Martina Santarone is an Italian violist born in Rome. Winner of First Prize at the Francesco Geminiani Competition, in 2022 she performed Walton’s Viola Concerto at the Casino Bern with the Berner Symphonieorchester.
She has performed as a soloist with various ensembles, including the Abruzzese Symphony Orchestra, the Sanremo Symphony Orchestra and the Colibrì Ensemble, in venues such as the Grande Salle of the Haute École de Musique de Genève.
Since 2016, she has been a founding member of the Quartetto Werther, winners of First Prize at the 2025 International Brahms Competition in Gdańsk, the 39th Abbiati ‘Farulli’ Prize from the Italian Music Critics’ Association, and recipients of awards at the Trio di Trieste International Chamber Music Competition and the Pinerolo Competition, member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions. The quartet’s debut album, dedicated to the complete Fauré quartets, was released in March 2021 on the Brilliant Classics label.
Their latest release, “Elective Affinities” on Genuin, is inspired by the figure of Goethe and features works by Mendelssohn and Brahms.
The quartet’s concert activities include performances at the Stadtcasino Basel, the Wigmore Hall, the International House of Music in Moscow, the Teatro Argentina in Rome, the Teatro Politeama in Palermo and the Teatro Verdi in Trieste. The Quartetto Werther was awarded the President of the Republic’s Prize in memory of Sinopoli by the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.
Martina serves as principal viola with the Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Sinfonica di Milano, LaFil Filarmonica di Milano, the ORT Orchestra della Toscana and the FORM Filarmonica Marchigiana.
She has also performed with the Filarmonica della Scala, the Mozart Orchestra and the Leonore Orchestra at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Victoria Hall in Geneva, under conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Daniele Gatti and Riccardo Chailly.
In 2019, she won a praktikum with the Basel Sinfonieorchester, with whom she toured throughout Europe, performing in venues such as the Großes Festspielhaus in Salzburg, the Philharmonie Essen and the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden.
A passionate chamber musician, she has performed with artists such as Antonio Meneses, Enrico Bronzi, Salvatore Accardo and Alessandro Moccia at the Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona, the Teatro Eliseo in Rome, the Auditorium Fondazione Cariplo in Milan and the Andermatt Concert Hall. She performs in a duo with pianist Antonino Fiumara, with whom she has given recitals at the Sala dei Giganti in Padua, the Oratorio del Gonfalone in Rome and the Menuhin Forum in Bern.
Martina graduated from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome in Maestro Sanzò’s class and furthered her studies with Maestro Bruno Giuranna at the Stauffer Academy and the Chigiana Academy in Siena.
At the same time, she completed a Master’s degree in Chamber Music at the Arrigo Boito Conservatory in Parma with the Trio di Parma and Pierpaolo Maurizzi, graduating with top marks, honours and a special commendation. In 2019, she moved to Switzerland to study at the Bern University of the Arts with Maestro Patrick Jüdt, with whom she obtained a Master’s in Performance ‘mit Auszeichnung’ and a soloist’s concert exam. She holds a diploma in chamber music from the advanced courses at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, graduating with top marks, honours and a Special Mention.
In 2024 she won a competition for a position as a viola professor and since then she has been teaching at the “Conservatorio Pierluigi da Palestrina” in Cagliari.