Bio
The quartet was founded in November 2006 by four musicians coming from a solid classical education, but also individually engaged in the fields of popular, contemporary, jazz and folk music.
The performances, with a strong and emotional impact, are also influenced by these different souls thanks to transcriptions, arrangements and original music, the result of stylistic research by the members of the group.
After the improvement course with Maestro Luc Vander Borght at the Académie Rainier III of Monaco, the group participated in masterclasses with leading teachers on the international guitar scene such as Oscar Ghiglia, Roland Dyens and Victor Villadangos.
The quartet plays the guitars of luthiers: Andrea Tacchi (Florence), Luciano Maggi (Treviso), Alan Wilcox (Florence), Manuel Contreras (Madrid).
Awards
The “24 CORDE ENSEMBLE” received major awards over the years at festivals and national competitions, not least the scholarship “Monte dei Paschi of Siena” assigned by the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in 2008 for best chamber group.
Musicians
Valentina fortunati
Valentina Fortunati earned her diploma in guitar from the “P. Mascagni” Parity Music Institute in Livorno in 2002, graduating with top honors under the guidance of Maestro Flavio Cucchi. She received her degree in Cinema, Music, and Theater from the University of Pisa in 2006 with a thesis on the compositional poetics of Leo Brouwer and Cuban music. She has published a thesis on the music of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco in Fronimo, a national magazine dedicated to classical guitar.
She has pursued advanced masterclasses with renowned teachers such as Oscar Ghiglia, Alirio Diaz, Roland Dyens, Luc Vander Borght, Victor Villadangos, and Hopkinson Smith.
Her musical career includes numerous concerts both as a soloist and in chamber ensembles, notably with the 24 Corde Ensemble guitar quartet (album “Besides”, 2010), and with the Italian singer-songwriter trio Sonambula (with Letizia Pieri and Sigi Beare), winner of the Ciampi City of Livorno Award in November 2017.
Her interest in blending various musical genres, as well as compositional and improvisational language, materialized in 2013 with the Tatogamono trio (“Tatogamono”, 2014) alongside musicians Matteo Scarpettini and Sigi Beare.
Since 2020, she has been part of Stefano Dentone’s Sundance Family Band as a mandolinist and banjo player, with whom she has recorded two albums (“Sunday Ranch” 2022, “Growing up blues” 2024, GoCountryRecords).
Since 2018, she has been a Music in Movement practitioner following the method developed by E.Jacques-Dalcroze, with a diploma issued by the Italian AIJD Association (Rome). She is a guitar teacher at the “G. Micali” state middle school with a musical focus in Livorno.
Luca Guidi
Born in 1982, Luca Guidi began studying classical guitar at a young age and graduated with top honors in 2005 under the guidance of Maestro Nuccio D’Angelo. He further refined his skills with Maestros Flavio Cucchi, Alberto Ponce, Luc Vander Borght, and Oscar Ghiglia, under whom he attended an advanced course at the Chigiana Music Academy in Siena.
In addition, he explored non-classical genres such as Jazz, Blues, and Rock, and studied composition with Maestro Nuccio D’Angelo.
In 2007, he won first prize overall at the “Riviera della Versilia” classical guitar competition.
He has performed extensively throughout Europe with chamber ensembles like the “24 Corde Ensemble” guitar quartet and “La Fabbrica Del Nulla” by Massimo Buffetti, as well as with non-classical projects like the blues band “Betta Blues Society” and the ukulele orchestra “Sinfonico Honolulu.”
For several years now, he has primarily focused on songwriting and has launched a singer-songwriter career. This led to two of his songs being included in Mauro Ermanno Giovanardi’s album “Il Mio Stile”, which won the Targa Tenco 2015. In 2020, he won the “Umberto Bindi” Award and the “Premio Dei Premi” at the M.E.I. in Faenza.
In 2020, he also released his first album of original songs titled “Sudoku.” He has around twenty record releases to his credit as a guitarist, ukulele player, and artistic producer.
Currently, he is a classical guitar and ukulele teacher at the “G. Bonamici” music school in Pisa.
Carmen Martinez
Italian guitarist, she stands out for her refined interpretations and stage presence. Born in 1981 in Pisa, she studied with some of the greatest teachers on the global scene in Italy and France: Oscar Ghiglia, Nuccio D’angelo, Roland Dyens, Luc Vander Borght, to name a few.
First prize winner from the National Conservatory of Livorno, she earned her Master’s degree in Interpretation under the guidance of Flavio Cucchi.
She has participated in major international festivals in Mexico, France, and Italy. An active concert performer both as a soloist and in chamber music, she currently collaborates with several string ensembles, orchestras, and choirs as part of French festivals.
Carmen Martinez has an extensive collaboration with contemporary Italian composers such as Marco Gammanossi, Ganesh Del Vescovo, Carlo Palagi, who have dedicated works to her and for whom she has recorded on various labels.
Living in France since 2014, she collaborates with various French universities in the context of “recital – colloquium” with a musicological theme.
Since 2019, Carmen Martinez has been a professor at the Toulon Provence Méditerranée Regional Conservatory.
Mikhail Pazí
Born in St. Petersburg (Russia), Mikhail Pazı began his classical guitar studies with Maestro Anatoli Khvan and later continued with Maestro Evgeni Larionov. In 2003, he moved to Italy where he continued his studies with Maestro Flavio Cucchi at the “P. Mascagni” Parity Music Institute in Livorno, graduating with top honors and distinction. In 2014, he earned a diploma in Instrumental Teaching from the “L. Cherubini” Conservatory in Florence, also with honors.
He has attended seminars and masterclasses with Maestros Alberto Ponce (France), Luc Vander Borght (Belgium), and Maestro Oscar Ghiglia, who awarded him scholarships at the Chigiana Music Academy in Siena in July 2004 and 2006.
He has distinguished himself in numerous national and international competitions, including the “Città di San Pietroburgo” National Guitar Competition, the XXII International Guitar Competition “Fernando Sor” in Rome, the XIII Biennial International Guitar Competition “Emilio Pujol” in Sassari, and the “Riviera Etrusca” and “Giulio Rospigliosi” Guitar Competitions.
From 2010 to 2013, Mikhail led ensemble music activities and guitar orchestra for young guitarists at the “Chitarrae” International Festival in Bivigliano (FI). In 2010, he was invited to the Les Internationales de la Guitare Festival in Montpellier.
Since 2018, he has collaborated with double bassist Giovanni Scalvini and accordionist Samuele Venturin, accompanying singer Monica Santoro in the “A lei” project. From 2018 to 2021, he performed in a duo with flutist Olivia Gigli.
He is a guitar teacher at the “L. Pirandello” Middle School with a Music Focus in Florence.