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Enrico Elisi, a laureate of the Oporto International Competition (Portugal) and the Premio Venezia (Italy), has earned international recognition for his performances across four continents. Praised for his “mastery of elegance, refinement, and fantasy” (La Nueva España) and “remarkable sensitivity, imagination, and polish” (Baltimore Sun), he has given recitals at illustrious venues throughout Europe, such as the Bemberg Museum in Toulouse, France, Centro del Carmen in Valencia, Spain, Dante Society in Bonn, Wolfsburg Castle, and Kiel Universität’s Bach-Saal, Germany, Cyril and Methodius Foundation in Piestany, Slovakia.

In his native Italy, he has given recitals at historic venues such as La Fenice Theatre (Venice), Dante’s Church, the Hall of the Five Hundred in Medici-owned Palazzo Vecchio and Sala del Buonumore (Florence), Pavarotti-Freni Opera House (Modena), Bibiena Theatre and Palazzo Guerreri-Gonzaga (Mantua), Sala dei Giganti (Padua), Sala degli Ostaggi (Crema), Teatro Comunale, Archaeological Museum, Sala Bossi (Bologna), and Sant’Anna dei Lombardi (Naples).

He performed to acclaim in Japan, South Korea (IBK Hall, Seoul), China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Peru (Centro Cultural de España, Lima), and Canada (Banff Centre) and at notable venues in the United States, including the National Gallery of Art, the Italian Embassy in Washington, DC, the New York Public and Morgan Libraries, and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall. Recently, he received praise at the Great Pianists at Stetson, Kent Keyboard, Coastal Carolina Steinway Series, and the Chopin Society (San Francisco).

Upcoming projects will feature performances of Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra with John Owings and the TCU Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3 with the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, a recital program of Beethoven Piano Sonatas (USA), and the Amy Beach Piano Quintet (Switzerland). 

Elisi has made numerous appearances as a soloist with the Florence Symphony (Italy); Orchestra Classica de Porto (Portugal); Jakarta Sinfonietta (Indonesia); Bay Atlantic Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, Williamsport Symphony, Pennsylvania Centre, and Central Texas Philharmonic (USA).

He recorded selected Mozart’s sonatas and other works, Two Images by Paul Chihara (featured on Albany Records), with forthcoming releases featuring selected Partitas and Preludes by Bach, Angelus, and Three Songs by native Peruvian composer J. V. Grossmann. Additionally, he has been featured in TV broadcasts, including the Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (with the Orchestra Clássica do Porto) and WPSU (USA). He has appeared on radio stations such as Montebeni Classica FM (Italy), WCLV Cleveland, UNC, KCNV Nevada Public Radio, and KGCS. Via Classica Radio showcased him in a two-hour recital and interview broadcast from Hamburg (Germany).

An avid chamber musician, Elisi collaborated with the New Orford String Quartet and principal players from the Baltimore, Chicago, and American Symphony Orchestras and worked with accomplished partners such as Federico Agostini. Aiming for a diverse musical repertoire, he recently co-founded the Elisi Pan Piano Duo with London-based RCM faculty Mengyang Pan. The duo is committed to providing an eclectic musical experience, featuring a dynamic alternation between repertoire for two pianos, those for four hands, and solo compositions. In 2024, the duo will present recitals across Italy, England, Taiwan, Indonesia, the USA, and China, offering a rich mosaic of musical styles.

During Salvatore Sciarrino’s residency at the University of Toronto New Music Festival, Elisi performed music by Fedele, Berio, and Sciarrino. He debuted diverse contemporary works, including chamber compositions by Kye Ryung Park and Paul Chihara, featuring Chihara’s latest solo piece dedicated to Elisi.

A frequent guest at music festivals worldwide, Elisi performed and taught at Cincinnati’s “Art of the Piano,” Interlochen Center for the Arts, Texas State, Artciál, and the Chautauqua Institution in the USA; VIPA Valencia in Spain; Todi Music Masters, IPPA-Conero Festival, Amalfi Coast in Italy; Borromeo in Switzerland; The Thinking Pianist in England; and the Ameri-China Foundation and Sichuan International Piano Festival in China.

As an adjudicator, he chaired the Nuova Coppa Pianisti in Osimo and the Palma d’Oro in Italy and has served on the jury of numerous contests across the globe, including the Peabody Yale Gordon, Iowa, SMU Concerto, and Dallas International competitions, Canada’s Stepping Stone and RCM’s Glenn Gould School Concerto, and the Pacific Rim competition (Australia, and New Zealand).

Dr. Elisi has conducted interactive workshops for the Pinerolo Accademia di Musica, Royal College of Music in London, and Royal Northern College in Manchester. He also performed an all-Bach recital and shared his work on ornamentations and articulations in selected dances as a Yellowbarn Festival Artist-in-Residence.

He has conducted a myriad of masterclasses at prestigious institutions across the United States, Canada, Peru, Denmark, Italy, Turkey, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, and Korea; he has also been a featured concert artist at state conferences for the Florida, Missouri, and Oklahoma Music Teachers Associations and has participated in the American Liszt Society Festivals at Northwestern University and the University of Georgia.

Dr. Elisi holds the Harold D. and Imogene Herndon Endowed Professorship of Music in Piano at Texas Christian University. Throughout his distinguished teaching career of almost two decades, he has taught at the University of Toronto (which has recognized him with the FoM Teaching Award for his excellence, commitment, and innovation in teaching), the Eastman School of Music, Penn State University, and UNLV. He was a visiting professor at Hanyang University and was invited as a leading scholar by the President of Ewha Womans University (Korea). He was affiliated with the China Zhejiang Art School (China) and had frequent return engagements as a visiting teacher.

His students have won prizes, received grants, and pursued successful careers. Some hold teaching posts, shaping social innovation and creativity in their concert and teaching experiences.

Elisi’s musical education began at the Conservatories of Bologna and Florence; it continued at the International Piano Academy of Imola, the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, and the Taos and Ravinia Festivals, where he delved into chamber music with Robert McDonald, Menahem Pressler, Gilbert Kalish, and Claude Frank. His primary teachers include Leon Fleisher, Lazar Berman, Alexander Lonquich, Franco Scala, Boris Petrushansky, and Giuseppe Fricelli. He received invaluable mentorship from Boris Slustky.

An Italian-born pianist, he became a citizen of the United States of America in 2012 and is a Steinway Artist.

He invites his audience to interact with him and “like” his page at www.facebook.com/enricoelisipiano.