Simone Pirri (1994) is a passionate Italian violinist and international prizewinner characterised by an engaging and enthusiastic personality. Strongly driven by a profound passion for the music of the baroque and classical periods, Simone mainly specialises in period performance and its historical practices.
A sought-after soloist, chamber musician, concertmaster and orchestral player, Simone performs regularly with some of the world's most renowned early music groups in Europe and beyond. He has appeared with Il Pomo d’Oro, Les Talens Lyriques, The English Concert, Ensemble Diderot, Arcangelo, Ensemble Jupiter, Brecon Baroque, Collegium 1704, Holland Baroque, Ensemble Pygmalion, Ensemble Mare Nostrum, La Serenissima, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Les Musiciens du Louvre, La Nuova Musica, The Hampstead Collective. He has recorded discs for Alpha, Outhere, Chandos, Pentatone and Audax Records and recently won a Diapason d’Or for a chamber music disc with Ensemble Diderot. Simone has appeared as concertmaster and soloist under the direction of Christophe Rousset, Thomas Dunford, Lorenzo Ghielmi, Andrea de Carlo, Stefano Veggetti and Predrag Gosta. Simone is also member of the vibrant chamber ensemble "Mozaique".
Simone has performed in some of the world's most prestigious concert venues including the Royal Albert Hall (London), Carnegie Hall (New York City) and Teatro alla Scala (Milan), just to name a few. As a recitalist he has been invited by Amici della musica di Padova, Handel & Hendrix in London, the London Bach Society among others.
Simone was the winner of London’s Nancy Nuttall Early Music Prize for two consecutive years (2014 and 2015) and has been a recipient of funding awards by The Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Loan Fund for Musical Instruments and Help Musicians UK. In October 2023 he was the only finalist to win two prizes (third prize and audience prize) at the International Baroque Violin Competition "Premio Bonporti" in Rovereto (Italy). The previous year he was a prizewinner at the IV International Baroque Violin Competition "José Herrando" in Spain as well. In May 2017, after winning an online world contest, he was invited to join Symphoniacs (a sensational Berlin based classical electro crossover band signed to Universal Music Group) at a show of their European tour receiving great acclaim. He has also performed live with DJ Yoda on Jazz FM and led a period string quartet in a studio session to record the soundtrack of a 2019 BBC documentary with British composer Sheridan Tongue. In early February 2020 Simone was interviewed on an episode of "Tutti in classe", a popular radio programme of RAI Radio 1, the national public broadcasting company of Italy.
He was the recipient of the Belsize Baroque Leader Scholarship 2018/2019 and a participant of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment "Ann and Peter Law Experience for Young Players 2019". In 2019/2020 he was a Samama Fellow with the Dutch baroque ensemble Holland Baroque and a Handel House Talent at the Handel & Hendrix in London.
After completing a Bachelor of Music degree with the highest marks in Violin Performance at Conservatorio Luisa D'Annunzio in Pescara (2012), Simone moved to the United Kingdom to pursue his postgraduate studies in historical performance first at the Royal Academy of Music in London (Master of Arts) and then at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff (Postgraduate Diploma). His teachers include Rachel Podger, Simon Standage, Nicolette Moonen, Davide Monti, Marco Fiorini, Antonio Anselmi and Rocco De Massis. Furthermore, in September 2022 he graduated successfully from Conservatorio E. F. Dall'Abaco in Verona with a Master of Music degree in Chamber Music performance on period instruments under Maestro Alessandro Quarta.
Since September 2020 he regularly visits Belgrade (Serbia) to give lessons and masterclasses at the Belgrade Baroque Academy.
Simone plays on a Pietro Paolo De Vitor (1730-40, Venice) on generous loan from the Harrison-Frank Family Foundation.