Biography

Of Swiss and Italian nationality, Mauro Lo Conte was born on the 24 September 1984. His musical career started at the age of nine years, initially with the accordion, an instrument close to his origins, under the veteran teacher and accompanist Freddy Balta, who later introduced him to the piano, now his preferred instrument.

In 2003 Mauro Lo Conte became a pupil of Christian Favre at the Conservatoire of Lausanne, where he obtained his Master title as a teacher in 2006. Two years later he was awarded the Master title of soloist, following further study under the same Principal. In his final examination, he played the Second Piano Concerto by Chopin with the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne directed by Hervé Klopfenstein, a performance which was received with great enthusiasm by the jury. At the same time he received the Max-Jost Prize for the best soloist of his year on any instrument.

In 2008 he came to the notice of the pianist and teacher Evgeni Koroliov, and moved to the Conservatory of Music in Hamburg (Hochschule für Musik und Theater) to continue his training under this prestigeous professor. He himself became a teacher in the same institution in 2010.

During his professional development, Mauro Lo Conte has participated in many master classes under famous teachers including Pascal Devoyon, Paul Badura-Skoda, Jean-Philippe Collard, Dominique Merlet, Valentin Georghiu, Alexei Lubimov and Philippe Cassard, who exposed him to a variety of approaches to musical interpretation.

He has performed regularly in Switzerland and in many other countries in Europe and in Asia. He has recorded for Radio Suisse Romande, Television Suisse Romande, France Musique, NDR Radio and Television Hamburg.

Other honours besides the Max-Jost Prize, include the First Prize of the Lions Club DW, the Third Prize in the Schnittke International Competition, the Migros Prize in 2008 and 2009, Second Prize in the Elise-Meyer competition and the Masefield Prize awarded by the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung. In 2009 he won a Leenaards Foundation Scholarship and since 2011 has been supported by the IMMACultur in Hamburg.

Mauro Lo Conte has been invited to perform at numerous music festivals in Switzerland including the Saint-Prex Classics, the Festival of Saint Ursanne, the Puplinge Classique and the New Year Festival of Gstaad. He played with Pierre Amoyal at the Château of the Clos de Vougeot and he has given concerts in Europe and in Asia.

The music critics have on many occasions praised his imaginative style, his sense of polyphony and his musical maturity.