Concert June 6 and 7, 2026 - 5:00 PM

The chamber music concerts at the Recital Hall of the Giardini La Mortella continue to be a great success: next weekend, June 6-7, it will be the turn of the duo formed by violinist Francesca Bonaita and pianist Mariia Matsiievska.

Francesca Bonaita, a past guest at the Walton Foundation concerts in two highly acclaimed recitals, is considered one of the finest young concert performers embarking on a brilliant international career. Winner of first prizes and multiple awards at international violin competitions, she was a finalist at the Anton Rubinstein International Violin Competition and has distinguished herself at the Grumiaux Competition, George Enescu Competition, Kloster Schöntal Competition, and Béla Bartók Competition. She has recorded for Brilliant Classics, receiving a nomination for the prestigious Preis der Deutschen Schallplatten Kritik. She performs with prestigious international orchestras, including the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the Bacau Philharmonic, the Savaria Symphony Orchestra of Budapest, the Taurida Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bremerhaven, and the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto. She has performed for prestigious associations and theaters: Società del Quartetto Milano, MiTo, Unione Musicale, Amici della Musica of Padua, Mantova Musica, Bologna Festival, Amici della Musica of Florence, Accademia dei Cameristi of Bari, Teatro Ponchielli of Cremona, Teatro Grande of BresAcia, Teatro Filarmonico of Verona, and abroad, in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Belgium, Great Britain, Norway, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and the USA (New York, Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall). She graduated with honors from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Milan, winning the Micheli Prize and the Carmirelli Prize, and has received three degrees from international postgraduate university master's programs. She studied with S. Krylov, A. Semenenko, and S. Accardo at the Stauffer Academy and the Accademia Chigiana. For artistic merit, she was awarded the Premio Italia Giovane, the Premio Grandi Guglie della Grande Milano, and the Premio Montalefuori di casa Montal/Arte Giovani 2024.

Pianist Mariia Matsiievska, born in 2001 in Kyiv, Ukraine, completed her studies in her home country in 2021. She has been pursuing advanced studies with Hisako Kawamura, graduating from the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany, and from the Baasel University of Music with Filippo Gamba. She has successfully participated in numerous international piano competitions, winning First Prize at the Piano Talents Competition in Milan, the Kosenko Piano Competition in Kyiv, the Chopin-Fest in Dnipro, and Sixth Prize at the prestigious Horowitz International Piano Competition in Kyiv. She has also won First Prize at the Steinway & Sons Förderpreis in Düsseldorf, Second Prize at the Medenus Piano Competition in Rösrath, and Third Prize at the Köhler-Osbahr Piano Competition in Duisburg. She has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, with the chamber music ensemble "Les Essences" in Stockholm, and as a soloist at numerous international festivals. She is a scholarship recipient and has recently toured in Germany. She has participated in masterclasses with renowned teachers such as C. Martinez-Mehner, B. Goetzke, M. Chernyavska, G. Gruzman, V. Pisarenko, and S. Khristenko.

The program that Francesca and Mariia will offer to the audience at La Mortella includes famous and important compositions from the chamber repertoire for violin and piano, such as sonatas by Franck and Grieg, but also a tribute to William Walton and Lady Walton on the centenary of their birth with a performance of Walton's Two Pieces for Violin and Piano, composed in London between 1948 and 1950 and dedicated to "Vivien and Larry," the great actors Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, dear friends of the Waltons.

Fondazione William Walton e La Mortella
Via Francesco Calise 45, 80075, Forio (NA)
tel.: 081-986220, 081-986237