Francesco Ricci, born in 2003, graduated in piano in 2023 from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory of Rome with a score of 110/110 cum laude and an honorable mention, under the guidance of Maestro Antonella Lunghi. He is currently completing his studies in the class of Maestro Michele D’Ambrosio. Since 2023, he has been specializing at the Pinerolo Music Academy, first with Alexander Romanovsky and then with Roberto Plano and Filippo Gamba. Over the years, he has benefited from the invaluable teachings of great masters such as Angela Hewitt, Enrico Pace, Vincenzo Maltempo, Benedetto Lupo, Anna Kravtchenko, Andrea Lucchesini, Pietro De Maria, Pierluigi Camicia, Andreas Frölich, and Roberto Cominati.
He participates in national and international competitions, consistently achieving outstanding results. A notable achievement is the fourth prize at the 40th edition of the Premio Venezia competition at the Gran Teatro La Fenice, a significant competition for the best graduates of Italian conservatories and considered one of the most prestigious in Italy.
He has extensive concert experience as both a soloist and a chamber musician. He is regularly invited by prominent concert associations such as AMA Calabria, Fondazione F. M. Napolitano, Associazione Cameristica di Varese, Istituzione Sinfonica Abruzzese, Fundación Eutherpe (Spain), Associazione Onde Serene, Associazione Bernardo Pasquini, and the Pinerolo Music Academy. He is featured in major festivals like Pianocity Milano, Pianolab, Civitafestival, and Musica d’estate (Bardonecchia). He has performed in prestigious venues including the Sale Apollinee and the Sala Grande of the Teatro La Fenice, the Opéra de Nice, Teatro Stabile di Potenza, Teatro Vittorio Emanuele di Messina, the Academic Hall of the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, the Auditorium R. Caetani of the Conservatory of Latina, Teatro Giannone in San Marco in Lamis, Circolo Canottieri in Naples, the Liszt Hall of the Hungarian Academy in Rome, Galleria Doria Pamphilj, and the Basilica of Agliate (where he was invited by Maestro Filippo Gorini), among many others.
He has a predilection for the modern and contemporary repertoire; he is the dedicatee of several works and often performs the world premieres of pieces for chamber ensembles, solo, and orchestra. He is described as “a young musician possessing a rare interpretive maturity that foreshadows a brilliant career.” His performances consistently earn great success, and critics have written of him: “[…] The pinnacle of the evening was the masterful interpretation of Liszt’s Sonata in B minor. Ricci fully conveyed its romantic impetus as well as its intimate poetry […], a virtuosity at the service of expressiveness, a musicality as expansive as the vision.” (A. F. Jannoni-Sebastianini) “Francesco Ricci, with his talent and interpretive maturity, has proven he is destined for a brilliant career and to grace the most prestigious stages in the world.” (Annalisa Civitelli) “The extraordinary talent of Francesco Ricci enchanted the audience in a musical journey through the works of Debussy, Ravel, Berg, Webern, and Stockhausen. An impeccable performance that brought to life the profound emotional nuances of each piece, from the serene atmosphere of Debussy’s ‘La Cathédrale Engloutie’ to the complexity of Webern’s Variations. With a sensitivity of interpretation rare for his young age, Ricci transformed the stage into a place of pure sonic magic, demonstrating once again why he is considered one of the most promising pianists of his generation.” (Fabio Galadini)