Biography
Cristina Cavalli, Italian born, is a concert pianist and piano pedagogue.
She graduated in Piano and in Chamber Music in Italy and continued her studies at the Accademia “Incontri col Maestro” in Imola. Alongside her academic path she attended courses and masterclasses with notable musicians, the most important to her being Sergio Fiorentino, Pier Narciso Masi and Marisa Somma.
She appears frequently in concerts as a recitalist, as soloist with orchestra and as chamber music partner, in a repertoire ranging from the 17th century to contemporary music. Her interest in the latter has enabled her to enrich her musical experience by taking part in important events: several works by European and American composers have been dedicated to her, and she is often asked to give the first performance of new piano pieces (Milan, Shanghai, London, Helsinki, Belgrade and Rome, among others). She has recorded for the TV channels RaiSat3 (Italian national cultural channel), Chinese Cultural TV and the Finnish cultural channel Alfa TV; her performances have been broadcast by Radio Vaticana, Radio Belgrade and many others.
As soloist and chamber musician she has appeared in important venues in Europe, Asia and America, including Shanghai Symphony Hall, Sala Verdi in Milan, Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, the Wuxi Grand Theatre and the Shandong Grand Theatre (Jinan) in China, Teatro Colón in Mar del Plata, Zus Concert Hall in Prague, Teatro Ateneo in Madrid, St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, Auditorio Caja España in León and Teatro Ruskaja in Rome.
She has performed in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Mexico, Argentina, China and Inner Mongolia, and has toured China with concerts and masterclasses. In 2017 her piano album Ritratti (Portraits) was among the winners of the Global Music Awards (Los Angeles). With bandoneonist Héctor Ulises Passarella she forms the Dúo Passarella-Cavalli.
In October 2020 she was awarded the Cartagine International Prize. In 2021 she was publicly honoured by her hometown, Piacenza, as Benemerita nel Mondo for her cultural contribution worldwide.
Since 2023 Ms Cavalli has been President of WPTA Italy, which organizes the WPTA Italy International Piano Competition.
She is co-founder and one of the two piano masters and artistic directors of the León Piano Meeting, and leads an annual masterclass at Officina 440 – Steinway & Sons in Milan. She has collaborated with several universities, most recently the Universidad Nacional de Música in Lima.
Ms Cavalli is currently Piano Professor at the Faculty of Music, Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio, Madrid, Spain, and at the Conservatory of Music of Sassari, Italy.
