Biography

Elena Sartori was born in Ravenna. She started studying music at the age of four. Carried out her studies at the Conservatory of “Girolamo Frescobaldi” in Ferrara, the Conservatory of Basilea, the Hochschule “Mozarteum” in Salzburg and the Bach Akademie in Stuttgart. She got a degree, with honors, in Piano, Organ and Organ Composition, Choral Conducting and Conducting. She graduated with honors from the University of Bologna, in Magisterium, with the thesis on Gregorian chant. Her teachers of reference were Daniel Chorzempa for the relationship between music, architecture, and visual arts; Nino Albarosa for the interpretation of the legate; Claudio Cavina for vocals in ancient Italian music theatre. On July 5th, 2001, Pierre Boulez noticed her while she was conducting a Mass of Costanzo Porta in the Cathedral of Ravenna. He then approached and congratulated her on the direction and encouraged her to continue with the work on vocal ensembles. This remains one of the most important memories in her career. Without masonic or political help, 1997-2017 she carried out succesfully an intense concert activity all over the world not only as an organ soloist and choir teacher in Italian Theatres, but also as a Choir and Orchestra director. In 2021, thanks to her complete recording of Luigi Rossi’s “Orfeo”, she was nominated for the international classical Music Awards and received a special mention at the Abbiati del Disco Award. For 22 years, Elena Sartori has directed and personally supported the historic “International Festival of Organ Music”, held in the Basilica of San Vitale. With 62 editions, this is the oldest and longest-lived cultural event in the city of Ravenna. Not much interested in her own personal statement or matters of power, she is solely focused on the study of the musical work of art and on returning the score to the public as accurately as possible. She does not receive public funding to support her activities and projects. From 2017 to 2023 Elena Sartori has created and staged “Mafia in Classica”, an independent flash- mob about phenomena of maschilism, exploitation and corruption in Italian Classical Music. Currently she is completely cut out from the concert and discographic activity of European festivals and theatres.