Federico Colli

Italian pianist Federico Colli is a rising keyboard star, known for imaginative interpretations supported by an acquaintance with European philosophy and literature. He has been signed to the prestigious Chandos label. Colli was born in Brescia, Italy in 1988. No one else in his family was musical, and he told the Cross-Eyed Pianist blog that the process of becoming a pianist was "so natural that I still don’t know if I chose the music, or if the music chose me." Colli studied at the Milan Conservatory under a variety of teachers including Sergio Marengoni, Konstantin Bogino, Boris Petrushansky, and Pavel Gililov, but he listed primary influences, as quoted by the Cross-Eyed Pianist, "philosophical essays, some big German, French, Italian and Russian novels. And of course the holy books." This combination of influences propelled Colli to top prize wins at the Salzburg Mozart Competition in 2011 and the Leeds International Piano Competition the following year. His performing career has often highlighted Mozart's works. The competition victories propelled Colli to appearances in an exceptionally long list of top European venues, including the Beethovenhalle in Bonn; both the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna; the Munich Herkulessaal; the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; the Barbican, Cadogan Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London; the Prague Rudolfinium; the Cidade des Artes and Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro; Bunka Kaikan Hall, Nikkei Hall, and Musashino Cultural Hall in Tokyo; the Leipzig Gewandhaus; the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg; Lincoln Center in New York; and Chicago's Ravinia Festival. After recording a debut album featuring Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition for the boutique British label Champs Hill in 2014, Colli was signed to Chandos and released his debut on that label, an album of sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, in 2018. Critically acclaimed, it was designed as Volume 1. Colli followed that up in 2019 with an album of works by Bach, together with Ferruccio Busoni's transcription and adaptation of the Chaconne from Bach's Partita No. 2 for solo violin in D minor, BWV 1004.
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