“The young Raffaele La Ragione is now on the mandolin what Gustav Leonhardt was once on the harpsichord” Le Monde

“On his four-course Neapolitan mandolin, La Ragione is a total joy” Gramophone

Born in Naples in 1986, Raffaele La Ragione has devoted himself from a very young age to the study of the mandolin, exploring its original repertoire from early music to contemporary works. His education at the Milan Conservatory, where he graduated under Ugo Orlandi, and at the University of Bologna, where he earned a degree from the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy in Arts, Music and Performing Arts, soon led him to deepen his interpretative research, participating in seminars (Fondazione Cini in Venice), giving lectures, masterclasses and publishing contributions on the literature dedicated to his instrument. Numerous recordings for labels such as Arcana, Warner, Erato and Brilliant Classics, together with the recognition received from international critics, testify to a profound and innovative artistic research.

His concert career has taken him to perform in Italy, Europe, and Asia, as a guest at festivals and prestigious concert seasons (MiTo Festival, Ravenna Festival, Istanbul Musik Festivali, Festival de Musique de Menton, St. Martin in the Fields, Settimane Barocche, Bremen Musikfest, Osor Music Evenings), collaborating with renowned orchestras and ensembles, including I Solisti Veneti (Claudio Scimone), Il Pomo d’Oro (Francesco Corti), the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (Myung-Whun Chung), La Serenissima (Adrian Chandler), the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the Greek National Opera, the Orchestra dei Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano and La Toscanini in Parma.

His discography includes numerous projects dedicated to the original mandolin repertoire, among which: Serenata Napoletana – Music for Mandolin and Piano, Nicola Maria Calace – Je Reviendrai, Franco Margola – Music for Mandolin and other chamber Music, Calace – Music for Mandolin Quartet and Mozart – Don Giovanni. In 2020 he released Beethoven and his Contemporaries, produced to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, which was enthusiastically received by international critics. Two years later he recorded Mandolin on Stage – The Greatest Mandolin Concertos with the orchestra Il Pomo d’Oro conducted by Francesco Corti, a tribute to the great 18th- century mandolin concertos by Vivaldi, Hummel, Paisiello and Lecce, performed on three different period instruments. The album received numerous awards and a nomination for the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik as Best Early Music Recording.

Forthcoming releases include the album Serenata a Napoli with Samoan tenor Pene Pati and Il Pomo d’Oro for Erato, as well as an album dedicated to French Romantic music for mandolin, born from the collaboration with the Fondazione Palazzetto Bru Zane, with pianist François Dumont and soprano Sandrine Piau, to be released on Arcana in 2026.

Driven by constant musical curiosity and the desire to explore new languages, he has also taken part in cross-genre projects: he collaborated with writer Alessandro Baricco in the visionary Traviata da Cortile and, since 2018, with Renzo Arbore and the Orchestra Italiana, participating in tours throughout Italy and in television productions for Rai1, Rai2 and Rai5.

Alongside his concert career, he is Mandolin Professor at the “Gaetano Donizetti” Conservatory in Bergamo.