Duo Figaro are a violin-viola duo based in London. Founded in September 2010, Lucia and Peter met on a tour of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and Puccini’s La Bohème with the Co-Opera Company.

Lucia graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with a First Class degree in 2010 and is now studying for an MMus at the Royal Academy of Music. Whilst at the RNCM she progressed to the finals of the Norman George Violin Scholarship and was heavily involved with chamber music, her string quartet collaborating with many musicians to perform works by such diverse composers as Finzi, Krenek, Bruch, Mozart and Ravel.

Peter is currently working as a freelance musician, balancing a career in both modern and period performance. He enjoys experimenting with all styles of music, his quartet currently collaborating with pop singers Jennifer Moore and Michal Atkins for their debut albums. Peter studied Music at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, and went on to complete an MA with Distinction at the Royal Academy of Music. He recently came second place, Highly Commended, in the Theodore Holland Viola Prize.

Duo Figaro enjoy exploring the lesser-known duo repertoire and sharing it with tutors and audiences. Their development continues under the guidance of Pavel Fischer, Martin Outram, Garfield Jackson and Robin Ashwell. The ensemble’s flexiblility enables them to look forward to future collaborations with other musicians. Although they are a relatively new venture, they are already finding themselves in great demand for recitals around the country and for playing at weddings and other occasions.

In the press

“[...] Duo Figaro consists of violinist Lucia D’Avanzo and violist Peter Mallinson, who played a rare Duo by one Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda. No, I hadn’t heard of him either, but his four-movement piece proved a worthwhile trip down an unusual musical by-way [...] it was tuneful, easy on the ear, and cleverly written for the two instruments. Lucia and Peter gave it a really persuasive performance, working as a team, emphasising melodies, keeping accompaniments in the background, and producing a mellow, glowing sound. [...]”

Joe Conway (The Cambridge Tab) http://cambridgetab.co.uk/reviews/tab-classical-5/