Simone Siviero

My name is Simone Siviero, I come from Italy and I'm a viola player, currently based in the Netherlands. I fell in love my instrument at an early age and my passion for a more faithful way of playing brought me to this country, where I found an exciting early music community

I started taking violin lessons when I was seven until my father brought me home a viola when I was thirteen and I fell in love with it. I earned my bachelor degree in viola performance from the conservatory of Castelfranco Veneto, a small but very active city located 40 km from Venice which has a prominent early music department. Through the activities of the conservatory, I gradually got involved in the early music department and my interest in this type of repertoire began to develop.

I continued my studies and completed my master with Davide Zaltron at the conservatory in Vicenza, where I presented my thesis about romantic practice on the violin, and I performed some romantic viola sonatas according to the dictates of the time.

My curiosity towards historical performance practice pushed me to move abroad, and after meeting Ryo Terakado I decided in 2017 to move to The Hague to join his class for three years at the Koninklijk Conservatorium.

After graduating, I found a network that allowed me to turn my life-long passion into a profession. I have been working as a freelancer throughout the Netherlands and Europe with numerous ensembles like Collegium 1704, PRJCT Amsterdam, Simone Kermes & Amici Veneziani and Bremer Barockorchester. I’m also one of the founders of Contrarco Baroque Ensemble, a group specialised in performing music from the XVII and XVIII centuries according to the historically informed practice.

I have been very fortunate to be lent a classical bow from The Netherlands Musical Instrument Foundation. The bow has a warm tone, good sound projection and an ease of control that allows me to create the nuances I seek with a defined sound quality. I find that the bow is also excellent for discovering music written during the classical period, as it informs me about certain peculiarities of the music of this time.