Alfonso Soldano

Alfonso Soldano is an Italian concert pianist and teacher, with a solid educational background and stylistic preparation, an international career, as well as attention and extensive experience in charity events with a social background.

Alfonso Soldano is a honorary citizen of the City of Trani, on the initiative and unanimous approval of the administration and the municipal council, with a ceremony and celebratory concert held on July 30, 2020, for proven artistic merits.

Alfonso Soldano, precocious and innate piano talent, wins his first music competition at the age of 7 in Taurisano (LE), and wins numerous other absolute first prizes, or is a finalist, in national and international competitions (Milan Humanitarian Society prize, Formia, Matera, etc.), to then complete an academic training and graduate from the Conservatory with 110 honors and honorable mention (score assigned for the first time since the birth of piano degrees in Italy).
As a teenager he made his debut in Mozart’s Concert K488, directed by Valfrido Ferrari, and immediately after at the Garibaldi Theater in Bisceglie, in Rachmaninov’s Concert No. 2, directed by Ovidiu Balan.
His artistic training proceeds under the high teaching of the legendary Italian-French pianist Aldo Ciccolini, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, from adolescence to youth, and the maestro exclusively grants Alfonso an endorsement to set up a musical academy in favor of talents and culture.

Thus was born in 2015 the Aldo Ciccolini Foundation of Trani, which has promoted numerous events of high artistic standing, in the spirit of social benefit, territorial rebalancing, and support of young talents. Finally, Alfonso Soldano brilliantly obtained the diploma of High Specialization at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, under the guidance of Benedetto Lupo.

In the didactic field, Alfonso Soldano is professor of piano at the “U.Giordano” Conservatory of Foggia, he has already been professor in the Conservatories of Rome – Santa Cecilia, Taranto, Bari, Lecce, Teramo, and is also regularly invited to hold masterclasses in important foreign institutions (China, United States, Ukraine). Alfonso Soldano was awarded in 2013 as the best young Italian artist with the Gold Medal Maison des Artistes in the great hall of the La Sapienza University of Rome.

As a solo pianist he has performed in numerous theaters and festivals in Italy (we underline the Theaters of Foggia, Lecce, Bisceglie, the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, Palazzo Barberini, and in Verona, Milan, Bologna, Bari, Teramo, L’ Aquila and many others) and abroad (we underline the Great Hall of the Kiev Philharmonic, the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Kiev, the Kotlyarevsky University of Arts of Kharkiv, the G.Verdi Auditorium of Budapest, the G.Enescu Festival of Bucharest , Ateneu M.Jora Auditorium in Bacau, San Jiang Talents Center for the Arts in Ning Bo/Shanghai, Chateau Louis in Blois-Chambord/Val de Loire, Hindemith Foundation in Vevey and many others). He collaborated with conductors such as M.Cormio, O.Balan, D.Frandes, V.Zhadko and others.

The 2023 and 2024 seasons include, among other appointments, concerts in Zurich and Husum/Hamburg (Festival of Piano Rarities), the Grassi Foundation in Martina Franca, the Herbst Musicaux Festival in Verona, a new tour of concerts and masterclasses in China (Beijing, Tianjing, Buzhou) and in the United States (Los Angeles, Athena Foundation).

In the publishing field, Alfonso Soldano has expressed himself as an essayist and writer in the field, with the following texts: Journey into ecstasy – Alexander Skrjabin (2010) – History and analysis of the Russian piano school and teaching (2010) – Liszt’s Totentanz (2010) – Il confine dell’Inganno (2015), the only worldwide biography of the Ukrainian composer Sergej Bortkiewicz, all published by Florestano Edizioni. He has also acted as a transcriptionist and author of printed music for the most important global publishing house, Boosey & Hawkes, and has a long series of publications also with MusePress (Japan).

In the recording field, Alfonso Soldano is one of the most appreciated Italian pianists by English and American music critics, and his solo debut album in 2016 received positive reviews in more than 20 countries, as well as being partially broadcast on Rai Radio Tre (broadcast ” Here It Begins”, 5 February 2023).

His second solo album, dedicated to the composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, containing world premiere recordings, was voted in the top ten music albums in Florida and received 5 stars, maximum critical score, by the US magazine Fanfares; the same album was selected to be played on the civilian air fleet of the Sultanate of Brunei, the only Italian pianist. Alfonso Soldano is Senior Artist of the prestigious Anglo-American record label Divine Art Recordings Group, and his third solo album, dedicated to the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov, was designated Best Critic’s Choice by the oldest and most selective US music magazine, American Record Guide and Album of the Month January 2021, interview and critical acclaim from International Piano Magazine, the most authoritative English music magazine.

Alfonso Soldano is currently the only Italian pianist to have received these results, and is currently (April 2023)  preparing a new album entirely dedicated to the music of Alexander Skrjabin. In the social sphere, throughout his career, Alfonso Soldano makes music a beneficial instrument, and is the promoter of events with this thematic aim in the ideal of uniting and rebalancing. He lives in Trani.

Professional positions
– Artistic Director of the Aldo Ciccolini Foundation – Trani – Faculty – Bari International Music Festival 2011 – Academic professor of piano at the Italian State Conservatories – Visiting Professor at San Jiang Arts Center (Ning Bo/Shanghai – China) – Visiting professor at Tchaikovsky National Academy (Kiev – Ukraine) – Visiting professor at University of the Arts Kotlyarevsky (Kharkiv – Ukraine) – Guest professor at Karol Szymanowsky Academy of Music (Kropyvnitsky – Ukraine) – Guest artist at the Italian Cultural Institute in Budapest (Hungary) – Senior Artist at Divine Art Recordings Group (USA/UK) – Author at Florestano Edizioni – Author/Transcriber at Boosey & Hawkes (USA/GER) – MusePress (Japan)

Artist & Organizer of charitable/cultural activities
– Organiser of the “Let’s try” Project – Classical music concerts in The Maximum Security Jail of Bari, in favour of the prisoner’s audience, promoted and built with the Deputy Minister of Justice of Italy Avv.Sen. Francesco Paolo Sisto, through the exhibition of students of Alfonso Soldano, sponsored by the City of Bari – 2/3/4 March 2023;
– Organiser of the Sveva Classica project, scholarship and gala concert with orchestra for the benefit of young Italian talents, under patronage of, among the 3 editions, the Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Puglia Region, the BAT Province, the City of Trani, at Palazzo Beltrani Trani July 2019-2020-2021;
– Organiser & Artist MusiCastello, music at the Castle of Trani, in favor of free cultural use for the community, as part of the European Night of Museums sponsored by the Regional Directorate of Museums of Puglia – Cultural Heritage – 3 July 2021; – Organiser & Artist Gala Concerts with the M.Jora Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacau, directed by Ovidiu Balan, in favor of TELETHON and in cooperation with the Rotary Club Trani, piano soloist Alfonso Soldano – the proceeds go to scientific research for the cure of genetic diseases – Cathedral of Trani – 26 and 27 May 2015- project in the name of Sergej Rachmaninov, full Works for Piano and Orchestra; – Organiser & Artist Concert “Notes of Solidarity”, in favor of the collection of food for Association Orizzonti – Trani; – Organiser & Artist Gala Concert in the Theater of Corato (BA), in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Trani, in favor of the ASP structure Vittorio Emanuele II, obtaining equipment necessary for the well-being and health of the guests; November 30, 2013; – Organiser & Artist Gala Concert with the Balkan Festival Orchestra and conductor Ovidiu Balan, in favor of TELETHON, piano soloist Alfonso Soldano – Bari Teatro Piccinni – 15 December 2009; – Concert artist in favor of the V. de Paoli Association, as part of the “Note di Solidarietà” festival at the S.Luigi Auditorium in Trani, 7 April 2006; – Concert artist “Give me life” at the Domenico Sarro Cultural Association, in favor of the Transplant Unit of the Pisa Hospital – Trani – 3 April 2005;

Awards and Honours
– Honorary Citizenship of the City of Trani
-Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary Club of Trani
-Gold Medal Maison des Artistes 2013, at the La Sapienza University of Rome, as the best young Italian artist
– Scholarship recipient with merit, selected by the N. Piccinni Conservatory of Bari as the best piano student, after the donation of the Sultanate of Oman – 2008

Academic Titles
– Bachelor as concert pianist at the N. Piccinni Conservatory of Bari – 2008 – magna cum laude and honorable mention (never previously awarded)
-Postgraduate Diploma in piano at the N. Piccinni Conservatory of Bari – 2010 – magna cum laude and honorable mention
-Three-Years Artist Diploma at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, under the guidance of Maestro Benedetto Lupo

Aptitudes & other skills– Excellent written/oral level in English – Basic written/oral Chinese language – Ukrainian language good written/oral level – Oral basic level of French – Private conducting studies – Studies in the conservatory of composition
– Sound engineering course – Attitude to networking and associations – Writer