Italian virtuoso Andrea Cicalese has emerged as one of the most distinctive rising soloists of his generation.
Artist Playbook caught up with the Sony Classical violinist to talk about the strange process of becoming yourself as an artist.
“The stage is probably the only place where I am sure of being myself.”
As a child, you moved from Naples to Munich without speaking the language. What did music give you during that transition?
Music meant integration. When I first moved to Germany, it was difficult to communicate with my classmates. They couldn’t understand what I was saying, and I felt misunderstood.
One day, I played a little concert for them at school. Only then did I feel like they understood something about me. For me, it was proof that music really is a universal language.
You’ve spoken about building a life beyond the practice room as part of having something genuine to say. How do you balance the two worlds?
I’ve never felt that life and practice have to compete.
I believe almost anything can be achieved with passion, organization, and a good spirit. I’ve never felt I had to sacrifice having fun or spending time with friends in order to practice.
For the most part, I’ve learned to organize my days so there is room for both.
You’ve described the concert hall as a kind of playground. What does that interaction feel like from the stage?
The stage is where I find myself again. As a young musician, I’m always trying to learn something new, and one way has been to imitate certain aspects of my musical idols’ playing styles. It teaches me how to listen properly, but the process can also feel disorienting.
When I walk onstage, something in me clicks, and I connect to myself.
You play a 1731 Guarneri del Gesù. How has an instrument of that caliber challenged you or helped you grow?
The Guarneri gave me a new vocabulary. My violin offers me all the colors in the world. My artistic job is to decide which one to use and when. The educational impact has been comparable to that of my teachers. In other words, vital.
What is something about professional musical life that took you time to understand?
The more you know, the more you realize how much you don’t know.
It took me, and still takes me, time to understand that apparently even musicians with established careers can feel like they know nothing about music.
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