The classical guitar has always needed two kinds of devotee: those who play it and those who think and write about it. Carlo Fierens is unusual in being both at the highest level — a fine concert guitarist and a serious musicologist whose research informs everything he does on stage. To hear him play music of the nineteenth century, sometimes on period instruments, is to hear scholarship and artistry in the same breath.
Born into the instrument
Fierens was born in Finale Ligure, Italy, and his first teacher was his own father, Guillermo Fierens, an internationally celebrated guitarist. He went on to take his diploma at the Conservatory of Alessandria with the highest marks — ten cum laude — and a master's degree at the Trento Conservatory, again with top honours and a special mention. Few players begin with such a combination of inheritance and rigour.
A prize-winning performer
His concert career began early and brought more than ten first prizes at national and international competitions, including the Alirio Díaz Competition in Rome, the "Italian Festival" competition and the Matinée Musicale competition in Indianapolis. He has performed across America, Europe, Africa and Asia, in venues as distinguished as the Kennedy Center in Washington, the Munetsugu Hall in Nagoya and the Museu Villa-Lobos in Rio de Janeiro — a genuinely global itinerary.
The scholar
What sets Fierens apart is the second half of his life's work. He took bachelor's and master's degrees in musicology at the University of Cremona, graduating summa cum laude, and in 2010 he won a scholarship to the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel, one of the world's great archives of twentieth-century music, where he researched the contemporary guitar repertoire. He has lectured and published essays, mainly on guitar music and living composers. This is a performer for whom playing and understanding are inseparable.
Teacher and interpreter
Today Fierens is full-time professor of guitar at the "G. F. Ghedini" Conservatory in Cuneo, passing on both the craft and the scholarship to a new generation. His particular love of the nineteenth-century repertoire — composers such as Napoléon Coste, played on the instruments of their own day — gives his concerts a rare authenticity. He reminds us that the guitar has a history worth knowing, and that knowing it makes the music speak more clearly.
FAQ
Who is Carlo Fierens?
An Italian classical guitarist and musicologist, son of the guitarist Guillermo Fierens, and professor at the Cuneo Conservatory.
What is distinctive about him?
He combines a prize-winning concert career with serious scholarship, including research at the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel.
What does he like to play?
A wide repertoire with a special focus on nineteenth-century music, sometimes on period instruments.
