Massimo Lonardi
Lute player
Massimo Lonardi was born in Milan, studied composition with Azio Corghi and graduated in classical guitar with Ruggero Chiesa at the conservatory of his city. He later specialised in the performance of the lute by attending Hopkinson Smith's seminars. He has an intense concert activity in Italy and abroad. He has edited editions of works by Claudio Monteverdi and Girolamo Frescobaldi, a collection of German folk music in collaboration with Brigitte Gras and a study on the lute realization of the basso continuo. He has taken part in radio and television recordings and made forty recordings, collaborating with numerous early music ensembles, including the Conserto Vago, which he founded with the harpsichordist Ero Maria Barbero. As a soloist, he has recorded monographic CDs dedicated to many authors and areas of the lute, archlute and vihuela repertoire. His CD dedicated to the solo music of John Dowland won the first prize for instrumental music "Musica e Dischi". For forty years he taught lute and ensemble music for ancient instruments at the Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali "Franco Vittadini" in Pavia. He currently teaches at the Scuola di Musica Antica in Venice, at the Fondazione Musicale Santa Cecilia in Portogruaro and at the summer courses in Brisighella. Since 1990 he has succeeded Ruggero Chiesa in teaching at the international masterclasses in Gargnano.