Luca Luciano (HF 2022)

Ft Yuki Osedo on Piano

“Masterful Clarinet! Luca is a noted Italian clarinettist and composer who now makes his home in London, having developed an enviable reputation as an instrumental virtuoso around the UK and overseas via recordings and concert hall appearances” (The Musician). Internationally recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to contemporary clarinet music, he starts his career at the age of twelve performing at one of the most established halls of his home town Naples and appears on television nationwide live aged twenty-one. Introduced as “the new voice of the clarinet” on the front page of De Klarinet magazine, Luciano receives a Master’s Degree from the Conservatoire of Salerno (Italy), is awarded the Fellow status at the Higher Education Academy (UK) and, according to the BBC Radio, he is “one of Europe’s leading exponents of jazz clarinet”. Praised by the International Clarinet Association for the “full range of his abilities”, his repertoire also embraces Brahms, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Schumann, Weber including recordings of music by Stravinsky, Berio, Cage, Malcolm Arnold and Poulenc. As a recording artist, Luciano’s solo albums have received much critical acclaim in three continents (more on www.lucaluciano.com).

A former clarinet professor in the UK (Leeds College of Music) much appreciated for his interest in philosophy, Luciano is frequently invited by some of the most prestigious universities and colleges of the UK and overseas. His research focuses on extended techniques and new compositions for solo clarinet regularly premiered at St Martin in the Fields in London, Cambridge University and other established venues of the UK, Europe and South America. Over the past decade, Luca has found himself increasingly in demand as a soloist and has pursued a career as a solo artist touring extensively Europe and South America, focusing primarily on his own music and performing at venues as diverse as: the South Bank Centre, Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Edinburgh Festival, St George’s Bristol, Edinburgh University, King’s Hall, SESI International Series and the Centro Cultural in Sao Paulo, European Clarinet Festival in Belgium, St David’s Cathedral Festival in Wales, Politeama Theatre in Naples, American Cathedral in Paris.

Aside from his solo clarinet work and research, Luca has appeared on TV programs nationwide (SKY Brazil, RAI Television Italy, RTE Ireland), has collaborated with orchestras also as a soloist (Italy, Brazil, Republic of Ireland) and with chamber music ensembles (also recording live for BBC Radio 3 at the Royal Festival Hall).

Yuki Osedo started studying piano at an early age and entered the Toho Music Conservatory at 15. After winning the National Piano Competition Special Prize aged 13, she made her debut with Beethoven’s first piano concerto at 14 with the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra. She completed a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Studies under the tutelage of Professor Moriyasu at Toho University in Tokyo, the alma mater of the world famous Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa. She then undertook a diploma of ensemble accompaniment there and a Masters in Piano at the Royal Antwerp Conservatoire under Pascal Sigrist, graduating top of the class. In Australia, she was also under the tutelage of Professor Max Cooke, Adjunct Professor at Monash University’s School of Music. Having performed concertos, solo recitals, chamber groups and accompanied artists all over the world, including touring Europe with the Antwerp Conservatoire Orchestra, a concert recital series in Australia in 1999, she is still also a well known performer in Japan. Based in London since 2000, she performs regularly both as a soloist and an accompanist and has collaborated with Luca for several concerts including the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, St George’s Bristol and world premieres of Luca’s sonatas at Cambridge University or for the Barnes Music Society of London