Born in Italy, Vittorio Forte is considered one of the leading pianists of the new italian school. (from an interview written by J.C. Hoffelé for Concertclassic.com). He began studying piano at the age of nine. After taking a somewhat unconventional route, he met José Lepore, an Argentinian teacher and a student of Carlo Zecchi. In just a few years, he won several prizes at piano competitions in Italy and Spain, allows him to make his début with orchestra in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9 « Jeunehomme ». In 1998, Vittorio Forte leaves Italy to settle on the French shores of Lake Geneva. At the Lausanne Conservatory (Haute École de Musique), he continued his studies with Christian Favre, who has a major impact on his musical development, and takes part in master classes conducted by Paul Badura-Skoda, Jean-Marc Luisada and François-René Duchâble. Having caught the eye of William Grant Naboré, he was selected as one of the most talented contemporary pianists at the Lake Como International Piano Academy. There he receives guidance from such masters as Andreas Staier, Menahem Pressler and Fou Ts'ong. In 2007, at the Vlado Perlemuter Grand Prix in France, he is awarded two prizes, including the Chopin Prize for best interpretation of the Polish composer's works. Seeking to discover new pianistic horizons, Vittorio Forte decides to devote his first compact disc, released under the Lyrinx label, to the Italian composer Muzio Clementi. Following the success of his first CD, Vittorio Forte continues his concerts in Europe and make his debuts in the United States, where he plays in New York at the atmospheric Bargemusic and for the Yamaha Artists Service. He records a new album devoted to Robert Schumann (Lyrinx). After that, he records an outstanding program about Couperin and Chopin affinities. This recording is nominated at the ICMA 2014 (International Classical music Awards) and obtained excellent reviews in France, Germany, Benelux. He is invited for radio broadcasting programs in Italy, France and Switzerland. He is regularly invited in the most important Festivals in France, La Roque d’Antheron, Folle Journée, Nohant Chopin Festival, Liszt Festival, Radio France Festival, as well as prestigious concert halls in Europe, as Berlin Konzerthaus, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Salle Cortot in Paris, Sofia Opera... His fourth CD, « Voyage Mélodique », devoted to piano transcriptions of melodic works previously written for voice, has been awarded in Belgium, France, Switzerland, for its originality and the eclectic choices of works. Recently, Vittorio Forte recorded for AEVEA an album with the complete Chopin waltzes (OPUS d’OR, 5 DIAPASONS), and for ODRADEK records an astonishing project of C.P.E. Bach keyboard works (JOKER Crescendo, 5 Stars CLASSICA, 5 DIAPASONS) which is nominated for ICMA 2020. The latest album of Vittorio Forte "Earl Wild: [Re] Visions" is devoted to the transcriptions of the great american pianist and was nominated for « Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik », Critic’s choice of International Piano Magazine, Opus d’Or of e-magazine OpusHD. In addition to his concert activities, Vittorio Forte gives master classes for professional and advanced students and he is the artistic director of « Piano Intime » concerts season in Montpellier (France).
www.vittorioforte.com