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Francesco Libetta
"Fury, demonically
charged and technically staggering. Here is big piano playing
in its most unfettered and dangerous state. What a performance!"
- Gramophone
"He takes his wonderful
fingers for granted and he is a master of every period or
style represented...the pieces sing. I have no hesitation
calling him an important pianist.." - Harold Schonberg
Was born in Salento
in 1968 and began studying piano there under Vittoria De Donno.
He went on to study composition and orchestration with Jacques
Castérède in Paris, where he also attended a number of courses
at the IRCAM. Libetta has performed Beethoven's thirty-two
Sonatas (1993-1994) and Godowsky's fifty-three Studies on
Chopin's Études (Galatina, 1990; Milan, 1994-1995; and Naples,
1995), described by Cantù as a "monster corpus that had to
wait eighty years for its world première performance" (Il
Giornale, 15 March 1994).
Jeremy Nicholas, Godowsky's
biographer, said of Libetta's performance of these Studies:
"Stunning. I never thought I'd hear such mesmerizing performances
of these pieces in concert." (International Piano Quarterly,
Spring 1999). In 1993 Libetta gave the Italian première of
L'Escalier du Diable by Gyorgy Ligeti, who praised his reading
of the work as "absolutely gorgeous". At the thirteenth International
Festival in Alicante, Spain, Libetta gave the world première
performance of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Franco
Oppo.
Libetta has given
solo performances of works by Chopin at La Scala in Milan,
where he has also accompanied the string trio of the resident
orchestra in performances of works by Mozart and Mahler. He
has been a regular performer at the Milan Conservatoire and
has given cycles of the complete works of Chopin in Southern
Italy. During the last year, Libetta has made his debuts in
Japan (recitals in Tokyo and Osaka) and the United States
(a recital at the Miami International Piano Festival of Discovery)
to great acclaim.
He performed and recorded the cycle of all 32 Beethoven's Sonatas (1993/4), and the first performance of what for decades had been regarded as an unperformable “corpus monstre”: the 53 Studies by Godowsky based on the 27 Studies by Chopin (1990, repeated in 1994/95 and 2006).
His DVD with the recording of La Roque d’Anthéron recital, filmed by Bruno Monsaingeon, was awarded the Diapason d’Or and the CHOC de Le Monde de la Musique. Among his recordings: various works of Chopin and Schumann, the Diabelli Variations by Beethoven, the complete set of Liszt's transcriptions from Wagner operas, as well as works by Debussy, Brahms, Ravel and Mozart. His compact discs and videos are published by V.A.I. (U.S.A.) and Nireo (www.nireo.it).
He has recorded for
the Italian Agorà and Scandinavian Promusica labels, and also
conducts, composes (his three act opera Iopa is still in progress,
but excerpts have been performed at the Villa Medici in Rome,
Lecce and Catania), and gives recitals on original instruments.
Mr. Libetta is a recipient
of support of Patrons of Exceptional Artists. His appearance
in the Third Anual Miami International Piano Festival of Discovery
marked his Debut in the US.
To contact Francesco
Libetta, e-mail:
francesco@miamipianofest.com or visit his website at: www.francescolibetta.it
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