Francesco Nicolosi studied with Vincenzo Vitale, winning prizes at both the International Santander Piano Competition and the Concours International d’Exécution Musicale in 1980.

He has toured internationally, having performed in many prestigious concert halls including Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, Teatro dell’Opera and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and The Kennedy Center in Washington, and is a regular guest at the Rossini Opera Festival and Ravenna Festival, among many others.

His critically acclaimed recordings, many of which feature the works of Thalberg, have been released by Nuova Era, Naxos and Marco Polo, and in 1994 he was the recipient of the Bellini D’Oro.

As president of the Sigismund Thalberg International Study Centre, he has intensely researched the music of the legendary Austrian composer-pianist, and is the foremost interpreter of his works. Nicolosi is also the artistic director of the Sigismund Thalberg International Piano Competition, a post he has also held with Jeux d’Art Festival Internazionale Villa d’Este, Roccaraso in Musica and Concerti d’Estate di Villa Guariglia. From January 2015 to December 2019 he was the artistic director of the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania.

For more information, visit https://en.francesconicolosi.com.

One of the most distinguished pianists of his time, pitted by some as a rival to Liszt, Thalberg was a pupil of the pianist and composer Hummel. He embarked on an international career in the 1830s, providing himself with a virtuoso repertoire in which he was able to display his virtuosity and his gift for a singing melody. He spent his final years at Posillipo, on the Bay of Naples.

Piano Music

Thalberg’s piano music inevitably includes a number of operatic fantasias, a standard element of virtuoso repertoire, as well as sets of variations, studies and a final modest collection of great charm, recalling evenings at Posillipo.

Orchestral Music

A number of Thalberg’s operatic fantasias and paraphrases include an optional orchestral accompaniment. In his Piano Concerto he found a further chance for virtuoso display and created a work which should not be lightly dismissed.