The Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, set up by Piero Farulli in the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, during its 30 years of orchestral training has made a vital contribution to musical life in Italy, with more than 1000 former members employed by Italian and foreign symphony orchestras. “Baptized” by Riccardo Muti, the orchestra has been invited to some of the most important music centres and festivals including Montpellier, Edinburgh, Berlin, Ljubljana, Madrid, Frankfurt, Prague, Budapest, Turku and the legendary Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, with outstanding acclaim from critics and public alike.In April 2010 the orchestra had the honour of playing a concert in honour of the fifth anniversary of the Papacy of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, offered by the President of the Republic of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano.
The orchestra’s conductors have been, among others: Claudio Abbado, Roberto Abbado, Salvatore Accardo, Yuri Ahronovitch, Piero Bellugi, Luciano Berio, Gabriele Ferro, Daniele Gatti, Carlo Maria Giulini, Eliahu Inbal, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Gianandrea Noseda, Krzysztof Penderecki, Giuseppe Sinopoli and Jeffrey Tate. Nicola Paszkowski has been the orchestra’s conductor/tutor since 2000.
The Orchestra has made recordings for Nuova Era, Aulos, Fonit Cetra and Stradivarius and has also recorded for Rai, Radio France and for the European Radio Broadcasting Union. Composers such as Sylvano Bussotti and Giorgio Battistelli have dedicated compositions to the ensemble.
In 2004 the orchestra was awarded the Abbiati Prize by the National Association of Music Critics for the finest musical initiative. In September 2008 the Orchestra received the Praemium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists from the Japan Art Association.
Supporters of the orchestra include the Tuscany Region, the Province of Florence and the Ente Cassa di Risparmio banking foundation of Florence, as well as the Ministry of Cultural Assets and Activities. The Compagnia di San Paolo banking foundation provides scholarships for principals in the orchestra.
The Orchestra played at the Stresa Festival in 2002 and 2010.