Enrico Onofri

Where were you born?
 Ravenna, Italy.

Where do you live?
 In central Italy’s countryside, on beautiful hills not far from my hometown.

Why did you start playing music?
I tickled the ivories on piano when I was child, but I actually wanted to be a scientist. When I was 14 years old I discovered a small violin in my father’s atelier and at the same time I started to sing in a local choir, so I eventually decided to be a musician.

What is your favourite instrument?
The horn.

What music did you listen to as a child?
 Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi.

What was your first record?
May I say two? Bach’s organ works by Helmut Walcha and Beethoven 6th conducted by Josef Krips.

What musical period would you like to live in?
Now: our ages are a unique period in human history that have made possible easy access to a boundless amount of music and information. But… I confess a weakness for the Ages of the Enlightenment.

Where do you prefer to listen to music?
In the bathtub.

Where can we find you when you are not making music?
I can’t exist without making music. Even when I’m reading, writing, cooking, or when I merge with the Nature surrounding my house, my creative mind is taken by the music.

Where did you study?
I began in my hometown, then in Milan.

What awards have you received?
So many. Among the most recents, apart from the “Diapason d’or de l’année” in 2020, I’ve been awarded the “F.Abbiati” prize, one of the foremost critics’ honors in Italy.

Who is your favourite composer?
 I don’t have preferences, it depends on what I’m focusing on. I think that finally Nature is the best composer.

Which composer would you like the public to rediscover?
There’re still so many unpublished works in libraries! However, even the most famous composers always have something new to “rediscover” in their scores. 

What is your first recording?
A recording of Monteverdi’s Combattimento and other madrigals.

What is your favourite recording?
(Passacaglia, with you) Uhm, maybe “Seicento!”

What is your favourite Passacaille recording?
(Passacaille, other artist) “Aquila altera”.

Who do you dream of recording with? (realistic or not)
As a conductor, Brahms’ violin concerto with Joseph Joachim as soloist. As a violinist, to play alongside Corelli recording his concerti grossi.

Which piece have you never recorded but would like to?
Monteverdi’s Vespro, but as a conductor this time!

What do you do before a concert?
First, I accurately polish my concert shoes and then I read a book until entering the stage.

What do you do after a concert?
Nothing special, it depends on the situation.

What would you do if you were not a musician?
A scientist or a poet.