Leipzig Metamorphosis

The baroque orchestra Accademia dell’Annunciata was born in September 2009 in the former convent Annunciata, in Abbiategrasso (MI), an elegant renaissance building decorated with Leonardesque frescos, auspicious symbol of beauty and harmony. Two years later, M° Riccardo Doni took over the direction of this group of young and talented musicians, assisted by colleagues with consolidated experience, to give life to a wide-ranging artistic project. The ensemble aims to live a constantly evolving professional and aesthetic experience. Therefore, through many and varied experiences, the Accademia has developed its own distinctive identity – probably unique in Italy – by combining the specialization in the Baroque field, through the use of original instruments, with a solid preparation in the pre-classical and classical fields. So, The Accaedmia’s repertoire embraces a wide time span, from the age of Bach, Häendel and Vivaldi to Mozart’s classicism; particular attention is dedicated to composers who are rarely included in concert programs. The orchestra has collaborated with soloists such as Enrico Onofri, Evangelina Mascardi and Filippo Mineccia and works assiduously with Maestro Giuliano Carmignola, with whom it has performed a World Premiere Recording of the Concertos for violin and orchestra op. 15 by Felice Giardini. With the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, the Accademia created the “itinerant exhibition” of Händel’s Alcina, while it has recently established a fruitful collaborative relationship with Maestro Mario Brunello. The Accademia dell’Annunciata can be proud of its recording activity, which has captured the interest and applause of critics. Among the releases which have received awards in Italy and abroad we mention La Milano dei Borromeo (Classic Voice): Sonar in Ottava with Giuliano Carmignola and Mario Brunello (Arcana, 2020) named on BBC Music Magazine Awards and proclaimed CD of the month on “Classica” and “Amadeus” magazines; Concerti e Sonate per violoncello piccolo with Mario Brunello (Arcana, 2020) recorded on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the death of Giuseppe Tartini and awarded with the Diapason d’Or by the French magazine Diapason; Bach Transcription: Six Concertos for Cello Piccolo with Mario Brunello (Arcana, 2023); Concerts for strings: Francesco Durante (Arcana, 2023) enthusiastically reviewed in The Strad magazine by Robin Stowell, it collected a nomination for the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik and five diapason in the homonym French magazine. The Accademia dell’Annunciata is generously supported by the Morosini Fund for Music and Culture and by Dr. Giuseppe Zilioli and it is a regular guest at prestigious festivals both in Italy and abroad. In addition, every year since its foundation, the orchestra has organized a musical season at Abbiategrasso, creating an evocative combination of harmony, sound, and place.

Born in Milan in 1965, Riccardo Doni graduated in organ and composition at the “Arrigo Boito” Conservatory in Parma under the guidance of Lorenzo Ghielmi. He later perfected himself in organ and harpsichord at the Schola Cantorum in Basel with Maestro Jean-Claude Zehnder. In Switzerland, a few years later, he will record two discs dedicated to the organ works of Johann Ludwig Krebs at the Silbermann organ of the Arlesheim cathedral. From 1984 to 2009 he assumed the artistic direction of the association Musica Laudantes which had a vocal group with which he performed over 300 concerts, deepening the choral repertoire a cappella and with instruments, in particular from the baroque and classical periods. With this ensemble he records music by Antonio Vivaldi, pieces by Giuseppe Sarti and compositions by Isabella Leonarda from Novara. The experience in the field of choral music is enriched with the Nuova Polifonica Ambrosiana, which he directed from 1990 to 1996, and with the Madrigalisti Ambrosiani, with whom he performed from 1996 to 1998 in Italy and abroad. In 2002 he became harpsichord player of the ensemble Imaginarium, founded by violinist Enrico Onofri, and since 2008 he has been playing in duo with violinist Giuliano Carmignola.

As a harpsichord player and organist – both soloist and accompanist – Riccardo Doni currently has over 3000 concerts to his credit, many of them with instrumental formations of absolute importance. For almost thirty years he has collaborated with the prestigious ensemble the Giardino Armonico directed by Giovanni Antonini, with whom he has performed all over the world, in the most important halls and with internationally renowned artists including Avi Avital, Isabelle Faust, Cecilia Bartoli, Christophe Coin, Ottavio Dantone, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Gustav Leonhardt, Eva Mei, Viktoria Mullova, Anna Prohaska and others. Also with the Giardino Armonico he took on the role of master preparer of numerous vocal productions including The martyrdom of S. Lawrence by Conti (1999, Mozarteum of Salzburg), The pilgrims at the Holy Shrines by Hasse (2000, Vienna), The Resurrection (2003, Graz) and Orlando (2020, Vienna) by Handel, Representation of soul and body by De’ Cavalieri (2021, Vienna). He was also a master collaborator in the staging of operas such as Ercole lover by Francesco Cavalli (Alighieri Theatre in Ravenna), Orfeo by Monteverdi (2000, Styriarte di Graz; 2005, Grand Théâtre de Genève), Agrippina by Händel (2002, Graz Theatre).

In addition to the Giardino Armonico, he has collaborated with the chamber orchestra I Solisti di Pavia (conducted by Enrico Dindo), the Cameristi della Scala, the orchestra of I Pomeriggi Musicali.

Since 2011 he has directed the Accademia dell’Annunciata, an orchestra specialized in baroque and classical repertoire performed on original instruments, constantly collaborating with famous soloists: in addition to Mario Brunello and Giuliano Carmignola, with whom he has an intense recording and concert activity in Italy and Europe, we also remember Gabriele Cassone, Evangelina Mascardi, Andrea Mastroni and Filippo Mineccia. With the Academy, since 2018, he has worked for the Arcana record company and, in parallel with his concert activities, has taught at the conservatories of Castelfranco Veneto, Ferrara and Frosinone. He is currently teacher of basso continuo at the Conservatory of Parma.