SOLOIST · PIANO

Rodolfo Leone

Pianist

1st Prize

2017 International Beethoven Piano Competition, Vienna

Colburn

Music Academy faculty

ABOUT

Described as a “true sound philosopher” (Oberösterreichische Nachrichten), the brilliant Italian-born pianist Rodolfo Leone, whose career was formerly supported by the Amron-Sutherland Fund for Young Pianists at the Colburn School, was the first-prize winner of the 2017 International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna. Rodolfo released his debut album on the Austrian label Gramola in May 2018 and “Piano Jewels” featuring works of Muzio Clementi on Naxos in January 2022.

Rodolfo’s recent seasons include a collaboration with James Conlon and LA Opera and debuts with North Carolina Symphony (Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1) conducted by Michelle Di Russo, San Diego Symphony (Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1) conducted by Michael Francis, Bozeman Symphony (Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major) conducted by Norman Huynh, Pasadena Symphony (Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21) with conductor David Lockington, and Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (Beethoven’s Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”) with Sascha Goetzel; he also performed Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in Walt Disney Hall under the baton of Xian Zhang.

Recent recital appearances include Kent Blossom Music Festival and Santa Ynez Valley Concert Series with flutist Demarre McGill, Music at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth in TX, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. In May 2019, he gave a recital tour in Austria, culminating in a performance in Vienna at the Brahms-Saal of the Musikverein. He also performed recitals in Los Angeles and Naples, Florida, and appeared on the chamber music series Le Salon de Musiques in Los Angeles. As a 2018-19 Performance Today Young Artist in Residence, Rodolfo’s live recordings were broadcast nationally throughout the United States.

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A native of Turin, Italy, Rodolfo made his orchestral debut in 2013 performing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trento (Italy). He toured Italy with that orchestra the following year performing Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Rodolfo made his North American debut in 2014 performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Toronto Concert Orchestra. Since then, he has performed with, among others, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra with Stéphane Denève and the Colburn Orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall; and recitals at Festival Napa Valley and the Soka Performing Arts Center. He has also performed chamber music with Lynn Harrell, Fabio Bidini, SooBeen Lee, Clive Greensmith, and the Viano String Quartet.

Rodolfo has performed extensively throughout Europe, North America, and China. These performances include debuts in venues such as the Musikverein in Vienna, Steinway Hall in London, the Music Hall of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, the Politeama Theatre in Palermo, the Mozart Concert Hall of Accademia Filarmonica and Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova in Italy, and the BASF Gesellschaftshaus in Germany. A top-prize winner of several major piano competitions, Rodolfo was awarded top prizes at the 2014 Toronto International Piano Competition and the 2013 Busoni International Piano Competition. Pianist magazine described his concerto performance during the 2017 International Beethoven Piano Competition as a “communion with the orchestra” that “was raptly convincing… robust and joyful.”

In addition to performing, Rodolfo has a very active teaching studio and is on the Piano Faculty at the Colburn Music Academy, one of the preeminent pre-collegiate schools in the country. He is also highly sought after for masterclass and summer festival educational opportunities throughout the United States.

Rodolfo is currently based in Los Angeles where he previously studied at the Colburn Conservatory of Music. He holds both a Master of Music degree and an Artist Diploma from Colburn, where he studied with Fabio Bidini. He previously studied at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin, Germany and at the G. Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, Italy.

For more information visit www.rodolfoleone.com