Born in Italy, Mario Caroli is an Italian-French flutist. He has begun his musical training at the age of 14 and got his soloist diploma at the age of 19. He studied with Annamaria Morini in Bologna and Manuela Wiesler in Vienna. At the age of 22, he won in Darmstadt the coveted Kranichsteiner International Prize and started a very highly successful career as a solo flutist. His activity starts, as a logical prosecution of the Prize of Darmstadt, as an advocate of contemporary music: his fame has grown very fast and he quickly became the preferred interpreters of the many of the biggest living composers. Salvatore Sciarrino, György Kurtag, Doina Rotaru, Toshio Hosokawa, Ivan Fedele, Olga Neuwirth, Philippe Hurel, Wolfgang Rihm and many others wrote for him some beautiful soloflute works as well as new flute concertos, which contribute to wide the flute litterature. Some years later, his career turns back to the whole repertoire, without any distinction of styles and historical periods. An unique figure among the flutists of today, Mario is one of the very rare artists capable of passing from the most classical composition to the most extreme contemporary piece, witht the same vivd virtuosity, vibrant personality and rigorous both analytic and aesthetical approach.

The critics didn’t hesitate to call him a “phenomenon” for his refreshing interpretations of Bach, Schubert or Debussy and the “New York Times” wrote that “he has a sound you want to drink in”. Mario has appeared as a invited soloist with many prestigious orchestras, such as Philharmonia Orchestra in London, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in Paris, Tokyo Philharmonic, Tokyo Metropolitan and Tokyo Sinfonietta in Tokyo, SWR and WDR Radiosinfonieorchester of Stuttgart and Cologne, National Orchestra of Belgium in Brussels, Italian Radio National Orchestra in Torino, the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra, in Athens, Basel Sinfonietta, Icelandic Symphony Orchestra in Reykjavik, Sofia Soloists, Mozart Kammerphilharmonie, the Orchestras of the Opera Houses of Stuttgart, Verona, Rouen, Bari, Cagliari, the Philharmonic Orchestras of Strasbourg, Nice, Montecarlo, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, the Ensemble Contrechamps of Geneva, the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart…..

Present in the biggest festivals around the world, Mario has performed at the Berliner and Kölner Philharmonie, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, at the Royal Festival Hall in London, at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, at the Lincoln Center in New York, the Scala in Milano, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, the Megaron in Athens, the Herkulessaal in Münich, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, at the Cité de la Musique in Strasbourg. He has recorded mre than 40 Cds, including many important world premiere as well as the big classical of the repertoire, and he has been teaching masterclass all over the world. A cosmopolitan and polyglot artist, Mario is also one of the most demanded flute teachers today. After teaching 17 years in France, 5 years in Switzerland, Mario lives in Strasbourg and he is flute Professor at the Musikhochschule in Freiburg i.B., where he teaches a very successful international flute class.

Mario plays a platinum Miyazawa flute.