Born in Sant’Agata Feltria – also the birthplace of Angelo Berardi – Mauro Valli belongs to the great Italian cello tradition that traces one of its founding figures in Camillo Oblach. Oblach, favored by Toscanini for his “velvety” sound, was the teacher of Giorgio Sassi and Amedeo Baldovino, who in turn were among Mauro Valli’s mentors.
For over thirty years, he has devoted himself primarily to early music, collaborating with some of the world’s leading specialists in the field. A founding member of Accademia Bizantina, he played a decisive role in the ensemble’s international success during his twenty years of activity with the group.
He is currently principal cellist and soloist with I Barocchisti in Lugano and with Il Complesso Barocco under the direction of Alan Curtis. He collaborates regularly with Diego Fasolis, conductor of I Barocchisti and the Choir of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, and with recorder virtuoso Maurice Steger, one of the most brilliant and internationally acclaimed performers on the instrument. With Steger, he has recorded several highly successful CDs, the most recent of which – dedicated to the Venetian school of the seventeenth century – received awards from major specialist magazines and remained at the top of the baroque music charts for over a year.
He has performed in some of the most important concert halls around the world, from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (in duo with Anner Bylsma, who called him “a master of ornamentation”) to Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Musikverein. His discography as a soloist includes concertos by Vivaldi and Leo, sonatas by Alessandro Scarlatti, trio sonatas by Platti and Galuppi, Bach’s Musical Offering, the complete works of Corelli, and Vivaldi’s L’estro armonico and Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’invenzione, as well as numerous recordings dedicated to seventeenth-century composers. He also appears as a continuo player on dozens of recordings of baroque operas and cantatas, all of which have received widespread critical acclaim.
Among his most recent projects is the recording of Sei Canzoni by Angelo Berardi, made in collaboration with such outstanding musicians as Sergio Ciomei, Vanni Moretto, Margret Koell, and Giangiacomo Pinardi. The album received enthusiastic praise from early listeners and professionals, including the renowned cellist and composer Giovanni Sollima.
In addition to the baroque cello, Mauro Valli plays several other historical instruments. He frequently performs on a five-string piccolo cello, an instrument that fell out of use in the nineteenth century. He also played the viola da gamba for several years, recording a solo CD featuring a concerto by Telemann. He plays an arpeggione as well – an instrument he built himself with the help of his sister Lucia Valli and brother-in-law Matias Herrera, both luthiers and the makers of his five-string piccolo cello.