Gianluca Faragli graduated with highest honors, cum laude, and special mention from the Paganini Conservatory in Genoa. He continued his studies at the Donizetti Conservatory in Bergamo where, under the guidance of Maria Grazia Bellocchio, he earned his Second Level Academic Diploma with full marks and, in 2024, a Second Level Master’s Degree in Piano – Interpretation of Contemporary Music. Concurrently, he refined his skills with Enrico Pace at the Accademia di Pinerolo. He is currently enrolled in the two-year program for Chamber Music at the Vivaldi Conservatory in Alessandria. He has further enriched his training by participating in advanced masterclasses organized by Divertimento Ensemble (CFYP Mauricio Kagel 2019 – Salvatore Sciarrino 2022 – Tristan Murail 2023) at the Contemporary Music Hub Milano.
In 2024, his debut CD featuring the works of composer Ferdinand Ries was released by the Brilliant – PianoClassics label. The recording has garnered positive reviews in specialized national and international music magazines, including Suonare News, L’Invito (Genoa), Klassik Magazin (Germany), and Pizzicato (Luxembourg). The latter awarded it a 5-star rating, with music critic Remy Franck writing: “…He refrains from any kind of force, plays with many nuances of colors and dynamics, with very subtle rubato and great articulatory clarity, and above all attaches great importance to sensitive singing wherever possible and appropriate.”
Gianluca is a recipient of the Laudisi-Ponte and Giuseppe Ponta scholarships at the Paganini Conservatory in Genoa, and the Barbieri-Bianchi scholarship at the Accademia di Pinerolo, in 2012, 2017, and 2024, respectively. He has achieved top placements in over 30 national and international piano competitions, securing numerous absolute first prizes, including: the 23rd European Music Competition Città di Moncalieri; the 14th International Piano Competition Città di Castiglion Fiorentino; the 22nd International Musical Interpretation Competition “Premio Franz Schubert”; the VI International Music Performance Competition “Clara Wieck Schumann 2019”; the X International Music Competition “Premio Crescendo Città di Firenze”; the International Music Competition “Paris and London” Grand Prize Virtuoso 2020; and the 17th National Piano Performance Competition “Città di Bucchianico.”
He has performed as a soloist in Italy and abroad with orchestras such as: Solisti di Milano Classica, Paganini di Genova, Talenti d’arte di Terni, Classica di Alessandria, Amici del Pianoforte di Cosenza, Mihail Jora di Bacau, Ligeia di Sanremo, and Junior Classica di Alessandria, collaborating with conductors like Arman Azemoon, Daniele Camiz, Gudni Emilsson, Vittorio Marchese, and Emanuele Stracchi.
He regularly gives piano recitals and chamber music concerts both in Italy and internationally, participating in prestigious festivals and institutions. These include: Moneglia Classica, Orbetello Piano Festival, Autunno Musicale di Caserta, Divertimento Ensemble di Milano, Fondazione Primoli di Roma, Accademia Corale Stefano Tempia and Comunità Polacca di Torino, Scriabin Concert Series di Grosseto, Ensemble Musik Festival di Ferrara, Palazzo Pesce a Mola di Bari, Festival Antonio Vivaldi di Castrovillari, Viotti Club di Vercelli, Associazione Ars Modi di Trento, Festival Suoni In Movimento – NISI ArteMusica, Incontri Musicali Mediterranei a Crotone, Concerti a Villa Bertelli di Forte dei Marmi, Stiftssaal a Fröndenberg (DE), Festival Careggi in Musica and Salone dei Cinquecento di Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Classiche Armonie in Cuneo, Stagione Musicale di Sassello, Liguria in Musica in Alassio, Associazione Euterpe in Corato, Teatro Sociale di Camogli, Musica al tempio in Pinerolo, La città della musica in Rossano Calabro, Fondazione Calasanzio in Empoli, Palazzo Albrizzi in Venice, Monferrato Classic Festival, Associazione Amici di Paganini and GOG in Genoa, A.Gi.Mus. Ragusa, Festival Giovanile Biellese, and Alba Music Festival.
In 2018, he was selected to perform in the concerts titled “Il festival parla russo. Tchaikovsky, mon amour!” for the International Piano Festival of Brescia and Bergamo at Sala Fellegara in Bergamo.
He participated in the 40th Bergamo Film Meeting, International Film Festival, performing the original music by Mattia Sonzogni live for the film “La Petite Parade” by Wladislaw Starewicz. He has given the world premiere performances of compositions by Mattia Clera, Stefano Teani, Carlo Maria Barracano, Tommaso Saturnia, Lucia Biasiol, Lorenzo Geroldi, Mattia Gurrieri, and Graziano Riccardi.
He performed in Unna (DE) at the opening concert of the festival dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, both as a soloist and in a cello-piano duo.
He participated in the complete performance of M. Kagel’s piano and chamber music, playing “Zweites Trio in einem Satz” for violin, cello, and piano in Milan at the Museo del Novecento, as part of the Rondo 2019 event organized by the Associazione Divertimento Ensemble, and in Bologna at the Oratorio San Filippo Neri, for the fourth edition of the Bologna Modern Festival organized by the Associazione Musica Insieme.
He performed for the Paganini Genova Festival as a soloist at Palazzo Ducale and in a violin and piano duo at the Museo dell’Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti.
Among his upcoming projects are two new chamber music recordings for Brilliant Classics: the first, a piano four-hands duo (Ries: Marches and Polonaises), and the second, a flute and piano duo (Rietz, Hummel, and Ries).
He previously taught piano at the Boccardo Musical Middle School in Novi Ligure and the Saluzzo-Plana Musical High School in Alessandria. From 2020 to 2023, he was a piano teacher at the Donizetti Conservatory in Bergamo. He currently teaches main piano at the Umberto Giordano Conservatory in Foggia, Rodi Garganico section.
He was honored with the Luciano Delucca 2021 Solidarity Award for his charitable work in support of LILT (Italian League Against Cancer).
He is the President of the Musica&Cultura Pentagramma Association and the Artistic Director of the International Music Weeks Festival and the Oltregiogo Piano Competition, which will be in their 11th and 4th editions respectively in 2025.
He is a student of the Fondazione Accademia di Musica.
