BIOGRAPHY

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The Sabatini–Rugani Duo (Daniele Sabatini, violin, and Simone Rugani, piano) is a versatile ensemble that, since its founding, has been dedicated to sharing its passion for chamber music with audiences, with a particular interest in contemporary repertoire.

They have performed in numerous prestigious venues, including Edsberg Slott in Stockholm, the Edinburgh Society of Musicians, the ORF Radiokulturhaus in Vienna, the Archdiocese of Glasgow, and the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in Vilnius. They have been invited several times to perform in New York, at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò of New York University, at the Italian Cultural Institute, and in collaboration with the Consulate General of Lithuania.

In Italy, they have given concerts at Sala dei Giganti (Padua); Teatro Argentina and Oratorio del Gonfalone (Rome); Ateneo Veneto (Venice); Teatro Comunale di Ferrara; and they have performed for festivals and musical organizations such as Roma Tre Orchestra, MusicaInsieme Bologna, Divertimento Ensemble (Milan), Torino Chamber Music Festival, Lunigiana International Music Festival, Savona International Music Festival, Classiche Forme, Montepulciano Easter Festival, Campus delle Arti, Asiago Festival, Barco Teatro, and Reate Festival. Under the direction of Sieva Borzak, they performed Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto with the Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta.

The Duo has won prizes in numerous international chamber music competitions, including the 8th Stasys Vainiūnas International Competition in Vilnius (2nd prize, with first prize not awarded); the “Città di Pesaro” International Music Competition (1st prize); the first edition of the Giovanni Guglielmo Prize, Chamber Music Competition “Città di Magliano Sabina” (1st prize and Avos Chamber Music Special Prize); the “Francesco Cilea” Competition (2nd prize, with first prize not awarded, and Audience Prize); and the special prize for the best performance of a work by Gottfried von Einem at the ISA Festival 2018 organized by MDW University (Vienna).
They were also awarded the 27th “Boris Christoff” Prize, presented annually to an outstanding musician or ensemble in memory of the renowned Bulgarian bass.

Daniele and Simone enjoy discovering new music and exploring lesser-known repertoire. They are passionately committed to promoting 20th-century Italian music, regularly performing works by Ferruccio Busoni, Niccolò Castiglioni, Aldo Finzi, Gino Contilli, and Silvio Omizzolo. Fascinated by the music of the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke, they recorded his First Sonata and were invited to perform his Piano Quartet at the Asiago Festival with violist Duccio Beluffi and cellist Claudio Pasceri. In collaboration with Divertimento Ensemble, they also took part in a series of concerts dedicated to the music of Mauricio Kagel and Salvatore Sciarrino, performing Sciarrino’s Sonatina for violin and piano in the composer’s presence. The piece Libero di essere niente più di un numero by Maria Vincenza Cabizza, composer-in-residence of the Biennale College in Venice, was also dedicated to them.

Since its founding in 2013 at Campus delle Arti, the Duo has studied under the guidance of Marco Fiorentini and Laura Pietrocini (founding members of the Ars Trio di Roma), and has further refined its training with Kostantin Bogino, Evgenia Epshtein, Hatto Beyerle, Avedis Kouyoumdjian, Johannes Meissl, Patrick Jüdt, Vida Vujic, and Maria Grazia Bellocchio. Daniele and Simone also obtained their Master’s degree in chamber music at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome under the guidance of Roberto Galletto, graduating with top marks (110 cum laude and honorable mention). In 2025, they also graduated with top honors (10 cum laude) from the Advanced Chamber Music program at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under the guidance of Ivan Rabaglia.