Andrea Turini
Andrea Turini completed his musical studies at the Conservatory of Music “A. Boito” of Parma, where he graduated in piano under the guidance of Prof. Anna Maria Menicatti. He subsequently attended the chamber music course at the Ecole Normale de Paris obtaining the Higher Diploma with honours and “special jury mention” and perfected himself with pianists of clear international fame, including in particular Kostantin Bogino and Humberto Quagliata.
Awarded in National and International Piano Competitions, he is the winner of the “Premio Etruria” in the years 1988/1990/1992 and in piano duo of the first absolute prizes at the national competitions of Velletri (1988), Rome (1989), and of the second prize (first not awarded) at the international piano competition of Rome (1990). Also in a piano duo he obtained at the 7th International Piano Competition “Roma 1996” the first prize in the 4 hands section, the first absolute prize in the two pianos section and the Maria Golia Prize (awarded to the best Italians of the competition).
As a soloist he is second classified at the International Forum for Piano and Orchestra of Chioggia and second at the Vittoria Prize held by the Accademia Angelica Costantiniana in Rome, and also obtains an important affirmation by winning the 11th edition of the Ibla Grand Prize International Competition as Top Winner with special mention for the performance of Bach and Ravel.
His concert activity, which began as a soloist, subsequently also extended to chamber music; in fact, he collaborated permanently with the ‘Trio d’Archi di Firenze’, with the violinist Franco Cipolla and formed a piano duo with Maria Grazia Petrali. In addition, following collaboration with various instrumentalists and singers, he carries out activities in various chamber formations ranging from the Duo to the Saesthetic. His activity is also intense as a soloist with orchestra. Of particular importance is the collaboration, as a solo pianist, with the orchestra ‘Musici Aurei’ directed by Maestro Luigi Piovano, who saw him engaged in the performance of Bach’s concerts and the first absolute performance of the piano and orchestral version of Bach’s ‘Italian Concert’ by Antonio Piovano.
In the various forms of his concert activity he has been a protagonist in important Italian cities (Rome, Trento, Milan, Venice, Turin, Florence, Pescara, Taranto, Trieste, Bergamo, Naples, Cuneo, Savona, Pavia, Udine, Mantua etc.) and has held concerts in Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Holland, He has participated in important Chamber Music Festivals (Madrid, Albacete, Valladolid, Zamora, Brussels, Berlin, Amsterdam, Little Rock, Rome, New York, Gressoney, Rieti, Tel Aviv, Salzburg, Barcelona, Tenerife, Las Palmas, Dresden, Brandenburg, Paris, Vitoria, etc.) and has held concerts in prestigious venues (Auditorium Rai in Rome, Teatro Donizetti in Cortot” in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, Teatro Bibiena Mantova, etc.) and on behalf of important concert organisations and associations (Ente Manifestazioni Pescaresi, Ente Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Amici della Musica di Catanzaro, Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, Ente Estate Fiesolana, etc.).
He made television recordings for Rai Uno and for the Yugoslav television, radio recordings for the three Rai networks, for Vatican Radio, for Radio Nacional de Espana (which broadcast live his concert with the Florence Trio d’Archi held at the Madrid Music Auditorium), for the Yugoslav radio and recorded a CD with music by Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Ravel. Recently a CD of Bach’s music was released for the ‘Movimento Classical’ label.
Highly appreciated teacher is invited throughout Italy for master classes and interpretation courses; many of his students are honoured in national and international competitions.
He is the holder of the main piano chair at the Conservatory “G. Rossini” from Pesaro.
Gala Chistiakova
Gala Chistiakova is the winner of more than 30 international competitions including “3rd Chopin Competition for Young Pianists” (Moscow, 2000), “7th Chopin European Competition” (Darmstadt, Germany, 2002), “2nd Competition in Memory of Emil Gilels” (Odessa, Ukraine, 2003), “3rd Scriabin Piano Competition” (Moscow), “7° Concorso Europeo Chopin” (Darmstadt, Germania, 2002), ‘2° Concorso in memoria di Emil Gilels” (Odessa, Ucraina, 2003), “3° Concorso per pianoforte Scriabin” (Mosca. Russia. 2004). “Maria Callas Grand Prix 2008” (Athens, Greece); “10th Grieg – IPC” (Oslo, Norway, 2009), “Andorra IPC” (2010), “2° Concerto IPC” (Shenzhen, China, 2011), “59° IPC F.Busoni” (Bolzano, Italia, 2013), “FVG- IPC” (Sacile, Italia, 2014), “Scriabin IPC” (Grosseto, Italia, 2015) and many more…
He was born in Moscow (Russia) into a family of musicians and began studying piano, under the guidance of his mother Liubov Chistiakova and Prof. Helena Khoven, at the age of three. In 2005 he graduated from the Central School of Music of the P.Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Prof. Anatoly Ryabov. In 2014 Gala completed his studies at the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Prof. M.Voskresensky and followed the course taught by M° B.Petrushansky at the International Piano Academy “Encounters with the Master” in Imola.
He has a vast repertoire that ranges from Baroque to Romantic and modern, he often also plays in chamber formations, the most frequent are the piano duo with his younger sister, Irina Chistiakova and the piano duo with her husband Diego Benocci.
She has given, always with flattering critical and public acclaim, recitals and concerts in Russia, France, Germany, England, Poland, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Belarus, Ukraine, Finland, Japan, China, Greece, Spain, Principality of Monaco and Norway and is regularly invited as a jury member in international piano competitions. He played in the Houses of Music, Philharmonic Halls and the Moscow and St. Petersburg Conservatory. He has collaborated with several orchestras directed by masters such as V. Valitov, A.Timofeyev, V.Ponkin, V.Ryzhaev, A.Titov, M.Merone, V.Ziva, O.Balan, A.B. du Closel. She recorded CDs with KNS-classical/Fazioli pianos, ACOUSENCE/ Shigeru Kawai pianos and OnClassical/ Steinway&Sons.
Since 2013 he has lived in Italy. He is responsible for relations with foreign countries for the International Music Festival “Recondite Armonie” which takes place in the city of Grosseto. In 2020 Gala becomes ambassador of the ‘BeMuse’ Performing Arts Foundation in London. She has participated in prestigious festivals such as MiTo, Biennale, Centrefest, A.Michelangeli Festival. Among his recent concert performances as part of the “Amadeus Weekend” of the Festival in Salzburg, many concerts in Italy, Russia, Oxford and an exclusive event for Giorgio Armani.
Alberto Nosè
Defined by The New York Times “an artist with supreme technical mastery, dazzling and charming with his highly cultivated sound”, Alberto Nosè is one of the most awarded piano artists of his generation.
He stood out the international music world at the age of eleven winning 1st Prize at the Jugend für Mozart International Competition in Salzburg.
Top prize winner of Montecarlo Piano Masters, New York Concert Artists, Paloma O’Shea in Santander, Long-Thibaud in Paris, Maj Lind in Helsinki, Busoni in Bolzano, he was laureate at the F. Chopin International Piano Competition in 2000 which led him to a worldwide career as soloist as well as with major orchestras (London Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonique de Radio France, Sinfonica de Madrid) in the most renowed concert venues like Carnegie Hall in New York, Southbank Centre in London, Konzerhaus in Berlin, Théâtre du Châtelet and Salle Pleyel in Paris, Auditorium in Madrid, Mozarteum in Salzburg, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, City Hall in Hong Kong, Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, La Fenice in Venice, Santa Cecilia in Rome.
Jury member in many international piano competitions like Kiev, Tbilisi, New York, Hong Kong, Helsinki, Budapest, Graz, Ljubljana, Warsaw, he is co-founder of the International Amadeus Competition in Lazise, Italy.
His debut album for Piano Le Magazine featuring works by Brahms, Chopin, Liszt and Prokofiev won several awards like CHOC du Monde de la Musique and La Clef by ResMusica.
His CD of the Keyboard Sonatas by J. Ch. Bach, recorded on modern piano and published by Naxos, has been broadcast by Radio France, BBC 3, Radio 4 Netherland, Radio New Zealand, ABC Classic FM USA and Australia.
His third album with Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet for Harmonia Mundi won Diapason d’Or.
Since 2019 he has been founder, artistic director and producer of Amadeus Sound Project, an independent record label which releases all his new recording projects.
Invited to teach master classes around the world, he was guest professor at the Music Conservatory in Geneva, Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Mannes College of Music in New York, as well as at Music Academies in Gdansk and Bydgoszcz.
His musical education started at Verona Conservatory and continued at Imola International Piano Academy. His artistic development has been also enriched by his musical studies with Maurizio Pollini, Murray Perhaia, Andrzej Jasinski, Paul Badura-Skoda, Michael Beroff, Alexander Lonquich, Arie Vardi, Fou Ts’ong, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling.
He is currently Piano Professor at Verona Conservatory of Music and on the faculty of the International Accademia Amadeus in Valeggio sul Mincio, Italy.
Elena Ballario
Elena Ballario, from Biella, at the same time as her piano studies, she also dedicated herself to the study of violin and composition. She perfected herself with Maria Goliath, Malcolm Frager and Pier Narciso Masi. Awarded at national and international piano competitions and winner of scholarships of the Italian Musical Youth. Collaborating pianist of competitions for stringed instruments and several master classes at the Perosi Academy in Biella. She was eligible for ministerial competitions for degrees and exams for the teaching of Principal Piano, Complementary Piano, Chamber Music and Piano Accoompanier. A tenuous teacher since 1995, since 2007 he has been teaching Piano Practice and Reading at First Sight at the Turin Conservatory. He began his concert career in 1980 by presenting himself to the public as a soloist, soloist with orchestra and his interest in chamber music has allowed him to be part of numerous ensembles of various backgrounds and to acquire a vast chamber repertoire. The concert activity has seen her as an interpreter in Italy and in Europe in prestigious guest theatres of important concert seasons. Since 1988 he has been playing in duo with his cellist and consort Sergio Patria with whom he extended his training to a trio with Franco Mezzena. Since 2000 parallel to concertism, she undertook the compositional activity, first dedicating herself to translating and elaborating for various instrumental and vocal groups, orchestral, piano and singing and piano pieces of various eras, giving life to monographic programs dedicated to Rossini, Verdi, operetta, fairy tales in music and opera performed by the Nuovo Insieme Strumentale Italiano of which After the first transcripts he produced original works for solo piano, cello and piano, for trio, for string quintet and string orchestra.
The fairy tale “Pinocchio” musical comedy with original music performed by the ensemble with Lorenzo Branchetti “Il Milo Cotogno della Melevisione” as narrator, in addition to performances at many concert halls in Italy, was a guest for three consecutive years of the Education season at the Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia in Rome in the Petrassi and Santa Cecilia theatres of the Parco della Musica.
The CD of the fairy tale is distributed in music libraries in Italy. The Nuovo Insieme Strumentale Italiano has recorded three CDs of his original works and transcripts. His compositions have been included in the repertoire by various soloists and ensembles and performed regularly in Italy and abroad. He has realised, dealing with the arrangement and transcription of the musical part, several programs of music and poetry and text and music, performed throughout Italy with renowned actors such as Ugo Pagliai, Paola Gassman and Pamela Villoresi. Also active as a composer of texts for teaching, he has published for the publishing house Volontè in Milan the method of Scales and Arpeggi with Theoretical Introduction for the Conservatori di Musica.
Also in the educational field, he carries out reading seminars at first sight, a field for which he has developed an in-depth methodology. The project to re-evaluate the unpublished repertoire of the Piedmontese composer Carlo Rossaro, kept at the Library of the Conservatory of Turin through the performance and engraving for the Tactus record company of the chamber and chamber vocal opera in the catalogue from 2019. The double Cd has been brilliantly reviewed by industry magazines.
For Brilliant Classics with the trio Mezzena/Patria/Ballario, he realised the recording of the integral of the trios by Ermanno Wolf Ferrari, for Dynamic the recording of the trio op.50 by P.I. Cjaikowsky and the trio nr.1 of S. Rachmaninov in the catalogue since 2019, for the record company Odradek Records is in the catalogue a cd with the Trii op.99 and op.100 by Franz Schubert and a cd with music for violin and piano by Franck, Debussy, Schmitt with Franco Mezzena. In 2023 Brilliant Classics in catalogue the chamber music of Albéric Magnard.
Enrico Stellini
Enrico Stellini, from Livorno, was started to study the piano by his mother. The entry – at only 13 years old – into Maria Tipo’s class is decisive for her training, which is carried out entirely under the guidance of the famous Neapolitan pianist. At 18 he graduated in piano with the highest marks, praise and honourable mention, at the “L. Cherubini” Conservatory in Florence. Later he attended the Cours de Perfectionnement et Virtuosité held by Maria Tipo at the Conservatoire Superiore in Geneva, obtaining the prestigious Premier Prix. He established himself brilliantly at age 15 at the M Competition. Clementi of Florence, deserving to participate in the Rassegna Pianistica Winners of National Competitions at the Petruzzelli Theatre in Bari and in 1984 won the first absolute prize at the National Competition of Osimo, playing in the final Chopin’s First Concert with the Marchigiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Also awarded at the Competitions of Treviso and Taranto, A.M.A. Calabria, Viotti-Valsesia and Pozzoli di Seregno, has played in recent years for important concert clubs, obtaining great public success and criticism for the expressive authenticity and timbre refinement of his performances, which favour the romantic repertoire.
Animated by a fervent teaching passion – a precious legacy of the great piano school from which he comes – he carries out an intense teaching activity, rewarded by the success of many students in piano competitions throughout Italy; holder of the piano chair at the “Paganini” Conservatory in Genoa, he is regularly invited to hold masterclasses for Umbria Classica; in the Courses of Per Since 1996 he has been among the teachers of the Basic Courses of the School of Music of Fiesole and collaborates in the Specialisation Course of Andrea Lucchesini.
What do you recommend to students who are perfecting, besides studying with great passion and perseverance?
I recommend having a 360 degree mentality. Today more than ever, it is necessary to realise, that the executive quality is very high and also in the light of the moment we are experiencing, fewer opportunities to play. So culture is very important to be able to understand which roads can alongside the executive one, until in some cases they become dominant. I graduated two girls years ago with a vote of ten / ten and both were able to direct their passion to other paths. Today one of them is artistic director of the Richmond Orchestra and the other is fellowship in Cambridge and great Verdian expert.