Francesca Leonardi, piano
 
Francesca Leonardi He made his debut for the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label (first Italian pianist) with the recording of the complete Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano alongside the violinist Francesca Dego, with whom he has been collaborating regularly for seventeen years. In 2018 the Dego Leonardi duo presented, again for Deutsche Grammophon, a program inspired by Italy with three unreleased songs, recorded as a world premiere. Following two recordings for Chandos Records, the album “Il Cannone” and a Mozart project, both welcomed by critics. A CD entirely dedicated to Mozart's Sonatas for violin and piano will be released in the coming months, again for Chandos.
 
From a very young age Francesca Leonardi has performed regularly in public and has given concerts for the most prestigious festivals and in the most important concert halls around the world. In 2015 she participated in the Concert of Memory in the Sala Santa Cecilia of the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, broadcast live on Rai 5, She also performed at the Sala Verdi of the Conservatory, the Auditorium and the Teatro dal Verme in Milan, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the “Les Flâneries Musicales” Festival in Reims, the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, the Politeama Theater in Palermo and the Manzoni Theater in Bologna. She was the protagonist of a long tour with the MAV of Budapest, Laura Bortolotto, Amedeo Cicchese and the Beethoven Triple Concerto whose recording was published together with the Amadeus magazine in August 2018. In the summer of 2019 she made a tour in the United States which led her to perform also within the prestigious Ravinia Festival in Chicago.
 
Francesca Leonardi immediately distinguished herself in various national and international piano competitions, winning fourteen first prizes. In September 2011 she was awarded the Phoebe Benham scholarship as an accompanist in instrument classes by the Royal College of Music.
 
After making her debut at the age of 16 with the Rosetum orchestra performing Mozart's concert K 415, she performed as a soloist with many Italian and foreign orchestras. She has toured Japan, China, United States, South America where she performed at the Colon Theater in Buenos Aires, for the "Semana musical Llao Llao" in Bariloche and at the Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro on the occasion of the opening events of the 2014 Football World Cup. He carries out an intense concert activity in the field of chamber music collaborating with internationally renowned instrumentalists and singers such as Bruno Giuranna, Laura Marzadori, Sonig Tchakerian, Susanne Hou, Nigel Clayton, Jacopo di Tonno, Martin Owen and Andrea Oliva .
 
She has performed in radio programs on Radio Popolare, Radio Classica, on Radio della Svizzera Italiana, Radio Vaticana, Rai Radio 3 and on television on Rai 1, Rai 3 and Rai 5.
 
Born in Milan, she began studying the piano at the age of 3 under the guidance of Graziella Bianchi and then continued with Paolo Bordoni at the “G. Verdi ”in Milan, where she graduated in piano with 10 cum laude and honorable mention and vocal chamber music, always with full marks and honors.
 
She also studied at the Academy of Music in Pescara, the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena and the Royal College of Music in London with Nigel Clayton and Roger Vignoles.
 
Enthusiastically dedicated to teaching from a very young age, she is now a chamber music teacher at the Novara Conservatory.