Francesco Granata, born in 1998, is an Italian pianist.
Highly active both in solo and chamber music settings, his collaborations include the Trio Eclipse, an
ensemble based in Basel that he joined in 2024, and the DaVinci Ensemble in Italy. He is a founding
member of the Wendel Quartet, established in Basel in 2024.
Additionally, he frequently performs duo recitals with various musical partners. Winner of numerous piano competitions, he resulted First Prize at the “Premio Venezia” in 2017, which led to many solo recitals across Italy and abroad. Subsequently, he was a Laureate at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition (2021), won Second Prize at the Rahn Musikpreis (2024), was a Finalist at the Montreal International Piano Competition (2021), and reached the final stages of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (2022). Since then, Francesco has performed in solo recitals and chamber music ensembles in Italy, the United States, Switzerland, France, Spain, Austria, Germany, and India, giving concerts in renowned venues such as KKL in Lucerne, the Experimental Theatre of the NCPA in Mumbai, the Opera House in Bordeaux, the Musical Arts Center in Bloomington (USA), the Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the Teatro Malibran, the Sala Verdi at the Conservatorio di Milano, the Teatro Dal Verme, and the Fazioli Concert Hall.
At the age of 13, Francesco made his debut as a soloist with orchestra and has since performed with
the Luzern Sinfonieorchester, the Orchestra of Teatro La Fenice, I Pomeriggi Musicali, IU Philarmonic Orchestra, among others, working with conductors such as Tung-Chieh Chuang, Jonathan Webb, Arthur Fagen, Amedeo Monetti, Cosimo Bombardieri, Stefano Ligoratti, and Michele Spotti. In 2018, the magazine “Suonare News” released his first CD, included in the CDIM collection, featuring a repertoire ranging from Mozart to Debussy. In 2015, he recorded a DVD for Limenmusic studios of Lachner's version for piano and string quintet of Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto. In 2023, Italian magazine “Amadeus” published a CD featuring Martucci's Trios recorded with the “DaVinci Ensemble.” He has attended various masterclasses with Pavel Gililov, Robert Levin, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Alberto Nosè, Giovanni Bellucci, Scott McBride Smith, Malcolm Bilson, Rolf Plagge, and Andrea Lucchesini. In 2023, he was selected by Maria João to participate in one of her “Partitura Project” workshops (in collaboration with the Gilmore Festival), which offers a unique masterclass concept focused on dialogue and the sharing of music and experiences between musicians of different generations.
Francesco graduated at 17 from “G. Verdi”Conservatory in Milan with top marks and special mention. In 2019, he completed the MasterCourse Diploma at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome under
the guidance of Benedetto Lupo, and in 2023, he obtained the Artist Diploma from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington (USA), studying with Roberto Plano. At the same university, he also served as an Assistant Instructor. He currently resides in Basel, where he is pursuing a Master in Music Performance (with a minor in Jazz) under the guidance of Claudio Martínez Mehner.