Luigi Piovano

He graduated in cello at the age of 17 with top honors under the guidance of Radu Aldulescu and served for years as principal cellist of the ensemble Concerto Italiano, conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini. In 1999, he was selected by Maurizio Pollini to participate in the “Pollini Project” at the Salzburg Festival – a series later reprised at Carnegie Hall, in Tokyo, and in Rome. He has performed chamber music with artists of the caliber of Sawallisch, Chung, Lonquich, Sitkovetsky, Kavakos, Bell, and the Labèque sisters. From 2009 to 2019, he was a member of the trio “Latitude 41”. He has performed in a duo with Antonio Pappano since 2005; their CD featuring the Brahms Sonatas was released in 2020. His extensive discography includes Bach’s Six Suites and the complete works for cello by Saint-Saëns, as well as – with Latitude 41 – a CD of music by Schubert and the two Saint-Saëns trios, all released on the Eloquentia label. For Nimbus, he recorded the Goldberg Variations in a trio with Dmitry Sitkovetsky and Yuri Zhislin.

He has performed as a soloist with prestigious orchestras – including the Tokyo Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic, Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Seoul Philharmonic, and Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal -under conductors such as Chung, Nagano, Pappano, and Pletnev. For nearly thirty years he has served as principal solo cellist of the Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia.

Since 2002, he has increasingly dedicated himself to conducting. He has collaborated with soloists such as Avital, Bacalov, Bollani, Brunello, De Maria, Lupo, and Sitkovetsky. From 2008 to 2016, he served as artistic director of the Estate Musicale Frentana in Lanciano. From 2013 to 2017, he served as Music Director of the Roma Tre Orchestra, and from 2012 to 2022, as Music Director of the Orchestra ICO della Magna Grecia in Taranto. Since 2013, he has maintained an ongoing collaboration leading the Archi di Santa Cecilia, performing at major Italian concert series and festivals and recording seven CDs. Recent engagements include Tosca at the Teatro Bellini in Catania; various concerts and two Italian tours – performing as both soloist and conductor – with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg; concerts as soloist and conductor with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, Philzuid (Netherlands), and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra; and a solo performance at the Grafenegg Festival in Austria. Upcoming engagements include his debut conducting the ORT-Orchestra della Toscana, Le nozze di Figaro at the Teatro Marrucino in Chieti, and return appearances with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano and the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto.