When I was a child, I remember there was always a radio playing classical music at home. There was also a grand piano in the living room that fascinated me—I would always go play random notes on it...
CHILDHOOD AND FIRST CONTACT WITH MUSIC
When I was a child, I remember there was always a radio playing classical music at home. There was also a grand piano in the living room that fascinated me—I would always go play random notes on it.
EARLY LESSONS AND INFLUENCES
My first formal experience with music was recorder lessons with my aunt Sara Modigliani — I still remember them fondly — and then with Umberto Orellana at the SIFD, the Italian Recorder Society. I have some memories… I was very young, maybe 4 or 5 years old, of concerts with a little recorder orchestra.
THE CIMA CONCERTS
Another important moment was certainly the concerts by CIMA, the Italian Center for Early Music. My father sang in the CIMA choir, and I remember going as a child to rehearsals and concerts — in the very same Waldensian Church in Piazza Cavour where I now conduct most of my concerts.
BACH'S PASSIONS
I especially remember Bach’s St. John Passion — a concert I loved. They made a recording on audiocassettes — that’s what we used then — and I wore them out listening to them. I asked for the St. Matthew Passion as a gift too — again on tape — and it ended the same way: worn out from overuse.
GRANDPA VITO AND INSPIRATION
I remember long talks with Grandpa Vito, who was an engineer and a violin graduate. I never heard him play live when I was a child, but I know he played very well. Today, his violin is in the hands of my son — and maybe sings as well as it once did for his great-grandfather.
MY FIRST PIANO TEACHER
My first piano lessons were with Steve Roach, who followed an American method based on popular American tunes — which I didn’t like. I was passionate about Bach and just wanted to play Bach.
MICROKOSMOS AND STRUGGLES
I also remember hating Bartók’s Mikrokosmos — which I now really appreciate and use with my students. Back then, though, I didn’t understand it… also because my teacher used it purely as a sight-reading exercise during lessons — and I was too young to grasp any of it.
CRISES AND CHANGING COURSE
There were many crises, and at one point I thought piano wasn’t for me. My grandparents were the ones who kept encouraging me — telling me I’d regret quitting. I still thank them.
THE BELCREDI YEARS
After a break of maybe one or two years, I studied for a while with Vera Gobbi Belcredi. I was 11, she was 82. She had studied with Alfredo Casella and was a prodigious pianist who graduated at just 14. The age gap was too big: she appreciated my talent but scolded me for not practicing.
GREEN TEA AND A DIARY
Eventually, I began working hard. I had a small notebook — like a diary — where I would scold myself after lessons. I’d brew a big pot of green tea, place it on the piano, and stay up at night practicing and taking notes.
CONFLICT AND FRUSTRATION
I was kicked out of lessons several times. She said: “Don’t come back, just give up — you won’t make it.” But my grandmother always managed to smooth things over. They had met decades ago, on a bridge in Rome, and this memory helped reopen the door.
A DIFFICULT EXPERIENCE
Thanks to that connection, I kept returning — but with little success. It was a time of great frustration. Today, as an adult, I appreciate what she tried to teach me — in her way — but back then, it was not a positive experience.
DISCOVERING SOLFÈGE
Fortunately, during this time, while preparing for a solfège exam, I met another great teacher: Carmelo Piccolo. He passed away too young, but he was truly transformative. He made me love solfège — something most people find boring and painful.
GROUP LESSONS AND ENTHUSIASM
His energy was contagious. We had group lessons with other students, and we’d sight-read Beethoven symphonies and Bach inventions together. It was incredibly inspiring and formative.
THE TURNING POINT
After Belcredi expelled me one last time, it was Carmelo who helped me find another amazing teacher…
MARIA TERESA CARUNCHIO
…Maria Teresa Carunchio, with whom I completed my piano studies. To this day we share deep affection and mutual respect. I’m always “the Student” to her, and she’s “the Teacher” — capital letters and all.
THE FIRST LESSON
I still remember our first meeting. I was about 13 or 14 and scared. She asked to hear something by Bach. After just a few minutes of playing and talking with her, I thought to myself: “If this is what piano study is, then I really want to do it.”
THE DEFINING TEACHER
That moment was clear. She became my defining teacher. I studied with her through my diploma and beyond — including advanced courses. She helped me grow musically, pianistically, and as a person.
WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE?
My piano studies continued through high school. But when I finished, the big question came: “What do I want to do with my life?”
CHOOSING MUSIC
It was hard to commit to music, but I decided to go to university — studying music history. I wanted everything in my life to revolve around music.
UNIVERSITY YEARS
I was probably one of the university’s best sponsors — I was enrolled for many years, doing exams when I could. But eventually, I graduated with a degree in Musicology.
CHAMBER MUSIC
Another major chapter was chamber music at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory with Maestro Luciano Cerroni. Three years as an internal student and countless experiences with other musicians.
MEETING MY WIFE
At one concert — organized with Cerroni’s class and a voice class — I met the woman who became my wife and the mother of my son. When we got married, we even invited the Maestro with a note: “It’s your fault.”
PIANO TECHNOLOGY
I also studied piano tuning and mechanics at the Conservatory. It opened my ears and mind. I finally understood how the instrument works — its structure, its sound, its soul.
THE SECRET DREAM
Conducting was a secret dream I had always hidden. I used to lock myself in my room with headphones, pretending to conduct imaginary orchestras.
FANTASY CONDUCTING
I would move around, jump, wave my arms in the air — always with the door closed so no one could see me. On my bike, I’d listen to music and conduct with no hands — probably looked crazy to anyone watching.
NOT FOR ME?
I thought conducting was out of reach. The conservatory path seemed too academic — with required studies in composition, which I didn’t want. So I kept the dream hidden…
CHORAL LIFE AND THE ORCHESTRA
Meanwhile, I sang for years in polyphonic choirs — La Frottola (early music), Eximia Forma (with Carmelo), and the New Lyrical-Symphonic Choir with Maestro Stefano Cucci. I also worked with the youth Papillon Orchestra as tutor and pianist — invaluable experience being close to a real orchestra every week.
A LIFE-CHANGING EMAIL
Then one day, someone sent me an email: an invitation to discover the International School of Orchestral Conducting by Maestro Francisco Navarro Lara — entirely online. It seemed absurd… which made it fascinating.
THE TRIP TO SPAIN
After thinking it over, I said: “What if this is the right moment?” I went to Spain to meet the Maestro in person and other students. That was it. Something clicked.
THE BEGINNING
I was blown away. That’s how it all began. I started studying, attending classes, bringing musicians together.
THE ICNT ORCHESTRA
I founded the ICNT Orchestra. Then I earned the ABRSM Diploma in Conducting. The journey is still long — but it brings me so much joy.
THE ENDING
This is my story. I hope it interested you — maybe even inspired you. What matters is: never stop growing. Long live music!
