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30 June at 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Francesco Attesti (Cortona, June 6, 1975) is an Italian pianist of international acclaim. Among his generation of musicians, he is considered one of the finest interpreters of the Romantic and early Twentieth Century Repertoire.
He began practicing the piano at the age of 6 and gave his first concert at 11. He studied with maestro Sergio Perticaroli at the Mozarteum Salzburg
Summer Masterclass. There, Francesco was immersed in the Romantic repertoire, particularly the works of Chopin and Liszt.
He continued to study with Maestro Perticaroli for several years in Rome, refining his skills and winning several national and international piano competitions, including: Ibla Grand Prize International, F.I.D.A.P.A. Competition, Città di Racconigi, Migliori Diplomati d’Italia, Rovere d’Oro, Città di Cesenatico. The Swiss Ursula Stroher Stiftung sponsorship for talented young people was conferred on Francesco Attesti from 2003-2005.
In 1998, studying with Maestro Luigi Tanganelli at the “L. Cherubini” Conservatory of Florence, Francesco earned the highest grades in piano bestowed by that institution. Soon thereafter, he attended masterclasses with Jacques Rouvier (1998) and Hector Moreno (1999, 2000). With Maestro Moreno, he explored the chamber repertoire for piano, as well as several contemporary composers.
Francesco’s first opportunity to record a CD came in 1998 when the “Rugginenti Editore” label asked him to record contemporary music ,the text being Edoardo Sanguineti’s poetry. Since then, there have been many recordings on several labels, such as “Agorà”, “Max Research”, “Drycastle”. Some have been collaborations with such contemporary composers as Silvia Bianchera Bettinelli, Biagio Putignano, Raoul De Smet. The epitome of Francesco’s collaborative work to date is his performance with the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra of Prague, performing the Italian premiere of “Chiavi in Mano” by the Pulitzer Prize winning composer Yehudi Wyner.
In 2007, together with organist, colleague and friend Matteo Galli, he published the first recording of Verdi’s Requiem, transcribed for piano and
organ, on the “Le Voci della Citta” label. At the beginning of 2008, Francesco produced a CD on the “Drycastle” label called “Feeling Chopin”. That work was devoted entirely to the great Polish composer. In 2012, with “Drycastle”, he published a new CD, “Virtuoso Sentimento”, with works by Bach, Schubert and Beethoven. In 2014, with the same label, he published a CD with clarinet player Pietro Tagliaferri entitled “’900, French repertoire for clarinet and piano” and, in 2016 he recorded a DVD, “Deeply Mozart”, with two piano concertos, K 449 n. 14 and K 488 n. 23 by Mozart, with Orchestra “OIDA” and conductor Paolo Belloli.
His recordings have been broadcasted worldwide by Stingray Classica, one of the leading streaming TV for high quality classical music.
In 2012 he was awarded as “Artist changing lives” by the city of Edinburg (Texas – USA) and the city of Diamante (Argentina) conferred him the honorary citizenship. In 2013, McAllen (Texas – USA), and in 2015 the city of Hornell (New York – USA) conferred him the “Key to the City” for his artistry and human skills.
Always drawn to the perfection of phrasing and the sound of the instrument, he has developed very special and unique expressions. Maestro Perticaroli himself has said: “Francesco Attesti’s piano playing is unusual. Everything that happens in the sound, in the phrasing, and in the musical conception, starts from an aesthetic and musical conviction and it brings the performance out of every formal and consumistic prevision.”
Currently, Francesco Attesti performs regularly in internationally prestigious concert halls all over the world where he played about 1000 concerts in 40 different Countries. He is the co-founder and CEO of Amartists management agency and, since 2019, is the Deputy Mayor and the Cultural Counsellor of the city of Cortona (Italy).
Press reviews
“Francesco Attesti’s piano playing is unusual. Everything that happens in the sound, in the phrasing, and in the musical conception, starts from an aesthetic and musical conviction and it brings the performance out of every formal and consumistic prevision.” (Sergio Perticaroli – Concertist, Teacher, Vice President Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia di Roma)
“It went totally beyond my expectations. Francesco’s music has a way of speaking to your heart. I’ve never heard the Chopin sonata played with more passion and tenderness. The whole world should be hearing his music…” (Ann Stevens – Artist manager)
“He was a master during his piano solos. He captured the moods of Brahms’ Intermezzo and the power of Chopin’s Ballade in G minor. Attesti seems to relish pieces of extraordinary difficulty, playing with confidence and passion that charms the most demanding critics and concert-goers around the world…” (Lake City Journal, FL, USA – Karl Burkhardt )
“The Sound of a genius! The eminent pianist Francesco Attesti enchanted concertgoers on Sunday at Fangor Manor in the Botanical Gardens at Powsin.” (Elzbieta Skonleczna – Warsaw Gazeta)
“Francesco Attesti is an extraordinary professional who greatly combines musicality and enormous talent, all of which makes him belong to the elite of the young Italian concertists.” (Hector Moreno – Concert pianist)
“I immediately appreciated his polyedric personality as well as his important action in the musical contemporary field. He is a great professional, with a deep knowledge of the contemporary music interpretation.” (Biagio Putignano – President of the Italian Composer Federation)
“From Mozart to Chopin, passing by Brahms and Liszt, maestro Francesco Attesti performed works of incredible difficulty that enlightened his skills and his great sensibility. The audience was literally conquered and several encores were asked.” (La Nazione)
“What impress about this young pianist is the continuously research of stylistic interpretation as well as the beauty of the sound.” (La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno)