CRISTINA GHIDOTTI
graduated in Harp from the “G. Verdi” Conservatory of Milan, where she also studied violin and piano. She subsequently obtained a Master’s Degree in Musical Disciplines with a specialisation in Solo Performance at the Conservatory of Brescia, and a Master’s Degree in Instrumental Didactics at the Conservatory of Verona.
A particularly significant influence in her artistic development was her encounter with the French harpist Pierre Jamet, son of Impressionist painters, who during an advanced training course in France in 1988 transmitted to her his refined interpretative sensitivity and first-hand experience with early 20th-century French composers, including Debussy.
In the early years of her concert career, she received awards at international competitions and made her debut performing Danses by Debussy in the concert season of the Museo del Teatro alla Scala. She has recorded as a soloist for RAI, Radio Lugano, and television broadcasters, and has performed harp concertos with orchestra for various institutions, including I Solisti Veneti, the Abruzzese Symphony Orchestra, the Società dei Concerti di Bari, and Il Dedalo Ensemble. Alongside standard repertoire works (Handel, Mozart, Ravel, Glière), she has presented rarely performed compositions such as Mosaic by E. Carter, Chantal by Donatoni, and the world premiere of KHK – Kleines HarfenKonzert by Vittorio Zago.
Following auditions for principal harp, she was selected for long-term collaborations in both operatic and symphonic contexts with the RAI Symphony Orchestra and the Rome Opera Theatre. She also performed as solo harp with the Donizetti Orchestra of Bergamo and the Petruzzelli Theatre Orchestra of Bari, in addition to extensive freelance activity with orchestras in Italy (Genoa, Turin, Bolzano, Lucca, Salerno, Catania), Austria, Switzerland (Lugano, Lucerne, St. Gallen), Germany, and Portugal.
She served as principal harp of the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Lorin Maazel, who later invited her to join the Symphonica Toscanini for tours throughout Europe, South America, Japan, and the United States, where she also performed with the New York Philharmonic.
She has devoted significant attention to chamber music repertoire from various historical periods through to contemporary music, including numerous world premieres, performing in duo settings with voice or instrument as well as in diverse ensemble formations. She has collaborated with many distinguished artists, including Accardo, Stoltzman, and Krumbach, with soloists of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, Il Dedalo Ensemble, and the Gruppo Musica Insieme di Cremona, performing at venues such as the Nice Municipal Theatre, festivals in Germany, the RAI Auditorium in Turin, the Bologna Municipal Theatre, the Court Theatre of the Royal Palace in Naples.
In the field of music education, she has developed reading and practice strategies for music and instrumental study aimed at students with learning difficulties and beyond. In 2021, she published the book Le sfide del concertista DSA – strategie di apprendimento ed esperienze da un’aula di arpa, published by GAM, in which she presents methodologies and insights drawn from her professional experience to support individuals with dyslexia.
She has given masterclasses in Italy and Germany. She is currently Professor of Harp at the “Nicola Sala” State Conservatory of Music in Benevento.