Sara De Ascanis - Schumann, Chopin, Scriabin, Bruckner: 19th Century Piano Fantasies (2022)

Sara De Ascaniis Born in Italy in 1987 into a family of musician, Sara began to play by ear and improvise on the piano at the age of two. At seven years old she entered the Music Conservatory Arrigo Pedrollo in Vicenza, where she was a student of Antonio Rigobello, and two years later she gave her first solo recital. By the time she was eleven, Sara was already appearing as a soloist with orchestras throughout Italy. Her performances of Beethoven Piano Concerto n.3 and Schumann Concerto have been broadcast on the national radio and television with high acclaim.

After the Master's Degree summa cum laude at the age of 18, she studied at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg under Claudius Tanski and Imre Rohmann and at the Music Conservatory Cesare Pollini in Padova under Konstantin Bogino (Postgraduate). In addition, she has taken precious advice from outstanding musicians and pedagogues, such as Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Pavel Gililov, Leonid Margarius, Benedetto Lupo, Lilya Zilberstein and Boris Petrushansky.

Winner of prestigious awards in Italy and abroad, such as the J.S. Bach Prize in Sestri Levante, the Silvio Omizzolo Prize in Padua, the Vito Frazzi Prize in Florence, the Mozartpreis at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Baden-Württemberg International Piano Competition (Germany), Sara has been performing as a soloist in prestigious venues including La Fenice in Venice, Sala dei Giganti in Padua, Teatro Bibiena in Mantova, Teatro dal Verme in Milan, Ehrbar Saal in Vienna, Wiener Saal in Salzburg, Steinway Haus in Munich, Tanna Schulich Hall in Montrèal and Bing Theatre in Los Angeles.

Also an enthusiastic recitalist and chamber musician, she performed with various ensembles from Duo up to Quintet, working together with artists such as Rainer Schmidt, Wolfgang Redik, Igor Ozim, Enrico Bronzi and Alois Brandhofer. Her numerous appearances have included Aurora Chamber Music Festival (Sweden), Internationaler Konzertverein Bodensee (Germany), Salzburger Kammermusikfestival, iPalpiti Festival (California), LeXGiornate in Brescia, Il Maggio del Pianoforte in Naples, La Societá dei Concerti in Milan.

Through the years she developed a strong passion for teaching and earned a Master's Degree in Piano Pedagogy from Mozarteum University Salzburg. After teaching in various music academies in Berlin, she has been appointed Piano Professor at the Music Conservatory Cesare Pollini in Padua (2017). In the academic year 2018/2019 she was also Piano Professor at the Music Conservatory Luca Marenzio in Brescia, and from 2021 she is Piano Professor at the Music Conservatory Giuseppe Tartini in Trieste.

Upcoming engagements include concerts in Europe, USA and Mexico, also with her brother, renowed violinist Davide De Ascaniis. Sara and Davide have been performing together in concert halls worldwide since their childhood.