Biography

Maria Gabriella Bassi graduated with top grades and honours in 1991 under the guidance of Marta Grilletti. She then went on to study at the “Russian” school of Konstantin Bogino.
She is a piano Professor in “Niccolò Piccinni” Conservatory in Italy.

Her career as a concert pianist begins with a series of first prizes won in Italian piano competitions. But the two-time victory, in 1987 and then in 1991, of first prize at the prestigious International Piano Competition at the Liszt Centre of Lucca led her to more decisive concert work. An enthusiast of the Liszt repertoire, Bassi continued her concert activity, distinguishing herself for her intense musicality, rich in refined nuances. She has held concerts, both as a soloist and with an orchestra, in Italy, France, Germany , Spain and Mexico. She has played as a soloist in prestigious halls such as the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, the Naucalpan Forum in Mexico City, the ”Felipe Villanueva” Auditorium of Toluca, the Teatro Puccini of Merano,the Musikschule Auditorium of Mannheim, “Palazzo della Rovere” in Roma, the Throne Room of Villa d’Este in Tivoli- Rome, Teatro Giordano in Foggia, the historic Caffè Florian in Piazza San Marco in Venice, the “Palazzo Ducale” in Genoa, the Salle L’Escale in Paris, La Sorbonne in Paris and many more.
She has been asked to perform rare compositions by Liszt (Improptu Brillante Variazioni by Rossini and Spontini, 7 Variazioni Brillanti by Rossini) in a premiere presentation on the occasion of the First National Franz Liszt Conference, presided over by Gottfried Wagner and recorded for the “RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana” works by Franz Liszt.

In 2004, Ricordi – Bmg Publications publishing house of Milan entrusted her with the critical-didactic revision of an anthology dedicated to the piano music of Nino Rota, published with catalogue number BMG139194.

Awarded at the Jean Françaix International Piano Competition in Paris, in 2001, she developed a passion for the work of the French composer and performed the Italian premiere of PIano Concerto with the Bari Symphonic Orchestra. She plays piano four hands with the artist’s daughter, Claude Françaix, with whom she also presents the Italian premiere of the Two Pianos Concerto.
In 2012 ,celebrating Jean Françaix’s centenary birth, she performs in concerts throughout France: first concert in Paris, Salle Cortot, introducing the celebration Cd ” A piano for two” with Claude Françaix.

She plays concerts all over Europe (Spain, Italy, Poland, France, Hungary) and gives lectures on Jean Françaix ( Salzburg) .
Erasmus+ Professor since 2014 , she teaches in piano and chamber music masterclasses all over Europe.

Recordings
2006- Eloge de la Danse, Jean Françaix piano repertoire – DAD Records
2011 – Kabalevsky-Piano Preludes op.68 (Digressione Music)
2012 – A piano for two ;Piano Four Handsworks by Jean Françaix – Erol Label
PIANISTA E DOCENTE: MARIA GABRIELLA BASSI
www.mariagabriellabassi.com

MGB is a pianist and and a Professor in Bari Conservatoire in Italy .She shows her love for music since she was very young. After winning many national and international piano competitions , she starts her career as a pianist.
She still believes that technique and visrtuosism aren’t but a mean to touch the deep sense of music.
That’s why her work as a piano teacher is based on a constant sensibility besides of technical precision.
In this parallelism classical music still find the key to communicate with people:that’s the peculiarity people appreciate in MGB’s performance.
A passionate performer of Liszt , she prefers to interpret rarely performed works , and to bring the listener close to a
precious and modern beauty.

Since she was awarded at the Parisian International Piano Competition “Jean Françaix” in 2001 , she is in very friendly relationship with the Françaix family. Her recent Cd – “Eloge de la Danse” by DAD Records-is completely dedicated to Jean Françaix’s piano work: it contains solo works interpreted by MGB(and two of them are recorded for the first time since their composition) and also two-piano works played by MGb with Claude Françaix, the composer’s daughter.
Maria Gabriella Bassi started playing the piano at the age of four. She graduated with top grades and honours in 1991 under the guidance of Marta Grilletti. She then went on to study at the “Russian” school of Konstantin Bogino.
Her career as a concert pianist began with a series of first prizes won in Italian piano competitions. But the two-time victory, in 1987 and then in 1991, of first prize at the prestigious International Piano Competition at the Liszt Centre of Lucca led her to more decisive concert work. An enthusiast of the Liszt repertory, Bassi continued her concert activity, distinguishing herself for her intense musicality, rich in refined nuances. She has held concerts, both as a soloist and with an orchestra, in Italy, France, Germany and Mexico. She has played as a soloist in prestigious halls such as the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, the Naucalpan Forum in Mexico City, the ”Felipe Villanueva” Auditorium of Toluca, the Teatro Puccini of Merano,the Musikschule Auditorium of Mannheim, “Palazzo della Rovere” in Roma, the Throne Room of Villa d’Este in Tivoli, Teatro Giordano in Foggia, the historic Caffè Florian in Piazza San Marco in Venice, the “Palazzo Ducale” in Genoa, the Salle L’Escale in Paris, La Sorbonne in Paris and many more.
She has been asked to interpret rare compositions by Liszt (Improptu Brillante Variazioni by Rossini and Spontini, 7 Variazioni Brillanti by Rossini) in a premiere presentation on the occasion of the First National Franz Liszt Conference, presided over by Gottfried Wagner and recorded for the “RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana” works by Franz Liszt.
After graduating with a university degree in Law, in 1996 she won a post as a teacher of piano and since 1998 she has had tenure as a professor of piano at the “Nino Rota” Music Conservatory in Monopoli.
After winning the Jean Françaix International Piano Competition in Paris, in 2001, she developed a passion for the work of the French composer and performed the Italian premiere of the Concert for Piano and Orchestra with the Bari Symphonic Orchestra. She formed a duet with the artist’s daughter, Claude Françaix, with whom she also presented the Italian premiere of the Concert for Two Pianos and Orchestra.
The Ricordi – Bmg Publications publishing house of Milan entrusted her with the critical-didactic revision of an anthology dedicated to the piano music of Nino Rota, published with catalogue number BMG139194.
In her career as a pianist and professor, her choice of repertory has aimed at the interpretation of rarely performed works so as to expose the listener to an invaluable and modern beauty.
Discography
2006- Eloge de la Danse – DAD Records
2012 – Unabridged Repertory for Four Hands by Jean Françaix – Erol Label
Giorgio Magri, the biographer of Puccini, has called Maria Gabriella Bassi a pianist endowed with “…great musicality and astounding artistic maturity, which make her a complete concert pianist…” and with reference to the Sonata by Liszt “…I am not sure how many pianists, including the most important ones, are able to follow with such clarity, for those who are listening, the execution of a discourse that is often quite complex. Bassi has succeeded…”