Studies

Martino Piroddi was born in Cagliari in 1972, inheriting his love for music from his mother, a pianist. He graduated in viola from the Conservatory of Cagliari in 1996 under the guidance of Maestro Luigi Moccia. He embarked on a path of further studies in Italy and abroad, focusing on both viola and chamber music, bringing him into contact with some of the brightest musical minds in his field.

Notable mentors include Felice Cusano, Yuri Gandelsmann (principal viola of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra), Vladimir Mendelsshon, Simonide Braconi (principal viola of Teatro Alla Scala di Milano), and Massimo Paris (Musikhoschule Koln-Aachen).

In the summer of 1998, he was admitted to the Jeune Orchestre Atlantique in Saintes, France, specializing in Baroque and Classical music under the charismatic guidance of renowned conductor and musicologist Philippe Herreweghe. He also studied chamber music with the Turner Quartet.

In 2004, Martino joined the class of Russian virtuoso Michail Kugel at the Maastricht Conservatory.

Career

In 1997, Martino won the permanent position of tutti viola at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, and since then, he has performed in all the productions organized by the institution, touring Italy and abroad. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Lorin Maazel, George Pretre, Pinchas Steinberg, Ton Koopman, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, Christopher Hogwood, Frans Bruggen, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, Gerard Korsten, and Houbert Soudant. Simultaneously, since 2004, Martino has been a regular member of the Toscanini Symphony Orchestra, touring worldwide with Lorin Maazel and performing in some of the most prestigious international concert halls. During a U.S. tour, he was a guest violist with the New York Philharmonic.

Since 2015, Martino has been a consistent collaborator with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, participating in the London PROMS series among other engagements.