FOR SUMMER 2024 RETURNS THE GRAND INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL LAKE COMO

Edition 2019:

For those of you who were wondering… after its inauguration in Griante last summer, the International Piano Academy Lake Como, is back with an even grander Festival this year!

If you were surprised not to hear from us earlier, you will understand why now! We have been busy lining up an exceptional cast of artists for this year’s performances, and we are confident they will charm an even large audience in our new venue at the Grand Hotel Cadenabbia this coming September.

In addition, we are spreading our wings wider in 2019, with performances not only in Griante, but also in Como, these on the heels of the two stunning concerts by young pianists that have already taken place in our summer school in Dongo.

We also are broadening the scope of our programme for the Festival by associating the human voice to the piano, with singing and poetry recitals.

In September we bring three great pianists to Griante / Cadenabbia, all of whom formerly attended the International Piano Academy for Master classes: Arseny Tarasevich-Nikolaev, Margherita Torretta and Marcos Madrigal, will play at 9pm at the Grand Hotel Cadenabbia on the following dates 22, 26, 29 September respectively.

Arseny Tarasevich-Nikolaev, from Russia, literally ‘drank’ music with his mother’s milk – as both his mother and grandmother, together with other members of the family, were accomplished musicians. His deeply lyrical approach creates a profound musicality in the music he plays. No wonder he has been called ‘the piano’s ultimate aristocrat…’ He will play music from Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev.

After escaping a house fire and having to give up her ballet career, Margherita Torretta, from Italy, devoted herself to music and with extraordinary determination has become a master pianist. She made her debut at Carnegie hall in 2016, not a chance given to your average young artist, and plays with passion, compassion and humanity! She will play music of Scarlatti, Schumann and Chopin.

Marcos Madrigal, from Cuba, has collaborated with the Oscar winning composer Nicola Piovani, among others; he has an extraordinary ‘touch’ that captivates the audience from the first note he plays. He will play Latin American Music.

In November and December we will bring an echo of the traditional Autunno Musicale to Como, with a programme combining Music and Poetry. We will present some star performers, the like of whom have been rarely seen on the lake, but who have performed in the greatest concert halls of the world. These include:

Dame Felicity Lott(soprano) will perform her last concert with her lifelong accompanist Graham Johnson (pianoforte) on November 2nd with ‘La voix humaine’ of Poulenc. Dame Lott, one of the best known soprano’s of the UK, shares with Andras Schiff and Matthias Goerne the Wigmore Hall Medal for ‘her unique contribution .. and advancement of the song recital’, she was also awarded the Legion d’Honneur and named Dame Commander of the British Empire.

On November 30th, Caroline Gautier (voce) explores and exploits the musicality of the language through recitation and poetry with William Grant Nabore (pianoforte) in an exceptional programme featuring music of Liszt, Erik Satie, Franz Schubert and Max von Schillings.

On December 7th, the renowned duo Francois Dumont (pianist) and Helen Kearns (soprano) will perform together.. Francois is already well known to our followers as a grand maestro. Helen is a highly gifted soprano, who was invited by Placido Domingo to sing a part in his production of the Marriage of Figaro in Valencia. She has subsequently sung at the Scala of Milan, as well as in most of the great music halls in Europe and abroad. They will bring us music of Liszt, Berlioz, Haydn and Ravel.

Finally, on December 10th , we will welcome the pianist Severin von Eckardstein , one of the leading pianists of his generation. He has delighted the public with his much acclaimed concerts on the major world stages – in Berlin, Paris, Munich, Moscow, London, New York, Amsterdam, Madrid and so on.

Come to visit the website of the Grand International Piano Festival Lake Como. You can find more information about it and you can see all the info about the artists