Gianluca Di Donato, Piano

Biography

Gianluca Di Donato was born in Avellino, in 1972. In early age, he showed an extraordinary gift for playing piano. The child-prodigy pianist has been playing since he was just only five years old. Formally, at the age of eleven, he started his musical studies at the “Cimarosa Academy of music” in Avellino, where he graduated with honours. In 1991, his debut at the International Piano Festival of Amalfi, during which he received the “Mozart plaque” as the youngest pianist in the history of this festival, symbolizes the beginning of his concert career. A lot of concerts were performed for some of the most important Italian musical companies: : “The friends of the music”; The SIEM, in  Ancona and Firenze, Bologna, Grosseto, Pesaro, Foggia, Milano, Palermo, Genova, Venezia; “The Palace of Caserta”; “The Ghione Theatre”; “The Victorian Theatre” of Rome; “The Mattiello Theatre of Pompei”; “The Circle of Print”; “The Graenoble” of Naples; “The Big Theatre” of Taormina; “The Walton’s Fondation” of Ischia, Monaco di Baviera, Salisburgo, Walkreiburg, Vienna, Koblenz, Namen, Edemberg. He played for the “St. Charles Theatre” of Naples and for the “International Festival” of Amalfi and Ravello. He studied under the guidance of Aldo Ciccolini, with whom he specialized at the “Colucci Academy” of Fasano. He followed Masterclass with Andràs Schiff, Petruschiansky, Bermann, Rattalino, Gianna Valente e Noretta Conci Leech Petruschiansky, Bermann, Rattalino, Gianna Valente e Noretta Conci Leech. In 1998, he won a scholarship at the “Pucciniana Academy” of Isernia. It was an opportunity which led him, among other things, in Germany and  Austria, where he performed “The Second Brahms Concert”. During the same year, he was invited to Kaufmann Auditorium, holding a series of seminars at the “Europeene Ecole”. He played in recitals, in chamber ensembles and with full orchestra: ”Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana”, “Orchestra of Sofia’s State”, “Orchestra of Minsk”, “The Wiener Kammerorchester”, “Chamber Orchestra of Biellorussia”, “Chamber Orchestra of Campania and of Cilea Theatre” of Reggio Calabria. He performed lessons and lectures about Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms and about the history of nineteenth century German piano literature. In 2006, to celebrate the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of Mozart’s birth, he played and conducted the last ten piano concertos with the symphony orchestra of Minsk. In 2008, he debuted at “The Gasteig” in Monaco of Baviera, executing the third Beethoven concert with the Philharmoniker Muncher and obtaining a big success. On October 2011, he debuted at “The Musikvereine” of Vienna with “The First Concert by Brahms op. 15”. Nowadays, he is collaborating with musicians of great artistic caliber, like: Luigi Piovano, Elena Cecconi, The Quartet of the Berliner Philarmoniker. In 2009, he was a novice pianist at the “ Polytechnic University” of Torino, after subsequent requests of the Polincontri; in the same year, he played at the “Olympic Theatre” of Vicenza. He also performed three concerts in recital trio and with orchestra, dedicated at the anniversary of two hundred years after the death of Haydn. After the October 2009, for the second time in his career, he is performing, in eight future concerts, Franz Schubert’s complete piano work. He is, in fact, considered one of the best Italian interpreters of this author and the first only Italian pianist who has live performed the entire corpus of Schubert. From the next season to 2015 will start a “Mozart Project” with all the piano concertos, piano sonatas, violin sonatas and piano quartet, and masterclass. He took a degree in Arts with a dissertation on the “History of music” and he has written an essay about the pianist Wilhelm Kempff, and one on the musicotherapy. Every year he is invited by high school and University to explain lessons about history of music. In August 2010, during the annual recognition of the most renowned citizen in the province of Avellino, he received the award for the culture, “ Tommariello d’oro”. On September 2010, the artist gave to the journalist, Antonella Russoniello, an interview used by the satellite tv channel “Tesori D’Irpinia” to dedicate him an interesting documentary entitled: “ Gianluca Di Donato, the Wanderer among Schubert and Morricone.” In November 2011, he recorded a new cd entitled “The Sound From Silence”, containing music of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. It is a new artistic work which is showing during his future tours in Italy, Germany, Swiss and Sweden. Since 2003, he has been teaching at “The International Musical Academy Caracciolo” in Torella dei Lombardi. In 2012, for publishing of his new cd, he is organizing an European tour of presentation. For the time being, he lives in province of Avellino with the wife, the music therapist Elisa Vesce and the two sons, Italo and Claudio.