Enrico Elisi

Italian-born pianist 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 throughout Europe at venues 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 the Medici-owned Palazzo Vecchio and Sala del Buonumore (Florence), the Pavarotti-Freni Opera House (Modena), the Bibiena Theatre and Palazzo Guerreri-Gonzaga (Mantua), the Sala dei Giganti (Padua), the Sala degli Ostaggi (Crema), the Teatro Comunale, the Archaeological Museum, and the Sala Bossi (Bologna), as well as the Sant’Anna dei Lombardi Church (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 and Coastal Carolina Steinway Series, and the Chopin Society (San Francisco).

As a soloist, Elisi has collaborated 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 works by Mozart, with a forthcoming release featuring selected Partitas and Preludes by Bach. Additionally, he has been featured in TV broadcasts, including the Rádio e Televisão de Portugal 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.

As a proponent of new musical horizons, Elisi performed works by Fedele, Berio, and Sciarrino in the presence of composer Salvatore Sciarrino at the University of Toronto New Music Festival. His premieres included solo and chamber compositions by Kye Ryung Park and Paul Chihara, who dedicated one of his latest piano compositions to Elisi. Two Images by Chihara, featured on Albany Records, and the anticipated release of Angelus and Songs by native Peruvian composer J. V. Grossmann are notable additions to Elisi’s diverse new music repertoire.

A frequent guest at music festivals worldwide, Elisi performed and conducted masterclasses at Cincinnati’s “Art of the Piano,” Interlochen Center for the Arts, Texas State, Artciál, RPPF, and the Chautauqua Institution in the USA; VIPA Valencia in Spain; Todi Music Masters, 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.

He served on the jury of numerous international contests, including the Peabody Yale Gordon, Iowa, SMU Concerto, and Dallas International competitions in the United States; the Stepping Stone and RCM’s Glenn Gould School Concerto competitions in Canada; the Pacific Rim in Australia and New Zealand. Elisi also served as the chairperson for the Nuova Coppa Pianisti in Osimo and the Palma d’Oro in Italy.

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 thoughts on ornamentations and articulations in selected dances as a Yellowbarn Festival Artist-in-Residence.

He has taught 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, 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 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; many hold teaching posts, shaping social innovation and creativity in their concert and teaching experiences.

Elisi’s primary teachers include Leon Fleisher, Lazar Berman, Alexander Lonquich, Franco Scala, Boris Petrushansky, and Giuseppe Fricelli. He received invaluable mentorship from Boris Slustky. His 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.

He became a citizen of the United States of America in 2012 and is a Steinway Artist.