György Ligeti - Musica Ricercata
François Couperin - Les Barricades Mystérieuses
François Couperin - Le Carillon de Cythere
François Couperin - Les Folies françoises ou Les Dominos
Interval
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Sonata no 11 in A major, K331
Maurice Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin

Winner of the 2012 Leeds International Piano Competition, Italian pianist Federico Colli has been praised by The Daily Telegraph for ‘his beautifully light touch and lyrical grace’ and described by Gramophone as ‘one of the more original thinkers of his generation’. He returns to Leeds with a programme of Ligeti, Couperin, Ravel and Mozart's renowned Piano Sonata no 11 in A major.

The remarkable originality and highly imaginative, philosophical approach to music-making have distinguished Federico’s performances and recordings as miraculous and multidimensional. Federico’s first release of Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, recorded on Chandos Records for whom he is an exclusive recording artist, was awarded “Recording of the Year” by Presto Classical. The second volume of Scarlatti’s Sonatas was named “Recording of the Month” by both BBC Music Magazine and International Piano Magazine and it has been chosen by BBC Music Magazine as one of the best classical albums released in 2020.

Federico has performed with renowned orchestras including the Mariinsky Orchestra and St Petersburg Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, RAI Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestre national d’Île-de-France. He has also worked with esteemed conductors including Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yuri Temirkanov, Juraj Valčuha, Ion Marin, Thomas Søndergård, Ed Spanjaard, Vasily Petrenko, Sir Mark Elder, Dennis Russel Davies and Sakari Oramo.

Federico’s concerts in 23/24 season include debuts with BBC Scottish Symphony under Sir Mark Elder (Shostakovich Piano Concertos no. 1 and no. 2), Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi on tour in Spain under Riccardo Frizza (Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no 2), Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn under Case Scaglione (Schumann Piano Concerto), RTV Slovenian Radio SO under Rossen Milanov (Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 5) and Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra under Zoi Tsokanou (Mozart K467). Federico is also returning to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini), Janacek Philharmonic Ostrava (Schumann Piano Concerto), Orchestra del Teatro Cominale di Bologna (Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no. 2) and I Pomeriggi Musicale in Milan (Shostakovich Piano Concerto no. 1) amongst others. He will also return to London’s Wigmore Hall in a recital, and make debuts with the Vancouver Recital Society, Steinway Society Bay Area Concert Series and at the Dubai Opera.

In addition to live performances, Federico maintains busy recording schedule and records exclusively for Chandos Records. Out of his love for the music of Mozart, during the pandemic Federico created an educational series of short videos for his YouTube channel designed to re-discover Mozart’s Fantasy in C minor, K475 and place Mozart’s musical ideas in a historical and cultural context. Inspired by the mystery surrounding the genesis of the piece, Federico created an invigorating story based on his deep-dive research into Mozart’s biographies, letters and XVIII century history and culture. First in a series of Mozart albums is a disc featuring works for solo piano released in May 2022, followed by Mozart’s Piano Quartets released in August 2023 and already gathering positive reviews. 

The Times wrote: “His [Colli’s] crisp, inquisitive phrasing is promptly displayed in the more turbulent of the two quartets (K478, in G minor).Without being mannered he grabs your attention, while leaving plenty of space, as Mozart does, for the other performers to spread delight.” Federico’s future recording plans for Chandos include Russian project focused on Shostakovich and Prokofiev.

Born in Brescia in 1988, he has been studying at the Milan Conservatory, Imola International Piano Academy and Salzburg Mozarteum, under the guidance of Sergio Marengoni, Konstantin Bogino, Boris Petrushansky and Pavel Gililov.