Biography
Born in Italy in 1996, Alberto Ferro began his piano studies with his mother at the age of seven and gave his first recital at the age of thirteen. He achieved his Master’s degree under the guidance of Prof. Epifanio Comis, his lifetime mentor, at the “Vincenzo Bellini” Institute of Music in Catania (2018). He also attended several piano masterclasses held by very important pianists such as Michel Béroff, Dina Yoffe, Leslie Howard, Elisso Virsaladze, Joaquín Achúcarro, Richard Goode, Jörg Demus and Vladimir Ashkenazy.
He won a lot of prizes in national and international competitions, including 2nd Prize, International Press Prize and Haydn Prize at the “Ferruccio Busoni” International Piano Competition in Bolzano (2015); 1st Prize at the “Premio Venezia” National Piano Competition at Teatro La Fenice in Venice (2015); 6th Prize and Musiq’3 Prize of the public at the “Queen Elisabeth” International Piano Competition in Brussels (2016); Finalist Prize and Children’s Corner Prize at the “Clara Haskil” International Piano Competition in Vevey (2017); 1st Prize and Audience Prize at the International Telekom Beethoven Competition in Bonn (2017).
He has performed many concerts throughout Europe: Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, Teatro Massimo “Vincenzo Bellini” in Catania, Teatro Malibran and Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Fazioli Concert Hall in Sacile, Sala Verdi of the Conservatory in Milan, LAC in Lugano, Le Réflet Theatre in Vevey, Künstlerhaus and Herkulessaal in Munich, Philharmonic Hall in Liège, Concertgebouw in Bruges, Minardschouwburg and Handelsbeurs in Ghent, Flagey and Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, Philharmonie in Luxembourg, Festspielhaus in Erl, Museum of Art in Tel Aviv, Musikgymnasium Schloss Belvedere in Weimar, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Beethoven Haus in Bonn, Regentenbau in Bad Kissingen, Liederhalle in Stuttgart, Meistersingerhalle in Nuremberg.
Festival and associations appearances have included the Copenhagen Summer Festival, Unione Musicale di Torino, Bologna Festival, Ravello Festival, Amici della Musica di Firenze, Società dei Concerti and Società del Quartetto di Milano, Settimane Musicali di Ascona, Tyrolean Festival Erl, Kissinger Sommer, Beethovenfest Bonn, Piano aux Jacobins, Festival Musiq’3, Festival de l’Eté Mosan, Gent Festival van Vlaanderen, Brussels Piano Festival and many others.
He has performed with several orchestras such as the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, the Kammerphilharmonie dacapo München, the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, the Orchestra del Teatro Massimo Bellini, the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trento, the Orchestra Filarmonica della Fenice, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Belgium, under renowned conductors such as Franz Schottky, Risto Joost, Marco Parisotto, Arvo Volmer, Benjamin Haemhouts, Dirk Kaftan, Heribert Beissel, Günter Neuhold, Paul Meyer, Thierry Fischer, Marin Alsop, Christian Zacharias and many others.
In 2016 and 2017 he was awarded the Italian Chamber of Deputies Medal, personally offered by the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Hon. Laura Boldrini, on the occasion of the European Music Day, in recognition of his artistic talent and for the successes achieved in some prestigious international piano competitions over recent years. In March 2017 he gave a recital at the Pauline Chapel of the Quirinal Palace in Rome, for “I Concerti del Quirinale di Rai Radio 3” concert series, receiving many appreciations from the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella.
Many of his recordings were broadcast by radio and television broadcasters in Italy (Rai 3, Rai 5, Rai Radio 1, Rai Radio 3, Rai Südtirol, Radio Popolare, Venice Classic Radio) and abroad (RTBF, VRT, Musiq’3, Klara, ORF III, MDR Kultur, RTS, arte, Deutsche Welle). Furthermore, some important music magazines (Suonare News, Amadeus, Crescendo, Andante, Pizzicato) have published many articles about him.
As of 2015, he is one of the artists supported by the CIDIM (the Italian National Music Council), that realized the production of his first CD for the label Suonare Records, attached to the national music magazine Suonare News (May 2017). In 2016, the BNP Paribas Fortis engaged him for a concert series in Belgium and published a CD that includes some live performances of him from the “Queen Elisabeth” Competition in Brussels. He also recorded for other important labels such as Brilliant, Warner, Da Vinci and Muso.
He is currently Professor of Piano at the “Arcangelo Corelli” State Conservatoire of Music in Messina.
