Walter Testolin

Singer and conductor, he dedicates much of his musical work to the study and dissemination of Renaissance polyphonic vocal repertoire, in which he is regarded as one of the most attentive and significant performers.

In 2001 he founded De Labyrintho, which under his direction has become one of the leading ensembles for the performance of 15th- and 16th-century repertoire. Since 2011 he has directed the young vocal and instrumental ensemble RossoPorpora, with which he is developing an in-depth exploration of the Italian madrigal repertoire. He has sung with many of the principal conductors of the European Renaissance and Baroque music scene and collaborates in concerts and recordings with the Belgian ensemble La Petite Bande and, for over twenty years, with the Choir of the Swiss Radio and Television (RSI).

Also active in contemporary repertoire, he has sung and conducted works by some of the leading composers of the contemporary music scene. He teaches courses, lectures, and masterclasses at prestigious Italian and international institutions. He is the author of a study proposing the great Renaissance composer Josquin Desprez as the subject of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Portrait of a Musician” preserved in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan. His articles have been published by Italian publishers Olschki, De Agostini, Paragon, and the Belgian publisher Brepols. He also wrote the entry on the madrigal for the Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani within the major editorial project Il contributo italiano alla storia del Pensiero.