Marelli, Michele
holds a major in clarinet with highest honours and a degree in modern literature from the University of Turin. He furthered his studies in England with Alan Hacker, in Germany with Suzanne Stephens, and in France with Alain Damiens, and studied composition and electronic music in Turin and Milan.
Internationally acclaimed as a virtuoso of the bassethorn and one of the best contemporary music soloists of his generation, he has been awarded the Rubinstein Prize at Venice's La Fenice together with the composer Salvatore Sciarrino.
After a decade's collaboration with Karlheinz Stockhausen, he has worked with the leading composers of our times, giving world premieres of their compositions mostly dedicated to him, such as György Kurtág, Marco Stroppa, Helmut Lachenmann, Ivan Fedele, Salvatore Sciarrino, Franco Donatoni, Kaija Saariaho, Rebecca Saunders, Fabio Nieder, Sylvano Bussotti, Alberto Colla, and many others.
A Universal Music / Decca Classics artist, his recordings (for Decca, Wergo, Stradivarius, Neos, and Stockhausen Verlag) have been awarded many prizes such as ICMA nominations (2014- 17), Diapason d'Or, Stelle di Musica, and 5 di Amadeus.
A six-time winner of the Stockhausen Foundation Prize, he has also won the 1st Prize at the International Contemporary Chamber Music Competition in Cracow (2004), Valentino Bucchi Clarinet Competition in Rome (2007), Honorary Logos Award in Belgium (2000), Jeunesse Musicale auditions (2001), DESONO Association scholarship (2001-5), CRT Foundation's Master dei Talenti Musicali (2006), and Prometheus Award for excellence in culture from the Con ndustria Italiana, the International Composition Competition of the 2012 Koper Biennale (Slovenia).
He has performed as a soloist with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Hilversum Philharmonic, Tanglewood Festival, Orchestra Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, Orchestra di Padova the del Veneto, OMN, Archi della Desono, University of Georgia Chamber Orchestra, conducted by masters such as Peter Eötvös, Susanna Mälkki, Enno Poppe, Szymon Bywalec, Stefan Asbury, Tito Ceccherini, and Andrea Pestalozza.
He has appeared at leading festivals and music venues including Radio France's Festival Présences, La Fenice, Venice Biennale, Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival, Donaueschingen, Berliner Festspiele, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Festival, Maerzmusik, Warsaw Autumn, Milano Musica, MITO Settembre Musica, Festival d'Automne and Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, Musiktriennale in Cologne, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Rachmaninov Hall in Moscow, Accademia Filarmonica Romana, Festival Sinopoli di Taormina, Le Fresnoy de Lille, Cracow Philharmonic, Museo Enescu in Bucharest, Teatro Manzoni in Bologna, Angelica Festival, Teatro Carignano and Piccolo Regio in Turin, Unione Musicale di Torino, Giovine Orchestra Genovese, Ljubljana Philharmonic, Huddersfield Festival, and many others. He cooperates with Ensemble Musikfabrik in Cologne. He is a Henri Selmer Paris and Vandoren Paris official artist. He is Professor of Chamber Music at the Sassari Conservatoire.