Enrico Fagone – Conductor

Music and Artistic Director, Long Island Concert Orchestra, New York.

Music Director, Orchestra Bottesini, Italy.

Artistic Director, Bottesini Competition, Italy.

Music Consultant, CLIP Concorso Lirico di Portofino, Italy.

Dynamic, versatile, and charismatic, Enrico Fagone has been hailed as a magnetic presence on stage. Reviews have warmly praised his “real narrative awareness” (L’Ape Musicale) and his extraordinary leadership. Classical Voice North America wrote: “Conductor Fagone impressively wrangled both the orchestra and the singers scattered throughout the large space,” and OperaWire noted: “He kept the pacing intact, never letting the music go slack or mechanical.”

Fagone currently serves as Music and Artistic Director of the Long Island Concert Orchestra in New York as well as of Orchestra Bottesini in Italy.  

He has conducted world-renowned ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, RAI National Symphony Orchestra of Turin, Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Fondazione Arena di Verona Orchestra, Orchestra of the Teatro Petruzzelli Bari, Orchestra of the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, Göttingen Symphony Orchestra, Fribourg Chamber Orchestra, Opera Southwest Orchestra Albuquerque, North Carolina Opera Orchestra, Teatro Grattacielo Orchestra New York, Sicilian Symphony Orchestra, Marche Philharmonic Orchestra, Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Padua and Veneto, Italian Virtuosi, Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra, Savaria Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Serbian National Theatre, and FOI Opera Orchestra Italiana. 

In 2019, Fagone debuted with the RAI National Symphony Orchestra in a broadcast concert featuring celebrated pianist and frequent collaborator, Martha Argerich. He recently conducted the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in a special concert marking the United Nations’ visit to Switzerland.

A conductor equally active in the operatic field, he regularly collaborates with distinguished singers including Freddie De Tommaso, Emily D’Angelo (CulturArte), Vladimir Stoyanov, Michele Pertusi, and Fiorenza Cedolins. In October 2025, he returned to the Verdi Festival in Parma, receiving unanimous critical acclaim: “With a confident and precise gesture, Fagone led the orchestra with elegance and momentum, demonstrating great attention to detail and offering constant support to the singers” (Classicamente).

After making his debut in December 2025 during the Arena di Verona’s winter season at the Teatro Filarmonico, in August 2026 he was invited to make an important debut in the Arena di Verona’s summer season, conducting the Orchestra of the Fondazione Arena di Verona in Paganini Paradise, a production conceived and directed by Marco Balich, Creative Lead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 opening ceremonies. His conducting was highly praised by the critics: “His conducting is precise, flexible, exceptionally attentive to articulation, without unnecessary dramatic rallentandos”; “the orchestra responded immediately to Fagone’s direction, keeping the entire structure perfectly cohesive” and delivering “a performance of luminous discipline, shaping the music with a refined and beautifully balanced palette of colors” (MTG Lirica). L’Adige praised the “enthusiastic conductor … [who] leads with a baton of remarkable precision and an impeccable sense of timing.”

That same month, he made his debut at the prestigious Mascagni Festival in Livorno, conducting Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana and receiving enthusiastic critical acclaim: “On the podium, the young Italian conductor Enrico Fagone, a rising figure on the international scene, leads an attentive and incisive musical interpretation that respects the roots of verismo while enhancing the emotional power of the singers” (Classica Live).                                  

A virtuoso double bassist, Fagone studied orchestral conducting at the Claudio Abbado Civic School of Milan, specializing in operatic repertoire with Daniele Agiman at the Academy of Salsomaggiore-Parma. He trained under the legendary Jorma Panula, who encouraged him to pursue a conducting career. Fagone had the opportunity to follow major operatic and symphonic productions under the guidance of Maestros Semyon Bychkov and Fabio Luisi.

He teaches at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana and regularly gives masterclasses at Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music. He also serves as Artistic Director of the Giovanni Bottesini International Competition.

His discography includes recordings for EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, Warner, Stradivarius, and Da Vinci. He recently conducted the London Symphony Orchestra on the album Aspire (Musica Solis), featuring clarinettist Seunghee Lee and composer and bandoneonist JP Jofre—a recording nominated for a Grammy Award.