Carlo Aonzo

Carlo Aonzo is a worldwide known Italian mandolin performer native of Savona, Italy, where he grew up immersed in music, since his home itself hosted the music school of the "Circolo Mandolinistico G. Verdi”.

Graduating with honors from the conservatory in Padua (1993), he has played for several prestigious institutions like the Philharmonic Orchestra of La Scala in Milan (Italy), the Nashville Chamber Orchestra (USA), the McGill Chamber Orchestra in Montreal (Canada), the Philharmonia of San Petersburg (Russia), the Minsk Chamber Soloist (Belarus), Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (Germany).

Among his several awards are the "Vivaldi" first prize in Venice, and first prize at the Walnut Valley National Mandolin Contest in Winfield Kansas.

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Carlo’s deep interest in outreach activities focused on his instrument is witnessed by his countless collaborations with mandolin orchestras around the world, namely New York, Seattle, Portland, Providence, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Denver, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Montreal, Milan, Genoa, Lugano, Kochi, Nagoya, Osaka, Sendai, Wuppertal, Berlin, London, San Petersburg, Saigon.

He is often invited as musical director and visiting faculty by the most important international mandolin institutions namely CMSA (Classical Mandolin Society of America), FAME (Federation of Australasian Mandolin Ensemble), EGMA (European Guitar and Mandolin Association) and called to judge in international music contests: Saigon Guitar Festival (Vietnam), Osaka Mandolin Competition (Japan), Yasuo-Kuwahara Competition Schweinfurt (Germany), Concorso Internazionale per Mandolino Solo in Modena (Italy).  

He teaches seminars and workshops worldwide; since 2000 he has been leading the annual Carlo Aonzo Mandolin Workshop in New York, Milwaukee and Nashville and in 2006 he founded the International Italian Mandolin Accademia (www.accademiamandolino.com). that he is still successfully directing and constantly expanding with new activities and camps. Since 2019 he is also artistic director of “Cremona Mandolini in Mostra” at Cremona Musica Exhibitions & Festival.  

In 2001 with his “Orchestra a Pizzico Ligure” he performed in Vatican city for the Pope Johannes Paul II. He later formed the plucked string instrument International Accademia’s Orchestra with which he toured USA for the releasing of the album “Mandolin Images” in 2011.  

His recordings reflect his interests and skills relating to all different aspects of the mandolin repertoire: from the Paganini’s original works for mandolin (“Integrale per Amandorlino e Chitarra Francese”), to the Italian strings virtuosos of the turn of the century (“Serenata” with Beppe Gambetta and “Traversata” with the American Mandolin guru David Grisman).  

In duo with classical guitar, Carlo produced the albums “Paganini” (René Izquierdo) and “Kaze” (Katsumi Nagaoka).  

In 2016 with the baroque Ensemble “Il Falcone”, he recorded the complete Vivaldi’s 4 Seasons concertos for the first time ever performed on the mandolin and with the Carlo Aonzo Trio he released the album “A Mandolin Journey” on the international mandolin repertoire, followed by the second CD “Mandolitaly”.

For Mel Bay he has published the concert video “Carlo Aonzo: Classical Mandolin Virtuoso” and the books “Northern Italian & Ticino Region Folk Songs for Mandolin” and “Italian Folk Songs for Mandolin from Abruzzo”; for Hal Leonard he has released the “Bach Two-Parts Inventions” and the “Classical Mandolin Solos” and for Les Productions d’Oz his original piece “Ali for Flying”.

As a researcher, he has been working on the history of his instrument and collaborated with the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Furthermore he has given presentations on the iconography of the mandolin, in renowned institutions, including The Metropolitan Museum and St. John’s University in New York, Dartmouth College, Boston University, New England Conservatory, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Vanderbilt College of Nashville, Vancouver Italian Cultural Centre, Italian Cultural Center Minneapolis/St. Paul and National Instrument Museum in Rome.

In 2020 he invents and produces the series "L'Italia dei 1000 Mandolini", short documentaries on the mandolin and its fascinating world, a project which attracts great interest from Australia to USA, from Japan to France, from Ireland to Malta.

He often appears in national Radio and TV programs in Italy and abroad, in the last few years he has toured Japan, USA, Panama, Australia, India, Switzerland, France, Norway and Germany collaborating on several occasions with the local Italian Consular Offices and Cultural Institutes and performing in such prestigious venues as the Carnegie Hall in New York, the National Music Museum in Vermillion (SD), the Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata, the Teatro Massimo in Catania, the Monreale Cathedral in Palermo and the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa.

He has lately worked with the conductorFederico Maria Sardelli and with the legendary master pianist Bruno Canino; the duo has just released (2025) an album  focused on the original mandolin and piano compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven.