Accardo, Salvatore

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Accardo, Salvatore

Accardo, Salvatore, outstanding Italian violinist and conductor; b. Turin, Sept. 26, 1941. He studied with Luigi d’Ambrosio at the Cons. S. Pietro a Majella in Naples and with Yvonne Astruc at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. He won the Vercelli (1955), Geneva (1956), and Paganini (Genoa, 1958) competitions, then pursued a remarkable career, appearing both as soloist with major orchs. of the world and as recital-ist. He was also active in later years as a conductor. In 1993 he was appointed music director of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. He publ. L’arte del violino (ed. by M. Delogu; Milan, 1987). As a violin virtuoso, Accardo excels in a vast repertoire; in addition to the standard literature, he performs many rarely heard works, including those by Paganini. His playing is marked by a fidelity to the classical school of violin playing, in which virtuosity is subordinated to stylistic propriety.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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