PROGRAM
“Omaggio a Chopin”
Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849)
Nocturne op.15 n°1
Nocturne op.27 n°2
Nocturne op.48 n°1
Etude op.25 n°1
Improvviso – Fantasia op.66
Scherzo op.31 n°2
Prelude op.28 n°15
Ballade op.23 n°1
Michele Di Toro, graduated with top marks, praise and special mention at “L. D’Annunzio” Conservatory of Pescara and obtained the Performance Diploma unanimously at “Alfred Cortot L’Ecole Normale de Musique of Paris”. He pursued the studies required by “classical” pianism but was soon influenced by Afro-American music that led him to follow the Civic Courses of Jazz in Milan.
His adventures in jazz have taken him through Ragtime and through the pages of the great pianists of “stride”; he was inspired above all by the musical sensitivity and improvisation of Jarrett.
The technique and knowledge acquired from classical studies and an innate ability for improvisation allow him to interpret classical authors in a contemporary, mainly jazz, language.
He has won numerous national and international competitions among which the“F.Gulda”Award for Jazz Pianists and obtained a note of merit at the “Martial Solal” International Competition in Paris.
He has appeared and recorded in piano solos as well as duo, trio, quartet and orchestra, achieving widespread success with the public and critics. In 2005 he formed a trio using his name with Yuri Goloubev on double bass (www.yurigoloubev.com) and Marco Zanoli on drums(www.marcozanoli.it), proposing original compositions and revisited jazz standards.
He has performed with various artists, among whom Fabrizio Bosso, Paolo Fresu, Franco Cerri,Irio De Paula, Alain Caron, Barbara Casini, Tiziana Ghiglioni, Roberto Prosseda and the Strings and Winds Ensemble of the Berliner Philarmonica Orchestra. He has been the guest in various shows and festivals such as Umbria Jazz, Chieti Week of Mozart, Iseo Jazz and Festival Jazz of Santiago Del Cile. He has performed in the theatres, auditoriums and jazz clubs in the main Italian cities and abroad, among which France, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Chile, Finland, Great Britain and Canada.
He has been a guest on important television and radio programmes and since 2012 he is a UNICEF representative.