Mario Caroli - Flute

Watch Mario Caroli plays Toshio Hosokawa’s Sen I (1984). The video is part of the Play Further! Video Series.

Mario Caroli began his musical training at the age of 14 and got his soloist diploma at the age of 19. He studied with Annamaria Morini in Bologna and Manuela Wiesler in Vienna. At the age of 22 he won the very coveted "Kranichstein" Prize, in Darmstadt, and he has since enjoyed a very highly successful career as a solo flautist.

His activity starts as an advocate of contemporary music. A very highly acclaimed interpreter, Caroli has inspired the main composers of today to dedicate to him an important part of the solo flute repertoire of today. Composers such as Salvatore Sciarrino, György Kurtag, Doina Rotaru, Toshio Hosokawa, Ivan Fedele, Olga Neuwirth, Philippe Hurel, Wolfgang Rihm, Francesco Filidei, Stefano Gervasoni, Marco Stroppa, Joji Yuasa, Kaija Saariaho, Þuríður Jónsdóttir and many others have written pieces for him. Caroli is one of the very rare artists capable of interpreting both classical compositions and the most extreme contemporary pieces, with the same vivd virtuosity and vibrant personality. The critics did not hesitate to call him a “phenomenon” for his refreshing interpretations of Bach, Schubert or Debussy and the New York Times wrote that “he has a sound you want to drink in”.

He appears as soloist with the world’s major orchestras such as Philharmonia Orchestra in London, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in Paris, Tokyo Philharmonic in Tokyo, SWR and WDR Radio Symphony Orchestra of Stuttgart and Cologne, National Orchestra of Belgium in Brussels, Italian Radio National Orchestra in Torino, the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra in Athens, Basel Sinfonietta, Icelandic Symphony Orchestra in Reykyavik, Sofia Soloists, Mozart Kammerphilharmonie, the Orchestras of the Opera Houses of Stuttgart, Verona, Rouen, Bari, Florence and Cagliari, and the Philharmonic Orchestras of Strasbourg, Nice and Montecarlo. He has been a soloist also with Les Percussions de Strasbourg, the Ensemble Contrechamps of Geneva and the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart.

Caroli gives recitals as well as flute and orchestra concertos in festivals and the biggest concert halls of the world, including the Berliner and Cologne Philharmonie, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Royal Festival Hall in London, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Linclon Center in New York and La Scala in Milan.

He has recorded more than 40 albums, including many notable world premieres as well as some greatest classical repertoire. Very much in demand as a teacher, he has been invited to give masterclasses all over the world. A cosmopolitan and polyglot artist, Caroli lives in Strasbourg, France, and he holds the chair of flute at the University of Music Freiburg in Germany.