Francesco Piemontesi is a pianist of exceptional refinement of expression, as well as an artist of consummate technical skill. Widely hailed for his interpretation of Mozart and the early Romantic repertoire, Piemontesi also has a close affinity for the later 19th-century and 20th-century repertoire of Brahms, Liszt, Dvořák, Ravel, Debussy, Bartók and beyond. Of Alfred Brendel, one of his great teachers and mentors, Piemontesi says that he taught him “to love the detail of things.”
In the 2021/22 season, he performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Robin Ticciati, with whom he played the opening concerts of new concert halls in Ankara and Istanbul, followed by engagements with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gürzenich Orchestra, Philharmonia Zürich, Vienna Symphony, Seattle Symphony and Frankfurt Museumsorchester. Recital engagements took him to Klavierfestival Ruhr, Paris, Monte Carlo, Wiener Konzerthaus, Basel, Las Palmas and Schubertiade Schwarzenberg.
Recent highlights include Piemontesi’s residency at the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, marking that ensemble’s first-ever such appointment, as well as his debut appearance with Berlin Philharmonic. Piemontesi regularly appears with major ensembles worldwide, such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, NHK Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestra Nazionale della RAI di Torino and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.
In 2019, Piemontesi released a disc of the Schubert Last Piano Sonatas on Pentatone. Previous recordings include Liszt’s Années de Pelerinage, Mozart’s Piano Concertos with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Andrew Manze on Linn and on Naïve, Debussy Préludes and Mozart solo piano works.
Born in Locarno, Switzerland, Piemontesi studied with Arie Vardi before working with Alfred Brendel, Murray Perahia, Cécile Ousset and Alexis Weissenberg. He rose to international prominence with prizes at major competitions, including the 2007 Queen Elisabeth Competition. Since 2012, Piemontesi has been the artistic director of the Settimane Musicali di Ascona.
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