Duo Filippi–Vallerga: The Art of Harmony in Life and Music
- WOMCO
- Aug 19
- 3 min read
Federico Vallerga & Laura Filippi’s Sonata for Flute and Piano was awarded the Platinum Prize and the Excellent Musicianship Special Award in the 2025 Season 3 World Master Open Music Competition.
When and why did you form your duo, and does playing music together hold a special meaning for you?
We've been a duo for about ten years. Answering the second question is quite easy because we can say that our duo was formed first for sentimental reasons and only later for musical reasons, and it all happened very naturally, especially after we started living together. I must say that playing together completes us a lot, and we both feel very lucky to be able to share this passion for music, for which we've trained with many years of study and sacrifice.
Could you share the background of the award-winning recording Sonata for flute and piano in C minor by Gaetano Donizetti? How did you prepare for it, collaborate, and bring it to life?
Our preparation starts with listening and a brief analysis of the score, followed by targeted exercises to solve the main technical problems, each of us working on our own. Only after stabilizing the main critical issues do we move on to reading the piece together, and here, we must admit, rehearsals don't always go smoothly, because we have to deal with our characters and our straightforwardness, which also comes from our relationship as a couple. Moreover, rehearsals are always squeezed into the little free time we manage to find between work and our three children. In this regard, it's almost become a small ritual for us to find time for competitions during maternity leave. We've won competitions in the past while expecting our second child, and now we've won this important competition just as our third child was born. In fact, about ten days after submitting the recording, our third child, Andrea, was born!
Would you like to share your experience participating in our competition and anyone you'd like to thank?
Of course, we're thrilled to have achieved this result, which is definitely an important milestone in our musical journey and a stimulus for new future experiences. We'd like to thank our common friends in the music world and beyond, who expressed very kind thoughts after the news of our win in this competition.
Biography
DUO FILIPPI - VALLERGA
Laura Filippi graduated in piano at the "N. Paganini" Conservatory in Genoa in 2012 with a score of 9.50/10 (old system) under the guidance of Maestro Marco Vincenzi and also obtained a diploma in cello with Maestro Paolo Ognissanti the following year. Alongside her musical studies, she pursued her academic studies, obtaining a high school diploma with a score of 100/100 from the "D'Oria" Classical High School in Genoa, a degree in Medicine and Surgery with honors in 2015, and a specialization in Neurology in 2021, also with honors. She has gained various experiences in chamber music, performing in formations such as piano trio, violin and cello duo, and flute and piano duo, with performances included in local concert series. As part of the flute and piano duo, the musicians have produced several self-produced recordings available on major online music distribution platforms and have won several international competitions, including the "Platinum Prize" at the "World Master Open Music Competition" with the "Excellent Musicianship Special Award", "Gold Prize" at the International Competition "Beethoven" in London, 2nd place at the "Nice International Competition", and 3rd place at the "Agimus" Competition in Padua. She currently works as a neurologist at the "S. Martino" Hospital in Genoa.
Federico Vallerga graduated in flute as a private student at the "A. Vivaldi" Conservatory in Alessandria with a score of 8.50/10 in 2007. He later earned a postgraduate specialization degree in flute at the Genoa Conservatory with a score of 110/110 and specialized in chamber music in 2011 at the Fiesole Music School with the Trio di Parma, earning a score of 85/100. He also obtained a European certificate of orchestral specialization held by the first parts of prestigious Italian (Teatro alla Scala, Accademia di S. Cecilia, Teatro Carlo Felice, Orchestra Regionale Veneta) and foreign (Wiener Philharmoniker) orchestras with an evaluation of 95/100. Alongside his musical studies, he pursued his academic studies, obtaining a high school diploma with a score of 100/100 from the "C. Gallini" Technical Agricultural Institute in Voghera and a degree in Landscape Architecture from the Faculty of Architecture in Genoa with a score of 110/110 and honors. He has attended several courses and annual masterclasses with renowned teachers and has participated in meetings with other illustrious teachers and concertists. He has won numerous national and international music competitions and has gained orchestral and chamber music experiences with various local ensembles and associations. He is currently a public school teacher.
