Valentina Bellanova was born in Florence, Italy, where she studied recorder at the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini and graduated in Modern Literature from the University of Florence. She continued her musical studies in Germany at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, where she obtained her Soloist Diploma in recorder in 2015. In 2024, she completed a Master's degree in Medieval Music at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen.
Alongside her training in Western early music, she has spent many years studying Ottoman classical music, Arabic music and their modal systems. She studied recorder and early music with David Bellugi, Federico Maria Sardelli and Ulrich Thieme, and ney and modal music with Ömer Erdoğdular, Kudsi Ergüner and Ross Daly.
Her principal instruments are the recorder and the Turkish and Arabic ney, but her work also involves a wide range of historical and traditional wind instruments, including medieval flutes, bagpipes and other instruments from the Mediterranean.
Her repertoire extends from medieval and Baroque music to Ottoman and Arabic classical music, traditional music, contemporary compositions and improvisation.
She has performed at the Berliner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konzerthaus Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin, HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Kampnagel Hamburg and numerous other concert halls and theatres.
Her collaborations include the Bergische Symphoniker, Niederrheinische Symphoniker, Duisburger Philharmoniker, Ensemble Pera, Concerto Foscari, Almar'à – the Arab and Mediterranean Women's Orchestra, Inner Unity Ensemble and Babylon Orchestra, among others.
She has performed the ney solo part in Fazıl Say's Istanbul Symphony with several German orchestras, including the Bergische Symphoniker and the Niederrheinische Symphoniker. She also works regularly in music theatre and contemporary productions, collaborating with composers, electronic musicians and artists from other disciplines.
Her debut solo album Eremos, released in 2021, reflects her interest in medieval music, Ottoman and Arabic modal traditions, improvisation and experimental approaches to sound. In her solo project Wind & Trommel, she combines wind instruments and percussion with loops and electronic effects.
Research and editorial work are also part of her musical activities. She has published an edition of recorder concertos by the Neapolitan composer Nicola Fiorenza with Girolamo and Turkish Folk Tunes for Recorder with Schott Music in 2024.
She teaches recorder and ney and gives workshops on early music, makam, improvisation and the musical traditions of the Mediterranean and Middle East.
Her work is not confined to a single musical period or tradition. Historical sources, oral transmission, instrumental practice and improvisation all have a place in her approach to music.
She describes herself as a TransMusician, a term that reflects her interest in different musical traditions, historical periods and approaches to performance.
CURRENT PROJECTS
ONDAS ENSEMBLE
Medieval Music
Ondas Ensemble brings together Lisa Solomon (voice and harp), Pär Engstrand (historical instruments) and Valentina Bellanova (medieval wind instruments). Their programme Tandaradei – Birds in Medieval Music explores birds and birdsong in medieval poetry and music, drawing on songs and instrumental repertoire from different European sources.
PHYLOMENA ENSEMBLE
Medieval Music
Phylomena is a trio formed by Jasmina Črnčič (voice and Romanesque harp), Mojca Jerman (medieval fiddle) and Valentina Bellanova (medieval recorders, bagpipes, symphonia and ney).
Their programme The Color of Pomegranates is devoted to medieval love poetry, with monophonic songs from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Vocal pieces alternate with instrumental music developed from the melodic material of medieval sources.
MENESTRELS GANG
Medieval Music
Menestrels Gang was formed by three musicians who met during the Medieval Music programme at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. The ensemble approaches medieval repertoire through historical research, experimentation and a broad collection of instruments. Its members move between winds, strings, plucked instruments and percussion, exploring different possibilities of medieval instrumental performance.
INNER UNITY ENSEMBLE
Iranian Musical Traditions · Contemporary Music
Founded in 2023 by ethnomusicologist Yalda Yazdani and guitarist and composer Mahan Mirarab, Inner Unity Ensemble brings together musicians from different musical backgrounds, with a particular focus on Iranian musical traditions and contemporary composition. The ensemble made its debut at the Duisburg Philharmonie in February 2023.
Valentina Bellanova performs Turkish and Arabic ney with the ensemble.
VALENTINA BELLANOVA & MARKUS WACH
Traditional Music · Improvisation
Valentina Bellanova (ney and traditional wind instruments) and Markus Wach (traditional string instruments) explore musical traditions from the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Central Asia.
Markus Wach has devoted many years to researching and playing rare string instruments, particularly from Central Asia, while Valentina Bellanova brings her experience with Turkish and Arabic ney and traditional wind instruments.
Their repertoire includes traditional melodies and improvisations, combining instruments from different geographical and musical backgrounds.
KALASCIÒ
Traditional Music of the Central Apennines
Kalasciò is a project with Italian musician Massimiliano Di Carlo, devoted to the traditional music of the central Apennines. Pastoral songs, dance tunes, oral narratives and instrumental traditions are brought together with historical instruments and elements of early music.
The project draws on the musical heritage of rural communities, including traditions that have rarely been documented or performed outside their original context.
LUX ORIENTIS
Early Music · Arabic Music · Music Theatre
Lux Orientis brings together musicians specialising in early European and traditional Arabic music.
Its programme Nachtfahrt takes inspiration from Dante's Divine Comedy and Ibn Arabi's account of the night journey. Music, poetry and theatrical elements are used to explore the two literary traditions and their different perspectives on spiritual experience.
The production includes historical and traditional instruments, live electronics and ritual performance.
WIND & TROMMEL
Solo Performance · Acoustic Instruments & Electronics
In her solo project Wind & Trommel, Valentina Bellanova combines wind instruments, frame drums, loops and electronic effects.
Recorders, neys, bagpipes and other traditional instruments are used alongside percussion and live electronics. The programme includes composed material, improvisation and experiments with the acoustic possibilities of the instruments.
TEMBER ENSEMBLE
Transcultural Electroacoustic Music
Tember is a Berlin-based electroacoustic ensemble founded by composer and live electronics performer Alireza Ostovar.
The ensemble works with acoustic and electronic instruments, combining traditional musical practices with contemporary composition, improvisation and sound processing. Its projects involve musicians from different backgrounds and regularly include international guest artists.
