Enrico Elisi regularly performs to acclaim throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Hailed for his “mastery of elegance, refinement, and fantasy” (La Nueva España), his interpretations reveal “remarkable sensitivity, imagination, and polish” (Baltimore Sun).

 

A laureate of the Porto International Competition (Portugal) and the Venice Competition (Italy), he went on to garner a considerable number of first prizes and successes in Italian competitions and has performed recitals in Germany, Portugal, Spain, and the Slovak Republic. Selected as a Le Gesse Fellow, Elisi performed in France and New York Weill Recital Hall.

 

In Italy, he has appeared in historical settings (La Fenice Theatre, Venice; Palazzo Vecchio, Florence; Bibiena Theatre, Mantua; Pavarotti Opera House, Modena; Teatro Comunale and Sala Bossi, Bologna; Sala dei Giganti, Padua; Sant’Anna dei Lombardi Church, Naples, as well as the Amalfi Cathedral). In addition, he has given recitals in several countries in Asia, including South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Singapore. Recent recital engagements include the Banff Centre for the Arts, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, the New York Public and Morgan libraries, the Italian Embassy and National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and the Centro Cultural de España in Lima, Peru.

 

Enrico Elisi has made numerous appearances as a soloist with the Florence Symphony (Italy); Orchestra Classica de Porto (Portugal); Bay Atlantic Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, Williamsport Symphony, Pennsylvania Centre, Penn State Philharmonic, Penn’s Woods, UNLV Chamber, and Johns Hopkins Symphony orchestras (USA). He debuted as a soloist/conductor with the Green Valley Festival Chamber Orchestra. He recently performed Beethoven Concerto No. 4 with the Jakarta Sinfonietta (Indonesia) and Mendelssohn Concerto in E Major for two pianos with Anton Nel (USA) and the Central Texas Philharmonic.

 

Among Mr. Elisi’s T.V. broadcasts are the Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (Brahms Concerto No. 1 with the Orchestra Clássica do Porto) and WPSU (USA). Other live and recorded performances appeared on radio stations such as Montebeni Classica FM (Italy), WCLV Cleveland, UNC, KCNV Nevada Public Radio, and KGCS (USA). In addition, the German radio, Via Classica, programmed a two-hour broadcast of Elisi’s live recital and subsequent interview from Hamburg.

 

A Yellowbarn Festival Artist-in-Residence, Elisi performed a recital and engaged the community by disseminating his work on ornamentations and articulations in selected works by Bach. He subsequently recorded selected Partitas and Preludes (the release of which is forthcoming). Previous recordings include an album dedicated to Mozart and Two Images by Paul Chihara, featured on Albany Records.

 

An avid chamber musician, Elisi has performed at the Taos and Ravinia Festivals, collaborated with the New Orford String Quartet, and principal players from the Baltimore, Chicago, and American Symphony Orchestras. Among the numerous partnerships, he also performed with violinists Joan Joan Kwuon, Lorenz Gamma, Charles Castleman, Qian Zhou, Federico Agostini (former leader of I Musici), and violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez (former member of the Fine Arts Quartet).

 

 

During Salvatore Sciarrino’s residence at the University of Toronto New Music Festival, Elisi performed works by Fedele, Berio, and Sciarrino. He also premiered chamber music by Kye Ryung Park and Paul Chihara at Weill Hall and Pastorale Reveries (his latest piano work dedicated to Elisi) in Canada. Other commissions and premieres by living composers of diverse nationalities testify to Elisi’s eclectic taste — his repertoire ranging from the seventeenth century to world premieres of contemporary music.

 

A frequent guest at leading music festivals, Elisi appears regularly in such settings as Cincinnati “Art of the Piano,” Montecito, Lee University, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Texas State University festivals, and the Chautauqua Institution (USA); Valencia International Performance Academy and Festival (Spain); Todi Music Masters, Associazione Umbria classica, Amalfi Coast Festival and AmiCa Fest (Italy); Ameri-China Foundation and Sichuan International Piano Festival (China).

 

A sought-after pedagogue, Enrico Elisi was a featured conference artist performer at the Florida and Oklahoma Music Teachers Association State Conferences and performed for the American Liszt Society Festivals at Northwestern University and the University of Georgia (during the Lisztian bicentennial anniversary). Moreover, he presented hundreds of masterclasses, both in conjunction with his performing engagements, at Northwestern University, Boston University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory, Temple University, the University of Michigan (USA); Taylor Academy, University of British Columbia, University of Western Ontario (Canada); National Conservatory of Lima (Peru); Royal Academy (Denmark); Accademia delle Marche (Italy); Taipei National University of the Arts (Taiwan); China Conservatory, Shanghai and Xinghai conservatories (China); Academy of Performing Arts, Hong Kong; Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Singapore; Jakarta Conservatory, Indonesia; Seoul National, Yonsei, Hanyang, Ewha Woman’s, as well as most other major universities in Korea.

 

Currently, on the piano faculty at the University of Toronto, Dr. Elisi received the distinguished Faculty of Music Teaching Award (Appointed Faculty) in recognition of his excellence, commitment, and innovation in teaching. Previous teaching positions spanning nearly two decades include the Eastman School, Hanyang University, the Pennsylvania State University, and UNLV.

 

His current and former students are prizewinners in competitions such as Cleveland, Paderewski, Washington, Louisiana, San Antonio, and New Orleans. They hold teaching posts in the U.S. and abroad; performed with various orchestras (Cleveland Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, and Dallas Chamber Symphony, among others). Some gave debut recitals from New York to Caracas, Paris, and Seoul, garnered fellowships and scholarships at summer programs, and entered prestigious Artist Diploma (Rice University, Glenn Gould School, among others) and other graduate programs in prestigious institutions in the U.S. and abroad.

 

As an adjudicator, he has been on the jury of several competitions: the Ameri-China Foundation Competition (China); the Stepping Stone, CMC finals, RCM’s Glenn Gould School Concerto, Fred Pattison Award, Toronto-Calgary-Vancouver Steinway (Canada); the Peabody Yale Gordon, Iowa, Julia Crane, Fite Young Artist, SMU Concerto and Dallas International, Texas State International Piano Competition as well as the Nevada, Maryland, Virginia, and Texas State Music Teachers Associations’ (USA); the Pacific Rim competition (Australia and New Zealand). Finally, he chaired Osimo’s Nuova Coppa Pianisti (2013) and Palma d’Oro (2021) in Italy.

 

Dr. Elisi holds degrees from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Before immigrating to the United States in 1996, he graduated from the Conservatory of Florence and the International Piano Academy of Imola. His primary teachers include Leon Fleisher (with whom, at his invitation, he felt honored to share the stage at the 2007 World Piano Pedagogy Conference), Lazar Berman, Boris Petrushansky, Alexander Lonquich, Franco Scala, and Giuseppe Fricelli.

 

Born in Italy and presently living in Canada with his spouse, composer Kye Ryung Park, Enrico Elisi became a citizen of the United States of America in 2012 and is an official Steinway Artist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The following statement may be added at the bottom of the biography, if possible:

 

More information about Enrico Elisi can be found on the web at www.enricoelisipiano.com.

He also invites his audience to interact with him on Instagram and “like” his page at www.facebook.com/enricoelisipiano.