Rocco Parisi
“I love the easy response, the clarity of sound, the intonation, the richness of tone, the projection of the sound, the variety of colours and the versatility; My Chedeville mouthpiece allows me to express myself freely in any style of music!”
Biography:
Rocco Parisi was born in San Pietro a Maida, Italy. He studied in the Netherlands, where he earned the Getuigschrift diploma in bass clarinet with distinction. He also completed his master’s degree in clarinet cum laude at the Conservatorio “F. Ghedini” in Cuneo, Italy.
He has won several international competitions, including T.I.M. Rome, the Orpheus Prize in Antwerp, and the Concorso Internazionale di Stresa.
Parisi studied for four years under Giuseppe Garbarino at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, receiving a special grant each year and ultimately earning the prestigious Diploma of Honor. Maestro Garbarino later invited Parisi to become his assistant at the Academy.
Recognized as a leading interpreter of contemporary music and an innovator of new techniques for the bass clarinet, Parisi has had numerous original compositions dedicated to him. He has premiered these works at major Italian festivals, including Chigiana Novità Siena, Settembre Musica Turin, Biennale di Venezia, Nuovi Spazi Musicali Rome, and Spazio Musica Cagliari.
He gave the world premiere of Sequenza IXc for bass clarinet and the Italian premiere of Chemins IIc for bass clarinet and orchestra by Luciano Berio. He has also collaborated closely with renowned composers such as Ennio Morricone and Sylvano Bussotti, as well as the poet Edoardo Sanguineti, performing and recording world premieres of their works in prestigious concert venues.
As a soloist, Parisi has performed with numerous orchestras, including the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra (Bangkok), where he premiered Rocco e rollo for bass clarinet and orchestra by Arthur Gottschalk; the Flemish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra (Brussels), where he premiered Danzas Mestizas by Arturo Márquez; the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra; the Kansas Symphony Orchestra (USA); and the Dinu Lipatti Philharmonic Orchestra in Satu Mare (Romania), among others.
He has given concerts and masterclasses across the globe, including in Germany, Turkey, Portugal, China, France, Switzerland, Spain, Thailand, and the United States. Notable venues include the Thailand International Composition Festival, Strobel Studio Freiburg, Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej in Warsaw, Music Academy of Kraków, UHR Kleinersaal in Leipzig, Lisbon Music Conservatory, Beijing Central Conservatory, and Festival Cervantino in Mexico.
Parisi has been invited by the International Clarinet Association (ICA) to give concerts and masterclasses at the ClarinetFest® conventions held in New Orleans (Louisiana), Stockholm (Sweden), Salt Lake City (Utah), Austin (Texas), Assisi (Italy), Baton Rouge (Louisiana), Madrid, Lawrence (Kansas City), Orlando (Florida), Reno (Nevada), and Dublin (Ireland).
His performances have been broadcast by several radio and television networks, including RAI (Italy), BRT (Belgium), and WDR (Germany). As a bass clarinetist, he has performed with many distinguished Italian orchestras such as the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana of Fiesole, the Arturo Toscanini Orchestra of Parma, the Orchestra da Camera of Padua, the Orchestra Sinfonica “G. Verdi” of Milan, and the RAI National Symphony Orchestra.
Parisi has recorded numerous CDs for labels including Taukay, Stradivarius, DDT, Nuova Era, AOC Classic – Edizioni Leonardi, Concerto Music-Media, Amadeus, and Brilliant Classics.
