Clarinettist / Composer / Educator
“Masterful Clarinet! Luca is a noted Italian clarinettist and composer who now makes his home in London, having developed an enviable reputation as an instrumental virtuoso around the UK and overseas via recordings and concert hall appearances” (The Musician). Internationally recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to contemporary clarinet music, he starts his career at the age of twelve performing at one of the most established halls of his home town Naples and appears on television nationwide live aged twenty-one. Introduced as “the new voice of the clarinet” on the front page of De Klarinet magazine, Luciano receives a Master’s Degree from the Conservatoire of Salerno (Italy), is awarded the Fellow status at the Higher Education Academy (UK) and, according to the BBC Radio, he is “one of Europe’s leading exponents of jazz clarinet”. Praised by the International Clarinet Association for the “full range of his abilities”, his repertoire also embraces Brahms, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Schumann, Weber including recordings of music by Stravinsky, Berio, Cage, Malcolm Arnold and Poulenc.
A former clarinet professor in the UK (Leeds College of Music) much appreciated for his interest in philosophy, Luciano is frequently invited by some of the most prestigious universities and colleges of the UK and overseas. His research focuses on extended techniques and new compositions for solo clarinet regularly premiered at St Martin in the Fields in London, Cambridge University and other established venues of the UK, Europe and South America. Over the past decade, Luca has found himself increasingly in demand as a soloist and has pursued a career as a solo artist touring extensively Europe and South America, focusing primarily on his own music and performing at venues as diverse as: the South Bank Centre, Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Edinburgh Festival, St George’s Bristol, Edinburgh University, King’s Hall, SESI International Series and the Centro Cultural in Sao Paulo, European Clarinet Festival in Belgium, St David’s Cathedral Festival in Wales, Politeama Theatre in Naples, American Cathedral in Paris.
Aside from his solo clarinet work and research, Luca has appeared on TV programs nationwide (SKY Brazil, RAI Television Italy, RTE Ireland), has collaborated with orchestras also as a soloist (Italy, Brazil, Republic of Ireland) and with chamber music ensembles (also recording live for BBC Radio 3 at the Royal Festival Hall).
As a recording artist, his solo albums have received much critical acclaim in three continents gaining him appearances on the front page of music magazines. He has been interviewed by the press, on TV and on radio with broadcasts nationwide including the BBC Radio and whole radio programs in the US on contemporary music dedicated to his work. In particular, his last releases, featuring music part of his research, have been praised by some of the major publications on clarinet such as The Clarinet Journal (USA/worldwide), Clarinet & Saxophone Magazine (UK), Rohrblatt (Germany), De Klarinet (The Netherlands/Belgium).