IN Masterclass: Martina Consonni with NMS Students , Saturday, October 24th from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Free to public.
Martina is really exceptional pianist and a rare talent.
She is full of life and “Italianità”, her musicality is most engaging.— SIR ANDRÁS SCHIFF
About
Martina Consonni is one of the most luminous pianists of her generation — an artist whose playing is defined by rare poetic intelligence, an instinct for listening, and a technical mastery that is never an end in itself.
Since her debut with orchestra at the age of ten with the Bacau Philharmonic, she has performed at Wigmore Hall and Royal Albert Hall in London, the Philharmonie in Berlin, Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie, Tonhalle Zürich, deSingel Antwerp, Shanghai Concert Hall, NCPA Mumbai, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, and Teatro alla Scala in Milan. A sought-after presence at the world's leading festivals — Klavier Festival Ruhr, Lugano Musica, Bologna Festival, MiTo Settembremusica, Kronberg Festival, Rheingau Festival, Lingotto Musica, Società dei Concerti in Milan — she brings to every context the same quality of attention: music as dialogue, not display.
It was the intimacy of chamber music that first revealed to her what music could truly be. Her particular gift for listening has since drawn her into collaboration with artists including Gautier Capuçon, Steven Isserlis, Tabea Zimmermann, Diyang Mei, Enrico Bronzi, and Ani Kavafian. Recently, she co-founded Trio Clara with violinist Sarah Jégou-Sageman and cellist Anouchka Hack — an ensemble that has already won First Prize at the Virtuoso & Belcanto Competition Festival and is rapidly establishing itself on the international chamber music scene.
As a soloist, she has performed with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Dresden Philharmonic, Bochum Symphoniker, Heilbronner Kammerorchester, Colibrì Orchestra, L'Appassionata, and Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich under conductors including Sir András Schiff, Louis Langrée, Anna Rakitina, Howard Griffiths, and Holly Choe.
Recent highlights include a tour with the ORT – Orchestra della Toscana under Diego Ceretta performing Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto, debut performances with the Tonkünstler-Orchester — including Casella's Scarlattiana alongside Cosette Justo Valdés — and appearances with Camerata Schweiz at Zürich's Tonhalle and Luzern's KKL in Mozart's Piano Concerto K.466. She has also given solo recitals for the Società del Quartetto di Milano and for Neumarkter Konzertfreunde, this one recorded by Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Winner of more than 55 first prizes in international competition, Martina has received the Daniele Gay Prize for best young Italian talent and the Roscini-Padalino Award from Perugia Musica Classica. She is a laureate of the Fondation Gautier Capuçon and has received scholarships from De Sono, Freunde Junger Musiker Berlin, and Villa Musica. In the 2023–24 season she was selected for Sir András Schiff's Building Bridges series and the Classeek Ambassador Programme, performing across Europe's most celebrated venues and festivals.
Her discography includes recordings for Warner Classics and Movimento Classical (Bartok Studios). Her most recent album, a piano trio recording with violinist Sarah Jégou-Sageman and cellist Jeein You, received five-star reviews, with BBC Music Magazine praising her "luminous piano playing" and the trio's "outstanding ensemble artistry." Her upcoming album for Alpha Classics, due for release in early 2027, will feature Haydn's Piano Concerto with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe alongside a selection of his piano sonatas.
Born in Como, Italy, Martina began her musical journey at an early age, graduating with honours at just fourteen — the youngest prizewinner of the Casella Award at the prestigious Premio Venezia, a distinction that brought an invitation to perform at the Quirinal Palace by former President Giorgio Napolitano. She later pursued advanced studies with Enrico Pace, Arie Vardi, and András Schiff, earning multiple Master's degrees and an Artist Diploma from the Imola International Academy "Incontri col Maestro," the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, and the Kronberg Academy, supported by the Henle Scholarship from the Horizon Foundation.
Martina’s appearance is sponsored by Dynamikfest Chicago and SEEN Worldwide, NPO.