Francesco Granata graduated with the highest evaluation and special mention from Conservatorio Musica Verdi Milano in 2016. He made his debut as soloist with orchestra at age 13, and he has played with diverse orchestras and smaller ensembles since then.
He has won several competitions, including Premio Crescendo in Florence, Premio Società Umanitaria in Milan, and Italian selections of Jeunesse Musical International. In 2017 he won the XXXIV “Premio Venezia,” reserved for the best-graduated pianists in Italy. This led him to take many concerts all over Italy, India, and Europe, both in solo recitals and chamber music. Granata has also attended several masterclasses with Pavel Gililov, Roberto Plano, Alberto Nosè, Giovanni Bellucci, Scott McBride, Malcolm Bilson, Rolf Plagge, and Andrea Lucchesini.
In 2015, Granata recorded on DVD for Limenmusic Studios of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, arranged for piano and string quintet by Vinzenz Lachner. He recorded his first CD in 2018, released with Italian music magazine “Suonare News”.
In 2019, he played with Orchestra Filarmonica della Fenice in Venice, conducted by Jonathan Webb. That same year, he obtained the MasterCourse Diploma at St. Cecilia Academy in Rome under the guidance of Benedetto Lupo.
You can hear Granata’s First Round performance during Session 2 on Friday, July 31.