Raffaele Putzolu was born in Baratili S. Pietro in 1997. He began studying the guitar at the age of 7 with Luca Piras, later continuing with Ivo Zoncu and Cristian Marcia. In 2022, he graduated with honors from the “Arrigo Pedrollo” Conservatory in Vicenza under the guidance of Stefano Grondona.
Winner of the 16th edition of the “National Prize of the Arts” (2022), his career boasts around twenty awards from national and international competitions, including first prize at the “France Music Competition 2021”, first prize at the “International Moscow Music Competition”, first prize at the international “Nilo Peraldo Bert” competition, second prize at the “SWISS International Music Competition”, second prize at the “Andrés Segovia International Competition”, second prize at the “Giulio Rospigliosi” National Competition, and a Diploma of Merit at the International Guitar Masterclass in Ponte in Valtellina.
He has attended several masterclasses and advanced courses with renowned guitarists including Laura Mondiello, Paul Galbraith, David Russell, and Cristian Marcia.
As a performer, he has played both as a soloist and in chamber ensembles in prestigious concert halls: Teatro Olimpico, Teatro Comunale in Lonigo, as soloist with orchestra in Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the Orchestra of the Teatro Olimpico, Palazzo Chiericati in Vicenza with the Quartet of the OTO (Orchestra del Teatro Olimpico), and the concert hall of the Vicenza Conservatory where he performed Mauro Giuliani’s Concerto in A major as soloist with the Conservatory Orchestra. At the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari and UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, he performed in a trio with guitarists Cristian Marcia and Luca Micheletto.
In 2016, he formed a duo with guitarist Victor Valisena, quickly gaining recognition: winning the “Luca Salvadori” scholarship from the Santa Cecilia Diocesan Foundation of Brescia, receiving scholarships for two consecutive years at the International Guitar Masterclass in Ponte in Valtellina, and earning first prize at the “XIX Altamira Guitar Competition”, the “L. Zanuccoli Chamber Music Competition”, the “Rizzardo Bino Music Competition”, and the Andrés Segovia Competition in Pescara (Italy). They also won second prize at the Ida Presti International Competition in Samobor (Croatia) and absolute first prize at the “Giulio Rospigliosi Competition” in Lamporecchio (Italy).
They have performed in many concert venues including the Master’s Lodge at St John’s College (Cambridge), the “Festival delle Nazioni” in Città di Castello, “Maggio chitarristico” in Castione Andevenno (Sondrio), and “Stagione LX” in Scandicci (Florence). In August 2019, they recorded an album for the Stradivarius label, released in 2021. The album, titled 20th Century Classical Guitar Duo, features original works for guitar duo by composers Bruno Bettinelli, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and Astor Piazzolla.
Since 2017, he has also been part of a guitar quartet with Alberto Rassu, Alberto Santin, and Stefano Trevisan. With them, he has performed at the Gregorian Profane Museum of the Vatican Museums. In 2020, the quartet won first prize at the Premio Crescendo, first prize at the “Giulio Rospigliosi” competition, and third prize at the Pleven Guitar Festival in Bulgaria.
Raffaele Putzolu plays guitars made by German luthier Gerard Oldiges and Japanese luthier Kazuo Sato.
