Biography

After completing her Master’s degree in Psychology and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Padua (Italy), Giulia Cantone studied at the Musikhochschule in Trossingen (Germany) with Rolf Lislevand, completing a Master’s degree in Lute with top grades. She also attended advanced courses in basso continuo and Baroque lute with Evangelina Mascardi at the Conservatorio “A. Vivaldi” in Alessandria (Italy).

A versatile performer, Giulia is proficient on a range of early plucked instruments, including the Renaissance lute, 10-course lute, vihuela, theorbo, baroque guitar, and baroque lute. Her focus lies in the practice of basso continuo and the performance of solo and chamber music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Giulia has participated in numerous masterclasses with internationally acclaimed musicians such as Paul O’Dette, Hopkinson Smith, Eduardo Egüez, Joachim Held, and Paul Beier, and has further honed her basso continuo skills through collaborations with distinguished artists including Gabriel Garrido, Andrew Lawrence King, and Peter Spissky.

While still completing her Bachelor’s studies, Giulia gave a solo recital at the Fringe of the Utrecht Early Music Festival, dedicated to Italian lute music from the 16th and 17th centuries, and reached the final round of the Baden-Württemberg Art Foundation Scholarship for young artists, the only early music performer among the finalists.

Her concert experience spans Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, and France. She has performed with ensembles and institutions including Concerto Copenhagen, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen Soloists, Höör Barock, the Cuvilliés Theatre in Munich, Trinitatis Church in Copenhagen, Göteborg Baroque, Østerbro Chamber Music Festival, and Odense Baroque Festival.

As a continuo player, Giulia has performed with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, in productions including Bach’s Mass in B minor, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and Mozart’s Don Giovanni, under the direction of Vladimir Jurowski and Andrew Manze.

Together with Ida Meidell (baroque violin) and Adam Grauman (viola da gamba), she founded Ensemble Sorgenfri in 2025, a project devoted to the rediscovery of rare Baroque repertoire, including works preserved in Swedish library collections, for violin, viola da gamba and continuo, as well as chamber music featuring obbligato baroque lute.

In 2026, Giulia was awarded a working grant by the Swedish Arts Grants Committee (Konstnärsnämnden).