Italy's Gazzana Sisters Enchant Delhi With Their Timeless Music

Italian duo blends lyricism, scholarship, and global reach in memorable Delhi recital

- MURTAZA ALI KHAN

Celebrated worldwide from New York to Tokyo, Duo Gazzana — violinist Natascia and pianist Raffaella — recently performed in New Delhi at the Italian Embassy Cultural Centre. Trained by legendary musicians including Bruno Canino and Yehudi Menuhin, the Gazzana sisters also hold degrees from La Sapienza University in Rome: Natascia in visual arts and Raffaella in Italian literature and musicology.

Renowned for blending Italian lyricism with scholarly depth, they bring audiences closer to both beloved and rarely heard works.

And they walk into the room with the quiet confidence of artists who have lived their art from the cradle. They are so close in music and in life that audiences often mistake them for twins. "No, we are not twins," Raffaella laughs. "We are really different characters. But maybe because we were all the time together, people think that. I am the eldest by two years, but we have always shared everything—studies, travel, concerts, and of course, music."

From their earliest days in Rome, music was less a choice than a natural language. "Since we were children, we have been just playing together and enjoying music at home," says Natascia. "It came very naturally, without a start date. A violinist always needs a pianist, and I was lucky to have one at home."

That luck has carried them across the world, from New York to Hong Kong, Tokyo to Moscow, to royal command performances such as playing for King Charles III during his official visit to Italy to mark the centenary of Sir William Walton. They have been named 'Ambassadors of the City of Florence.'