Riccardo Crocilla

Riccardo Crocilla graduated with top marks and honors from the Conservatorio “Niccolò Paganini” in Genoa, studying under G. Laruccia, and later perfected his training with G. Garbarino and T. Friedli. He has held the position of principal clarinet in the orchestras of Cagliari, Genoa, Trieste, and Lausanne.

Since 1996 he has been principal clarinet of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino orchestra, with which he has performed under some of the most renowned international conductors, including Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa, András Schiff, Lorin Maazel, Daniel Oren, Claudio Abbado, and Giuseppe Sinopoli. He has also performed with the Orchestra della RAI, the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, the Filarmonica del Teatro alla Scala, and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and he regularly collaborates with Cappella Barcà, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of Teatro La Fenice in Venice, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Alongside his orchestral activity, he also maintains an active solo career. Notable performances include Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto K. 626 in Florence at Palazzo Vecchio under Zubin Mehta (June 2002), and at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza under András Schiff (May 2015); Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Wind Soloists K. 297b at the Musikverein in Vienna, again under Z. Mehta; Warum? for flute, clarinet, and orchestra by Sofia Gubaidulina, performed in its world premiere in the presence of the composer at the Emilia Romagna Festival in July 2014; as well as Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto and Richard Strauss’s Duett-Concertino for clarinet, bassoon, and orchestra for the 2014–15 season of the Opera di Firenze – Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

He has received the prestigious “Premio Galileo 2000” as a young promising talent in Italian concert performance. He has recorded for labels including ARTS, Bongiovanni, Discantica, Columna Musica, and Idyllium. He is a Yamaha artist and endorses D’Addario Reeds and Zac ligatures.