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Accordion and bandoneon player, Mirko Satto studied accordion at the Conservatory “A. Steffani” in Castelfranco Veneto (TV).
He has won numerous national and international competitions and has performed in major Accordion Festival, concert halls and exhibitions, performing in the most prestigious theaters throughout Europe, Australia, Japan, Africa and South America.
His interests range from the “baroque” to contemporary music, from the French varietèe to Argentine tango. Accompanied by an intense concert activity as a soloist important chamber music collaborations. As bandoneon player he dedicate his attention to tango, by A. Piazzolla and Argentine famous authors, performing in various chamber ensembles from duos to quartets and orchestras. He has played and is currently working with the Orchestra “Filarmonia Veneta” from Treviso, the Nuova Banda di Castelfranco Veneto, the Orchestra “Malipiero” di Asolo (TV), the VenetOrchestra, the Orchestra del Veneto Orientale, the Orchestra of the Teatro Olimpico of Vicenza end the Orchestra of Arena di Verona.
Is Professor of Accordion at the Liceo Musicale “Giorgione” in Castelfranco Veneto (TV).
When did you start to play the accordion and why?
My approach to music was initially ear: my father played the harmonica by ear and as a child I was surrounded by his melodies. The first contact with an instrument, however, was when I received a gift from my family, a Bontempi keyboard, which I started playing without even knowing the music and still have no clear idea what was the musical instrument more suitable me and the more I liked and cared about. In my country there was an accordion teacher, Master Visentin: it was taken from him at the age of eight years his first lessons in music and he was given my first musical and technical skills. Later I matured the decision to enter into the conservatory. At the time, however, the chair of the accordion did not exist, so I had to opt for another tool and my choice fell the oboe. I carried out the study of both instruments until 1994, the year of my degree in oboe and when finally the chair of the accordion was inserted into the conservatory. Then I became the first student graduated in Castelfranco under the guidance of Paterno, who taught me to express myself through music, to interpret it by living on my skin, without coercion.
In what ways has changed over the years, the image of the accordion in the collective imagination?
When I was a boy talking about the accordion to my classmates, all my friends inevitably associated the instrument to popular music and smooth, but thanks to talented musicians accordion (first of all Salvatore di Gesualdo, a pioneer of classical music for the accordion since the end of 60) has spread a new look for the instrument too long relegated to the world of folk and country festivals.
Already with my first teacher, I had the opportunity to meet with a classical single-note to the left, in Italy we are fortunate to have many accordionists dedicated to classical music. Today, then, thanks to the ever popular music of Piazzolla and Galliano’s accordion is increasingly spreading and becoming more and more in the tastes of a wide audience.
The promotion of the accordion also passes through associations and individuals that are activated in the production of concerts and musical events that allow you to learn this tool to its full potential. I mention for example the association “Harmony” of Treviso, to which I belong and with whom I work as conductor and soloist, which annually organizes two concerts entirely dedicated to the accordion concert at the Eden theater in which it is to be home a solo classical accordion among which I would mention first, the famous Russian concert pianist Friedrich Lips, which was followed by many others in these twenty years of business and where I too have had the honor of playing five years ago, and a summer meeting at the Municipal Theater.
Your career has allowed you to travel the world. What is the meeting that musically inspired you the most?
During my career I have had the opportunity to meet many talented musicians, but among all the most inspiring meeting took place in Italy and is the one with the aforementioned Maestro Salvatore di Gesualdo, with whom I had the honor of studying at the course for musicians who kept in Talla (Arezzo) at the research center for classical accordion: this seminar opened a new world, new ideas for continuous research.
Other key meeting was with my master oboe Paolo Brunello: singular think that the teacher of a wind instrument could have affected so deeply about my career as accordionist, instead of just studying oboe unconsciously helped me also to interpret phrasing and breathing with greater awareness, to create a profitable synergy in the study of two tools together so different.
Can I still claim to have been able to draw so much to all the teachers with whom I attended courses and seminars: Noth, Zubitsky, Battiston, Scappini… each of them has contributed to my education and has left a mark in my path.
Your repertoire and your collaborations range from different musical genres. Is this connected with the versatility of your instrument or is more related with an artistic and cultural propensity?
I believe that the two aspects are mutually indispensable. A natural curiosity has always pushed me to confront and move between different genres between them but of course, this has been made possible by the chosen instrument, the accordion. As a student I loved to vary the repertoire, play and try new genres. I have matured since the early years of the study is a belief that you are rooted then with time: it is essential to know in order to grow musically, fossilize on a single genre precludes many expressive possibilities. Playing the oboe also gave me the opportunity to expand my musical culture, and has allowed me to realize that concerts are a reflection of this natural eclecticism.
The need to deepen, to investigate thoroughly the music pushed me then to undertake the study of the bandoneon , allowing me to get more in the tango music of Astor Piazzolla and to deepen their knowledge of the genre .
Can you talk about the project Accordion Quartet?
It is a very young project, born last year when I was contacted by the Quartet of Verona Ancia Libera to play with them. The quartet of accordion music allows you to explore the pages in a different way, to investigate the music and taking in new facets, allows us to offer music with a new look, which differs from the usual enjoyment of music that you can have in the solo or orchestral. For all these reasons, the Quartet Ancia Libera is scheduled for widening the concert, in order to bring forward this exciting project.
Can you talk about your experience in teaching?
Having started teaching twenty years I have had many students in different schools, some of them came to the diploma and in turn teach today. I decided to follow the innovative teaching method of my first teacher, which is based on a concept simple and effective: to involve students, stimulating the imagination and the ability to interpret to each according to his nature.
I am currently forming an ensemble of accordionists young pupils with the aim of involving them and make them grow in ensemble music. This seemed like the best solution to bring my students to the music, to get them excited about the instrument and let them learn what are the essential cornerstones of music: the discipline combined with patience and commitment, attention, self-control and cooperation.
What is the project you are working on currently?
2013 has been a challenging year, I attended a festival in Australia in January with guitarist Alberto Mesirca, with whom I presented a repertoire of tangos by Piazzolla and in July I was in the most important theaters in Japan in which, with orchestra, I did some concerts of Neapolitan music and have recently returned from a tour in Cameroon fosed on Italian music.
For next year carrying out projects of this year, so the duo Alberto Mesirca and collaboration with pianist Walter Favero and his string orchestra and I plan to create two CDs : one with original music for accordion and one instead with transcripts of excerpts from literature “to button”.
Probably in May I will be engaged in a tour in the south of Brazil and, of course, I will continue with the business as a soloist in Italy and in Europe.
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