he was invited by Elsa and Gloria Pizzoli, Respighi’s great-nieces and Potito Pedarra, Respighi archive curator and cataloger, to edit, orchestrate and complete several early works of Respighi, including the first Violin Concerto (1903), for publication with Edizioni Panastudio and Casa Ricordi in Italy. He premiered and then recorded three of these critical editions, together with his own Overtura Respighiana and the first two program symphonies in 2010 with the Chamber Orchestra of New York.

In November 2012, Di Vittorio gave the world premiere of his Sinfonia No. 3 “Templi di Sicilia” in his debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana at the Teatro Politeama in Palermo. RAI featured him in an interview during the evening news. The program also included the European premieres of Di Vittorio’s Overtura Respighiana and Respighi’s First Concerto per Violino (in La Maggiore). Both Giornale di Sicilia and La Repubblica published reviews about the concerts, acclaiming his neo-classical works. Soon after, he was awarded the Medal of Palermo from Mayor Leoluca Orlando who “recognized the great importance of Di Vittorio’s work as a promoter of the City of Palermo around the world.”

The world premieres of Di Vittorio’s Fanfara del Mare, “Su un Tema di Monteverdi” with the San Diego Symphony, commissioned for the centennial of Balboa Park; its Organ Pavilion at Copley Symphony Hall in 2015 and Venere e Adone for the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia in 2016 also received critical acclaim.

This year marks the 12th season of the Chamber Orchestra which will focus its attention on works that engage the smaller ensemble, including works that require very specific string personnel. The season will include such masterworks as Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons featuring the lauded Italian-Swiss violinist Irene Abrigo. Boccherini’s Cello Concerto in D will feature the orchestra’s own principal cellist Adrian Daurov. A celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth will include performances of the Grosse Fugue and Piano Concerto No. 4, featuring Respighi Prize winning pianist Christopher Goodpasture and Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Guitar Concerto No. 1, featuring Respighi Prize winner, Italian guitarist Flavio Nati. The orchestra is honored to have Diana Castelnuovo-Tedesco, the granddaughter of the late 20th century composer, who will say a few words before the performance. These performances will be held at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall and the Concert Hall of the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center.

The orchestra recently completed two recordings that are now in editing and this season will record an album showcasing Respighi’s Poema Autunnale (Autumn Poem) and Concerto Gregoriano with the return of violinist Irene Abrigo, and the Tre Liriche (Tre Songs), Il Lamento di Arianna (Ariadne’s Lament), and Il Tramonto (Sunset) featuring the astounding contralto Alessandra Visentin, recently seen at La Scala Opera in Milan. It will celebrate the new recording with a special event performance and reception on in June of 2020.

The 2019/2020 Season includes a three-concert Carnegie Hall Masterworks Series with additional productions around the New York area. Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and J.S. Bach will be presented on November 14 at 7:30pm in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall featuring Salvatore Di Vittorio as conductor and Irene Abrigo on violin.