Download Stefano Greco’s Biography
Download Stefano Greco’s Short Biography
A versatile and visionary artist, Stefano Greco takes piano interpretation to a new frontier. He starts from a philological reading of the musical scores and expresses creative freedom by interpreting the non-coded elements. In order to produce a spirited music, as alive as if it was conceived in the same moment of the performance, Greco transforms himself into the composer. “For Stefano Greco’s sensibility allows him to calibrate sound in a stupefying manner, as if he had invented it within the very moment of execution.” (M. Abbado)
This way only one can witness something truly involving and a new listening experience.
Stefano Greco, pianist
Stefano Greco brings to his interpretations the dedication of a scholar; the curiosity of an explorer concerning the culture from which the music he plays has sprung; and the technical excellence that gives him the freedom to realize his interpretive concepts. “He approaches music like a scientist, realizing on the keyboard a deep interpretative and aesthetic reasoning. […] about the essence of sound, the balancing of perfect geometries, the interlacing of voices, produced with a maturity that comes after the consciousness of so many fugues, preludes, inventions. […]” (La Nuova Sardegna, Daniela Sari)
While still garnering critical acclaim around the world (Gramophone, American Record Guide, Pizzicato etc.) for the album released by Naxos, containing the world premiere recording of some original compositions by Grammy winner Richard Danielpour, Stefano Greco presents his audience with a new album: the Art of Fugue by J.S. Bach, released by SuperTrain Records. This recording is the result of years of study and research into Bach’s last work, which brought to light several discoveries, resulting in conferences and concerts at BoZar Theatre in Brussels (January, 2014), Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome (March, 2015); his upcoming book, The Language of J.S. Bach: Enigmas and Their Resolution; lectures and master classes at prestigious institutions of higher learning such as Bard College in New York State, California State University, New York University, and UCLA. Mr. Greco has performed The Art of Fugue in cities around the world, including Florence, Verona, Los Angeles, New York and Rome, for Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.
Specialist in Bach’s music, he has been invited to perform his music in the most prestigious concert halls and in historic events: the Festival of Castleton, created by Lorin Maazel, after Maestro’s death, started the new season with a concert in his memory and honor, in which Greco performed J.S. Bach Goldberg Variations. Ms. Turban Maazel commented: “[…] In the tradition of the grand interpreters such as Glenn Gould, Wilhelm Kempff and Murray Perahia, Stefano Greco has created his own very personal concept while remaining a deeply respectful and true Bach scholar. I am enthusiastic about presenting this extraordinary pianist in Castleton […]”
The Goldberg Variations
Mr. Greco’s performances of the Goldberg Variations reflect his expertise in the music of Bach. Because the work was originally written for a two-keyboard harpsichord, pianists have had to make “adjustments” for the single keyboard piano. Mr. Greco has formulated a way of playing all of the Goldberg Variations without any such adjustments. He has also chosen his tempos based not on personal taste but from a careful analysis of Bach’s writing.
He performed Goldberg Variations in many concerts, among which a tour of the United States, Canada and Japan which brought him to prestigious venues such as the Opera City Concert Hall in Tokyo and Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center in New York. In this occasion, Darrell Rosenbluth wrote: “[…] While following Bach’s score with utmost integrity, Greco’s own personality and take on this music were both striking and intriguing […]”. Just because of the depth of his vision of music, he was recently invited to present and perform the Goldberg Variations for the European Commission in Brussels, at the end of a day entitled “knowledge”.
“This is a new, revived Bach…” (A. Ciccolini).
Another program, “The Later Art of the Fugue,” presented at London’s Wigmore Hall, included premieres of works by Puccini in Greco’s transcriptions, and by Dinu Lipatti, as edited by Greco.
Mr. Greco inaugurated the series of concerts of the Carnegie Hall Notables in New York; in addition to Carnegie Hall, he performed in London at St. James’s Piccadilly, St. Martin-in-the-Fields and St. John’s, Smith Square; Steinway Halls in London, Munich and New York; and in recital on a seven-city tour of North and South America (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile). He has also made frequent recital, chamber music, melologue and concerto appearances in Italy and has performed in Amsterdam, The Hague, Prague, Hamburg, León, Aleppo and Damascus.
In 2016 he interpreted music by Rameau, Debussy and Ravel at Quirinale (the palace of the President of Italian Republic). This concert was live broadcasted for the series “I Concerti del Quirinale” by RAI Radio3.
Since 2018, Mr. Greco is a regular guest at Allentown Symphony, as a soloist with Orchestra and for recitals.
Media & Records
He has been heard on radio and TV stations such as CNN, RAI International (worldwide), RAI, Radio Vatican, Radio Classica (Italy), Radio Beethoven (Chile), Opus 94 (Mexico), and on David Dubal’s program “Reflections from the Keyboard” in New York.
The recordings Mr. Greco has released include J.S. Bach’s The Art of Fugue; Goldberg Variations; his Wigmore Hall recital program, “The Later Art of the Fugue” and the first truly complete series of the Keyboard Suites of Händel. His editions of J. S. Bach’s works include his transcription of 14 Canons on the First Eight Fundamental Notes of the Aria from Goldberg Variations for solo piano, and the two-piano versions of A Musical Offering and Erbarme dich, mein Gott from the St. Matthew Passion.
Education & Achievements
After graduating with honors from the Conservatory in Lecce, Italy, where he studied with Antonio Serrano, Mr. Greco won prizes in several Italian piano competitions before continuing his studies with Hector Pell and Aldo Ciccolini. In Ciccolini’s school, Stefano Greco lectured on “The Mechanics of Piano Technique,” “The Golden Section,” “Mathematical Proportions in Music” and “Bach’s Polyphony.” Aldo Ciccolini decided to award Stefano a Graduation with summa cum laude and honorable mention. He studied also with Joaquín Achúcarro at Accademia Chigiana of Siena, and with Alberto Portugheis.
He was Top Winner in the Ibla Grand Prize International Competition — also winning the Bach Special Mention Award — and was prize winner of the Glenn Gould International Piano Competition.
Teaching
Mr. Greco has taught, lectured and presented master classes at prestigious institutions of higher learning such as Bard College in New York State, California State University and New York University, working with students on repertoire ranging from keyboard music by William Byrd to contemporary works for piano.
In 2021 and 2022 Stefano Greco was invited to hold two residencies at UCLA (University of California – Los Angeles), where he had Lectures on his discoveries on Bach and some concerts: among the programs he performed there was music composed just for him by 14 different contemporary composers (including Danielpour, Krouse, Golub, Lefkowitz and Rhie among others). This program will be released as the first commercial recording produced by UCLA. Stefano Greco was the first artist to have residencies in the University for two years in a row.
Stefano Greco is a Steinway Artist.
