Alexander Panizza

Of Argentinean descent, Alexander Panizza was born in Toronto. He received his musical education in Canada, Argentina, France and England. With a career launched by several first prizes in competitions, consolidated by excelent press reviews and recognised with prestigious awards like the Konex Prize, Alexander Panizza is among the most brilliant pianists of his generation. 

As a soloist, he has performed, among others, with Buenos Aires Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra (Argentina), Brucknerakademie (Germany), Iasi Symphony (Rumania), Exeter Symphony, LSSO and KCYO (England), Orquesta del Siglo XXI (España), Orchestre de Chambre Français, Montevideo Philharmonic (Uruguay), Bolivia’s National Symphony, as well as the main Argentinean orchestras. Among his memorable performances there were renderings of concerti by Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Beethoven and Schumann. At the Royal College of Music in London, where he completed a Postgraduate Diploma, he won the 2000 Esther Fisher Prize to the best performance of French music, 2001 Frank Heneghan Prize for his version of Chopin, Rachmaninov and Scriabin’s studies, 2001 Cyril Smith Prize for his rendering of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto no. 3 and Hopkinson Gold Medal and Shimmin Prize, in the College’s main piano competition. After his performance in Munich’s Herkulessaal, as part of a tournée with the Brucknerakademie Orchester, the German press observed his virtuosity, his power and the quality of his touch (Süddeutszche Zeitung).

Alexander has given the world premiere of Luis Mucillo’s Piano Concerto at  the Teatro Colón and a rendering of Ginastera’s First Piano Concerto at the Barbican Hall in London, which was praised by The Times and The Independent. While they admired his “real command of pianistic colour” and the “feeling and panache” of his version, the French press mentioned Panizza’s “fogosity and passion (Le Montbardien), whose recital was qualified as exceptional.

Alexander has performed for many concert societies in various venues such as the Beethoven Society of Europe, ILAMS (Ibero and Latinamerican Music Society), Cambridge Music Festival at the Fitzwilliam Museum, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris), Burgermeisterhaus (Essen), Soesterberg Music Festival (Holland),  Palas Theater (Athens), Ciurlionis Foundation and Alma Mater Musicalis (Lithuania). In the United States, he has participated in events like the Long Island Mozart Festival (New York) and has been invited to perform and give a masterclass at Lynn University in Boca Ratón. He has given recitals at the University of Roehampton in London and the Amphitheâtre Richelieu at the Sorbonne University.

His recording of Alberto Ginastera’s complete piano works, nominated for the Gardel Prize, received excellent press reviews and is already a recording of reference. Naxos has recently issued a CD in the American composers series, featuring Alexander as soloist in David Winkler’s Piano Concerto.

Alongside with his intense activity as recitalist and soloist with orchestra, he is very much interested in chamber music projects, starting with his Arioso trio in London. Alexander's 2010 concert season includes the rendering and recording  of Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas, performances with orchestra in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Central America, as well as piano and chamber music recitals  with outstanding musicians.