Dr. h.c. Diego Fasolis: «Gifted musician, conductor and choir director»
Diego Fasolis is an outstanding personality in Swiss musical life.
Born in Lugano in 1958, the versatile musician studied organ, piano, singing and choral conducting in Zurich and obtained diplomas with distinction all four subjects. He also attended master classes in France and Italy. He gained international recognition in the 1980s with the choir of Radio della Svizzera italiana and with the early music ensemble, “I Barocchisti” from 1998. Both widely respected ensembles have their home in Lugano and are closely associated with Radiotelevisione Svizzera Italiana. It is to Fasoli’s credit that he never abandoned his local roots.
Fasolis’ strengths as a conductor and choir director are his exuberant joy of playing, his patient and inspiring rehearsal work and his intimate knowledge of the works he performs.
From the 1990s onwards, he gained attention with his rediscovery of old, almost forgotten musical works. This, along with numerous seminal performances of the great works of music history from Monteverdi to Bach, Vivaldi and Handel to Bellini, cemented his reputation as an exceptionally gifted musician and conductor. An impressive discography and numerous tours in Europe and overseas bear witness to this too.
Diego Fasolis works with various renowned orchestras throughout Europe as a guest conductor. He has been a guest at the Salzburg Festival, the Staatsoper unter den Linden Berlin, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Opéra de Lausanne, La Scala Milan and the Vienna Musikverein, to name but a few.
For the 2022/23 season, Diego Fasolis takes on the musical direction of Bach’s St. John Passion at the Stuttgart State Opera, among other projects.
His performances and recordings, which have received the highest acclaim from the international press, have earned him numerous international awards. In 2011, the then Pope Benedict XVI awarded him an honorary doctorate for his services to sacred music. In 2013 he received the ECHO Klassik Award for the Opera Recording of the Year.
Dr. h.c. Diego Fasolis plays a prominent role as a choir director and conductor. He has gained worldwide recognition with the Lugano-based Choir of the Radio della Svizzera italiana and the “I Barocchisti” ensemble, moving and delighting his audiences with seminal performances of the works of the great masters as well as with new discoveries.