ANTONIO ARTESE, born in Termoli, Italy in 1961, is the founder and Artistic Director of the internationally renowned Festival Adriatico delle Musiche www.festivaladriatico.it, which is held in Termoli, Italy each summer. He has been much sought after in Europe as a professional pianist and as a chamber music and lieder recitalist.
Antonio is also a longtime jazz aficionado and he has appeared in some of the major nightspots in Rome and in northern and southern California, in London, Sweden, Spain. His unique personal style and improvisational skills both as jazz and classical musician allows him to be fluent in several musical idioms, including be-bop and blues.
A former student of Maestro Massimo Marzi and Bianca Maria Orlando in Rome and of the great Romantic virtuoso Sergio Fiorentino, in Naples, he captured First Prize in the Rachmaninov International Piano competition (1985) and received similar distinction by the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation (1992) in Santa Barbara.
After earning his diploma in piano performance from the Conservatorio “Santa Cecilia” in Rome (1983), he studied Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Chieti, Italy (Laura Magna cum Laude, 1986) and subsequently branched into musicology at the University of Bologna (1987-91).
In December 2000, Mr. Artese has been awarded the Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance by the University of California at Santa Barbara. Composer and arranger, he has recorded several albums and participated in various musical projects, in the United States and in Europe.
Antonio has served as resident Director of the Study Center of University of California in Siena (2003-2010) and is presently the Director of the International Studies Institute – The Institute at Palazzo Rucellai in Florence, Italy.
