Andrea Griminelli (Correggio, December 13, 1959) is an Italian flutist.

He began studying the instrument at the age of ten; he was a student of Jean-Pierre Rampal and James Galway. He began at a very early age a concert career that took him to the world’s most famous theaters, engaged with many prestigious orchestras and conductors.

In the late 1970s he collaborated with his city’s free radio station, Radio Attiva.

In 1984 he performed in the Luciano Pavarotti in Concert at the Chicago Opera.

The greatest fame, however, is linked to performances with Luciano Pavarotti that began in 1984 at Madison Square Garden in New York with whom he embarked on a collaboration in the following years such as in concerts at Hyde Park in London in 1990, Central Park in New York in 1993, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and Red Square in Moscow in which classical music was combined with rock and pop music.

In 1985 he gave a concert with pianist Jean-Marc Luisada at the Grand Théâtre in Geneva.

In 1991 he performed 6 Concertos for transverse flute and string orchestra by Antonio Vivaldi conducted by René Clemencic at the Teatro Accademico in Castelfranco Veneto for the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.

In 1991 the President of the Republic awarded him the honor of Cavaliere and in 2003 that of Officer of Merit of the Italian Republic.

In 1992 he performed Suite No. 2 in Si min. BWV 1067 for flute and strings by Johann Sebastian Bach with I Solisti Veneti conducted by Claudio Scimone at Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

In 2001, the album Andrea Griminelli’s Cinema Italiano: A New Interpretation Of Italian Film Music was released where the music, rearranged by Bacalov and Morricone, is reinterpreted by him with Sting, Luciano Pavarotti, Lucio Dalla, Deborah Harry and Filippa Giordano.

The concert activity still continues very lively; it is accompanied by his commitment as president of the Musical Institute “Achille Peri” of Reggio Emilia since 2007 and since 2008 as president of the Musical Institute “Claudio Merulo” of Castelnuovo Monti (R.E.).

In 2008 he played in the concert in Petra (Jordan) that was broadcast on Retequattro.

In 2011 he took part in Andrea Bocelli’s One Night in Central Park concert in front of 70,000 people.

On April 23, 2014, he is the host of Zucchero Fornaciari’s concert-event at Madison Square Garden in New York, part of the Americana Tour, attended by 5,000 people and featuring the participation of special guests such as Sting, Elisa, Jovanotti, Fher of Maná, Chris Botti, Sam Moore, Fiorella Mannoia, Irene Fornaciari and a gospel choir. For the occasion he accompanied the Emilian singer on the notes of Miserere. On November 20 he organized the Griminelli & Friends benefit concert in Reggio Emilia for his 60th birthday, with guests Zucchero Fornaciari, Sting and other colleagues.

(from Wikipedia)