I Musici Gemelli is made up of Francesco Pio Bertozzi and Giuseppe Pio Bertozzi, who were both born on September 1, 2000. They studied violin at the Umberto Giordano Conservatory in Foggia, finishing with top marks, and then completed a second Master’s degree in Chamber Music at the Conservatory of Parma. To strengthen their duo craft, they also took part in masterclasses and advanced training in duo formation with Ilya Grubert, Andrés Diaz, Laura Marzadori, Kathrin Ten Hagen, Mirjam Tschopp, Marco Fiorini, the Mirò String Quartet, and the baroque group Il Rossignolo.
They’ve earned awards in both national and international competitions, including Euterpe International Music Competition, Umberto Giordano National Music Competition, Trofeo città di Giulianova, Concorso Internazionale di Musica Leopoldo Mugnone, and the Messina National Chamber Music Competition (held in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto).
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I Musici Gemelli, in collaboration with Hanna Kelemen, has released a new album, “Shakespeare’s Mirror (World Premiere Recording).” It begins with “Shakespeare’s Mirror: Overture (World Premiere Recording).” The opening arrives slowly, with mysterious strings that draw you in like you’re standing at the edge of something important. From there, the music poises and then unfolds dramatically, especially through the violin work, which takes the theme through so many variations that it keeps you curious the whole way. There’s also a vulnerable aura to the performance, which makes the entire overture even more engrossing.
“Shakespeare’s Mirror: Antony and Cleopatra (World Premiere Recording)” is deeply moving. The soundscape reflects the emotional tension at the heart of Shakespeare’s story, love versus duty. It captures that conflict between personal passion and political responsibility, the kind of clash that leads to inevitable tragedy. The female vocal presence is especially striking. She comes in to read spoken-word lines in between musical moments, which gives the piece a subtle “stage performance” feeling, like you’re watching scenes play out in real time.
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Then “Shakespeare’s Mirror: The Tempest (World Premiere Recording)” shifts the mood. It feels more emotional, intimate, and calming. It is dramatic, but gentler on the ears. With the spoken passages woven throughout, it’s easy to imagine you’re watching the drama unfold like a live theatrical scene. The layers of violin strings are masterfully handled, building a rich, reflective texture that holds your attention from start to finish.
We recently had an opportunity to talk to the artists about the new album. Keep reading to know more.
Hi I Musici Gemelli and Hanna Kelemen! Welcome to Sinusoidal and congratulations on your new album release “Shakespeare’s Mirror (World Premiere Recording).” Rather than simply performing the music, this album feels like you’re inviting listeners into Shakespeare’s world. At what point did you realise this project needed to be experienced almost like a piece of theatre?
Shakespeare was one of the greatest playwrights in history. The goal of the album was to build a bridge between two timeless arts, music and theater, by offering an immersive experience in which Shakespeare’s poetic power comes to life through sound. Each track is inspired by one of his masterpieces, reworking its themes, atmospheres, and emotions through a contemporary musical language. The music intertwines with spoken passages, in which actress Hanna Kelemen performs famous monologues and excerpts from his plays. The result is a sonic and theatrical journey that brings to light the author’s great universal themes: love, power, madness, and fate.
When you’re interpreting music that’s so closely tied to literary characters, where do you begin? Do you start with the score, the text, or the emotional world of the play?
Each of us took a different approach:
Hanna Kelemen (Actress): I’m a Hungarian actress, but I studied and earned my degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (one of the world’s most prestigious institutions for training in the performing arts). The first crucial step for me was to read all the plays in English; then I analyzed which moments seemed most significant to me in the evolution of each story, the drama, or the truth revealed among the characters. Based on these moments, I tried to select some of the most poignant lines that might have a broader and deeper meaning, a meaning that resonates throughout the play.
I Musici Gemelli (Music): Performing each piece required an in-depth study of every Shakespearean character, each with their own distinct traits to be reflected in the musical concept. It is only possible to interpret each piece after studying the characters and Shakespeare’s life itself. The work is complex because every protagonist in his plays embodies the virtues and vices of the human soul. From a technical standpoint, it was truly challenging to translate the essence of the drama and theatrical tension into music. This work required a technical approach capable of going beyond traditional playing methods.
Emanuele Stracchi (Composer): My starting point was the Overture, a purely instrumental piece conceived as a true symphonic introduction to the opera, which synthesizes the main themes of all eight subsequent scenes. In Shakespeare’s Mirror, music becomes a mirror: it is not intended as a mere reflection, but as a living surface that multiplies perspectives, alternating layers of lightness with sudden plunges into gravity and tragedy. Two violins and a voice are enough to build a world, an “essential” and intense theater, in which love, madness, violence, and fate are transformed into vibrations, gestures, and sounds.
‘Antony and Cleopatra’ explores love and ambition colliding. How did you translate something so psychologically complex into a purely musical performance in “Shakespeare’s Mirror: Antony and Cleopatra (World Premiere Recording)?“
To convey the psychological complexity of Antony and Cleopatra, we explored the conflict between love and reasons of state, between passion and power. The music traces the emotional evolution of the protagonists, from the overwhelming power of their love to their inevitable downfall. Through contrasting sounds, lyrical atmospheres, and dramatic moments, we sought to portray fragility, ambition, and destiny. The goal was to give voice to the deep emotions hidden behind this opera.
“Shakespeare’s Mirror: The Tempest (World Premiere Recording)” feels noticeably more introspective than some of the other pieces. How did you approach creating that sense of calm without losing the dramatic tension underneath?
To convey the introspective nature of “The Tempest”, we sought to strike a balance between apparent calm and inner tension, expressing this contrast through specific harmonic patterns, tonal suspensions, and variations in musical language. The music reflects Prospero’s journey, a journey from suffering and the desire for revenge toward forgiveness and reconciliation. Through suspended atmospheres, delicate sounds, and moments of greater intensity, we have depicted the conflict between the power of magic, the weight of the past, and the quest for redemption. Our intention was to express the character’s emotional depth.
When you were sequencing the album, did you think of it as telling one continuous story, or as a collection of emotional snapshots inspired by Shakespeare?
We conceived “Shakespeare’s Mirror” as a single dramatic journey, consisting of an Overture and eight independent scenes linked by a common narrative structure: Antony and Cleopatra, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet, The Tempest, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The music does not merely accompany the text, but reflects it through recurring themes, harmonic structures, and sonic gestures that express the characters’ inner conflicts.
What did your creative process look like before you even picked up your violins? Did you spend time revisiting Shakespeare’s texts, discussing characters, or imagining the emotional arc of the album?
The creative process began with an in-depth analysis of Shakespeare’s texts and his characters. We envisioned the album’s dramatic arc even before setting it to music, defining atmospheres and sonic languages capable of reflecting each scene.
What’s next for I Musici Gemelli and Hanna Kelemen?
Currently, the album “Shakespeare’s Mirror” was included in the Official Ballot for the Grammy® Awards by The Recording Academy. We hope to get a nomination… fingers crossed!
Follow the artists on:
Instagram:
- https://www.instagram.com/imusicigemelli_official/
- https://www.instagram.com/hanna_kelemen_/?hl=en
- https://www.instagram.com/emanuelestracchi/
Official Websites:
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