Italy
Sunday, may 17th – 12.00
Sant’Efisio’s Church – Piazza Sant’Efisio, Quartu Sant’Elena
Free admission
“I can say with conviction that Simone Onnis represents one of the finest guitar realities in the world today. A great scholar of his instrument, a tireless teacher, and an interpreter of extraordinary depth. In my life, I have rarely met musicians like him and, considering the length of my career, this is not a comment to be taken lightly.”
— Alirio Díaz
“He is an inspired and mature guitarist with a remarkable musical intelligence that is rare among guitarists of his generation.”
— John W. Duarte
He is regarded as one of the heirs of the school of the Venezuelan Maestro Alirio Díaz, with whom he began his most important musical studies in Rome from a very young age, later becoming his assistant in international advanced guitar masterclasses and his partner in numerous duo concerts.
He further specialized in Renaissance and Baroque performance practice with lutenist Hopkinson Smith and harpsichordist Christiane Jaccottet. He also studied musical analysis with Sergiu Celibidache and composition with Azio Corghi.
Simone Onnis is considered one of the “Italian Excellences” in the world, “with an artistic personality that places him outside any conventional framework and makes him a rigorous musician unconcerned with convention.” He is frequently invited to represent Italy, performing in some of the most prestigious halls and theatres, including the Rudolfinum (Prague), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Stadttheater (Basel), Wolfsburg Castle, Assembly Hall – AUB American University of Beirut (Lebanon), National Theatre of Minsk (Belarus), Austrian Hospice (Jerusalem), The Sheung Wan Civic Centre (Hong Kong), the Kyiv National Philharmonic, and the Lviv Opera and Ballet Theatre.
In 2010, he made his debut at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York.
He has collaborated with numerous symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles, including the Weber Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, and the La Scala String Quartet of Milan, as well as with outstanding artists such as Alirio Díaz, Angelo Romero, Giuseppe Anedda, Edin Karamazov, Charbel Rouhana, and Paola Gassman. For twenty-five years, he has formed a permanent duo with guitarist Luigi Puddu (Duo Gioachino Rossini) and with flautist Riccardo Ghiani.
The press has consistently praised Simone Onnis with highly flattering reviews, including:
“Ladies and Gentlemen, here is a genius!” (Events – USA),
“A guitar star among the skyscrapers of Shanghai” (Shanghai Daily – China),
“One of the greatest musicians Israel has ever hosted” (Ashams – Israel),
“Protagonist of a performance of unquestionable musical stature” (Chitarre – Italy),
and
“Unlike many others, he possesses a fundamental gift: he reaches everyone, and despite his soloistic charisma being hidden behind his instrument, it is as if his person disappears while, as the evening’s protagonist, he remains at the center of the stage.” (Keiler Nachrichten – Germany).
“Another night full of emotion and passion at the Ronda Guitar Festival.
At the festival’s third concert, the Italian guitarist Simone Onnis performed — a true guitar virtuoso — leaving us astonished by his confidence and dynamic interpretation of highly compelling works from the guitar repertoire. He began with a large-scale piece by composer Carlo Domeniconi, inspired by Turkish music, full of light and darkness, slow and fast passages, exoticism and esotericism. Total amazement. He continued with an almost improvised piece, Gitanería Arabesca, and concluded with a work by Spanish composer Francisco Tárrega, a set of variations on an Aragonese jota, distinguished by its overwhelming interpretation and technical mastery.”
(Diario Ronda – Cultura y Sociedad)
He has given numerous masterclasses at universities and conservatories, including in Syria (Damascus High Institute of Music), Israel (Beit al Musica Conservatory), and Lebanon (Lebanon Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique of Beirut and AUT – American University of Technology of Byblos).
He is the dedicatee of new guitar works by some of the most authoritative contemporary Italian composers, including Giacomo Manzoni, Azio Corghi, Adriano Guarnieri, and others. These works have contributed to enriching the contemporary guitar repertoire with important new compositions.
He is the Artistic Director of the Alirio Diaz International Guitar Festival and the Mauro Giuliani International Guitar Festival, both held in Sardinia.
He is also President of Agimus Sardegna.
He performs on a guitar built by Italian luthier Michele Greci and is also an endorser for Guitarras Ramirez of Madrid. As an RC Artist, he is a worldwide ambassador for Ryal STRINGS of Valencia.
Alirio Diaz International Guitar Festival 