Details

Date:

2024-08-27

Hours:

8:00 pm

Place:

The DiMenna Center
450 W 37th St, New York, NY

 

Alessandro Mazzamuto

Italian pianist Alessandro Mazzamuto was born in the ancient port city of Catania, Sicily in the foothills of Mt. Etna. Music has been in his family for three generations, and his cellist parents nurtured the promising talents of all four sons for playing the violin and cello. At the age of nine, Alessandro, having started on the violin, asked if he could learn to play the piano. He began lessons with Italian pianist and conductor Epifanio Comis, and practiced at his teacher’s house. At age ten he played Mozart concerto K. 414 in a masterclass with Andras Schiff prior to his first performance with an orchestra. At that time he had enrolled in the city’s esteemed music conservatory, the Music Institute Vincenzo Bellini. At age sixteen, Alessandro was invited to West Chester University in the USA to play Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 conducted by Ovidiu Marinescu, also a cellist, educator and composer. The borough of West Chester is nestled in a verdant valley in Pennsylvania, and the college town by the same name is peaceful and picturesque. This left a lasting impression on Alessandro, and his dream to live and study abroad in the USA was born.
Having won prizes in notable competitions in Italy and Europe, Alessandro had the desire, but not the means, to perform in a major international competition. To fulfill his dream, he needed a piano and a place to practice. His parents managed to buy a 1991 Kawai grand piano in good condition, and he rented a garage next to an auto repair business. In that garage he lived and practiced for three years, often sharing pizza late nights with his mechanic neighbor. He supported himself by teaching at various schools. Given his parents’ modest means and responsibilities for a family of four, purchasing a grand piano and finding a place for Alessandro to practice was a beau geste for which Alessandro will forever be grateful.

In 2011 Alessandro was a Finalist in the Busoni International Piano Competition where Martha Argerich, president of the jury, awarded him the Lodovici Prize. His 2012 recording of Rachmaninoff on the German label ARTS Music was embraced and earned superlative reviews and the Supersonic Pizzicato Award. In 2013 he was named Young Artist of the Year by the International Classical Music Association. Having captured the attention of Martha Argerich at the Busoni, he was invited to play in the Pro getto Martha Argerich in Lugano, Switzerland in 2013. In an interview with French newspaper L’Express, she named him one of ten “de future grand” young pianists in the world, referring to him as “I’ltalien Alessandro Mazzamuto • tres inspirant.”

In 2014 Dr. Carol Leone, an American pianist and professor at the Meadows School of Music, Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, Texas, visited the piano academy created by Alessandro’s teacher. At his suggestion, Alessandro came to study with her and Joaquin Achucarro, earning his Performer’s and Artist Diplomas. While a student, he won the Birte Moller Young Artist grant from the Center for Musical Excellence and debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2015. That performance received a standing ovation, and he was invited to play with the Tokyo New City Orchestra later that year. In 2017, Alessandro returned to Catania where he applied for a green card and married Chiara La Ferla, a singer, radio announcer, classical pianist and teacher, whom he first met in 2008. She moved with him to Dallas in early 2018.

Today Alessandro is enjoying a career of teaching, concertizing and recording. He cofounded Concerts on the Lake, a series of recitals and masterclasses in a private home in White Rock Lake, of which he is Artistic Director. He maintains a private teaching and recording studio called Mazzamuto Music Studio LLC. He serves as Artist-in-Residence at Collora Piano, where he also teaches and presents his students in recital. He and his brother Lorenzo, a violinist, perform as Duo Mazzamuto, continuing a tradition from childhood.

Coming up in August 27th, Alessandro will perform in NYC with conductor Enrico Fagone and the LICO at the DiMenna Center the Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos No. 2 & 3. On September 3-4-5 Alessandro will record both concertos in LSO St’ Luke with the London Symphony Orchestra end Maestro Fagone.

Alessandro and his wife Chiara La Ferla recently built a home in scenic Celina, Texas. His fully restored Kawai piano from his parents is now in his living room, not a garage. He also has an in-home recording studio and records on his newly acquired dream piano, a 2020 Fazioli concert grand.

Alessandro has a passion for performing, but teaching young aspiring pianists to realize their potential is his most rewarding work. He would like to give the gift of an education in classical music to the next generation, and to that end, he has hopes (and plans) to create a music academy for young students from all backgrounds.