Acclaim: "A rapport rivaling that of the Assad brothers...profound and unforgettable musicianship of the highest order"- Stephen Brookes, THE WASHINTGON POST "Their album SOLARIA is one of the best duo albums I have ever heard...in fact, if you were ever confronted with one of those desert island scenarios, you would be well advised to make this your choice"- Albert Kunze, SOUNDBOARD About The Artists: Matteo Mela was born in Imperia, Italy in 1971. An accomplished classical guitarist, he has attended master classes given by David Russell, the Assad Brothers, Oscar Ghiglia, Alirio Diaz, and Angelo Gilardino among others. Having obtained his University musicology degree in the Italian city of Cremona, he has also studied chamber music at the Accademia Pianistica di Imola with the likes of Dario De Rosa, Alexander Lonquich, and Pier Marciso Masi. Between the years of 1991 and 1998, Matteo was a member of the Mela/Bandini Guitar Duo and was the co-recipient of several first prizes in competitions such as the ARAM (Rome, 1992), F. Cilea (1993), the GMI (1994), Città di Gubbio (1995), Città di Caltanissetta (1995), and the Perugia Classico (1995). His concert and media (television and radio) experience have taken him to numerous cities, including Rome, Milan, Bologna, Turin, Naples, Paris, Hamburg, Cologne, Warsaw, Oslo, Cincinnati, Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston. His CD recordings include works of Latin American Dances (Quadrivium), Italian Virtuosos of the 19th Century (Kookaburra), Three Quartets, op. 19, by French composer François de Fossa (Stradivarius) and the Complete Guitar Works of Astor Piazzolla (Stradivarius). Matteo Mela currently resides in Geneva, Switzerland and maintains an active touring, teaching, and recording schedule. ***** Lorenzo Micheli burst onto the international guitar scene in 1999 when he won the Guitar Foundation of America’s annual competition in Charleston, South Carolina. Since then, Micheli has maintained an active touring and teaching schedule that have included concerts in North America, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Prior to the GFA win, he also captured first prize at competitions such as Gargnano (1996), Alessandria (1997) and ARAM (Rome, 1999). He has given master classes throughout North America, South America and Europe and is currently on faculty at the Conservatory of Aosta in the Italian Alps region. Having studied with Paola Coppi, Frédéric Zigante, and Oscar Ghiglia, Micheli is a graduate of both the Conservatory of Trieste and the Musik-Akademie of Basel, Switzerland. Lorenzo has recorded numerous works of the guitar repertoire, including the music of Dionisio Aguado (Stradivarius), a selection of guitar works by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (Naxos), the Three Quartets, op. 19, by François de Fossa with Matteo Mela and the members of the Parma String Trio (Stradivarius), the complete works for solo guitar by Miguel Llobet (Naxos), the complete guitar Concertos by Castelnuovo-Tedesco (Brilliant), as well as the live video Live at Texas Tech University (Mel Bay). Lorenzo Micheli was born in Italy in 1975 and currently resides in Milan maintaining an active touring, teaching, and recording schedule. ***** As SoloDuo, Matteo Mela and Lorenzo Micheli have formed a critically acclaimed guitar duo that has been hailed as a “Super Duo” by Washington Post music critic Stephen Brooks. Both Mela and Micheli met in Texas during the 2000 Guitar Foundation of America Convention and have since performed and recorded regularly for audiences around the globe. In 2002, along with violinist Ivan Rabaglia and Enrico Bronzi, they created a chamber music ensemble devoted to 19th century music. Their general repertoire has spanned that of the classical, romantic, and modern age with special attention to an exploration of early music for baroque guitar and theorbo with lutenist Massimo Lonardi. Together, Matteo and Lorenzo have recorded Francois de Fossa’s Three Quartets, op.19 (Stradivarius), Lhoyer’s Duos Concertants (Naxos), and a CD of Italian Music from the 17th Century for baroque guitar, archlute, and theorbo (Stradivarius). “Solaria: 20th Century Masterworks for Two Guitars” is their first recording branded as SoloDuo