NICOLOSI, FRANCESCO Born in Catania, Francesco Nicolosi is one of the most distinguished pianists of the Italian tradition. He studied under Vincenzo Vitale and won third prize at the 1980 International Santander Piano Competition and in the same year second prize (first prize not awarded) at the Concours International d’Exécution Musical in Geneva, becoming one of the world’s foremost pianists of his generation. He has played in recitals and as a soloist with prestigious orchestras, in some of the most famous concert halls of Europe, has toured in the United States, Argentina, Russia, Japan and China, and is a regular guest in the most exclusive festivals of the world. His recordings of Thalberg and Liszt Bellini paraphrases received the 1994 Bellini Golden Prize, and as president of the Sigismund Thalberg International Study Centre he has developed for years an intense body of work devoted to the research and revaluation of the music of the legendary Austrian pianist, of whom he is today the only recognised interpreter in the world.
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