Born in Milan. Studied at the Giuseppe Verdi Milan Conservatory and later at the Moscow Conservatory under Prof. Eliso Virsaladze, under whose guidance he completed postgraduate in 2013. In 2011 he won third prize in the International Ettore Pozzoli Piano Competition in Seregno (Italy). In 2013 he was victorious in two international contests: the Top of the World Piano Competition in Tromsø (Norway) and the Città di Cantù Piano Competition (Italy). He has performed at the Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój (Poland), in the Leipzig Gewandhaus, at the Munich Chamber Music Festival, in the Great Hall of the Milan Conservatory, the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Glazunov Concert Hall of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and others.
Which people would you invite as guests to your dream dinner party?
It depends... It would be really great to bring together three of my favorite historical figures: the samurai Miyamoto Musashi, Carl Gustav Jung and Aristophanes. However, should it be a real party for fun, I would definitely invite Mozart and two girls!
What is your favorite meal?
Every dish from any country is fine – as long as it is of very high quality!
Do you have a favorite motto or proverb that you live your life by?
Audaces fortuna Juvat, which means "fortune favours the bold."
Which person or people inspire you the most?
Beauty, in every form it takes.
If you were 80 years old, what advice would you give to young people today?
Try to understand you inner self, your soul, and follow it.
What would you like people to say about you?
People have different opinions and may judge me as they please, I just try to do what my conscience says...
How do you overcome the stage fright? / What is your ritual before going on stage?
First I do a bit of tai chi, then I leave myself in the hands of God.
When you perform... who are you playing for?
For the music itself.
What job would you least like to do?
Everything that has no connection with creativity.
Is there a joke about musicians that you would like to share with us?
Hmmm... Too many, I am afraid... I should probably write a book, if you are willing to help me to publish it.
What's the "most played" non-classical track on your phone?
I have only classical ones.
You are on a desert island and can bring only 3 items, what do you bring?
Firstly, a good fresh fruit cocktail, then a piano and, lastly in the evening when I'm tired, a helicopter that will help me to come back home.
What is your favorite noise/sound? What is the most annoying noise for you?
One of my favorites is probably the silence... Also some natural sounds produced by the wind or water... What is annoying is definitely a phone ringing during a concert!
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I have read in an interview by Yuri Temirkanov that every musician has two countries: one of his own and Italy... So, being an Italian who has already lived in Russia for five years, I find this situation quite appropriate for me. As for the future — who knows?
What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word Tchaikovsky?
The Conservatory, the one I am currently studying in.
What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word competition?
I cannot help but agree with Béla Bartók who said that competitions are not for musicians but for horses. So – horses!
