RUBEN XHAFERI was born in July 2005 in Dolo (VE), Italy. He began studying piano at the age of 5 and, from the age of 8, has been under the regular guidance of M° Sandro Baldi at the G.B. Martini Conservatory in Bologna.
Since 2015, when he won the 1st Absolute Prize at the Andrea Baldi International Competition in Bologna, he has achieved First Absolute Prizes in numerous national and international piano competitions, including the “Giulio Rospigliosi” in Lamporecchio, “Concorso di Esecuzione Musicale Città di Piove di Sacco”, “Città di San Donà di Piave”, “Premio Crescendo” in Florence, “Città di Villafranca”, “Città di Albenga”, “Città di Minerbio”, “Roma International Piano Competition”, “International Piano Talents Competition” in Milan, and the first edition of the “Premio Zucchelli” for piano. In 2024, he was awarded the First Prize at the XVII Premio Nazionale delle Arti, a prestigious recognition conferred by MIUR (Ministry of Education and Merit) to the top students of Italian conservatories, held at the Cagliari Conservatory. In the same year, he also won the First Prize at the Radovljica International Piano Competition in Slovenia.
At the age of 10, Ruben gave his first solo recital, and at 11, he debuted with F.J. Haydn’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in D Major, performing with the Orchestra de “I Musici dell’Accademia” in Bologna and later with the Symphony Orchestra of the A. Buzzolla Conservatory at the Teatro Comunale in Adria.
In 2019, he joined the “Pianofriends Association”, founded by M° Vincenzo Balzani and Catia Iglesias.
Ruben has performed in prestigious venues such as the Teatro Sociale E. Balzan in Badia Polesine, the Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, the Teatro Comunale in Adria, the Sala del Guariento at the Accademia Galileiana in Padua, the Teatro di Marcello in Rome, Villa Contarini in Piazzola sul Brenta, the Palladium Theatre in Rome, the Belloni Theatre in Monza Brianza, the Archiginnasio Library in Bologna, the Teatro Auditorium Manzoni in Bologna, the Mozart Hall of the Bologna Philharmonic Academy, the Bossi Hall of the G.B. Martini Conservatory in Bologna, the Auditorium of the G.P. Palestrina Conservatory in Cagliari, Palazzo Chigi-Saracini in Siena, Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome.
He has given solo recitals for renowned associations such as the Fondazione Società dei Concerti in Milan, PianoFortissimo/Bologna Festival, Emilia Romagna Festival, the Bartolomeo Cristofori International Festival in Padua, the Circolo della Musica in Bologna, Agimus Firenze, the “Festival delle Nazioni” (Concerti del Tempietto) in Rome, the Fundación Olivar de Castillejo in Madrid, the Zucchelli Foundation in Bologna, I Concerti del Quirinale
In January 2023, Ruben debuted at the Teatro Auditorium Manzoni with W.A. Mozart’s Concerto No. 20 in D Minor KV466, accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra of the G.B. Martini Conservatory in Bologna, conducted by M° Alberto Caprioli. That same year, he was awarded the Felice and Luigi Magone Prize, a scholarship granted to the top piano students of the academic year by the G.B. Martini Conservatory.
In January 2024, as part of the final of the XVII Premio Nazionale delle Arti, he performed F. Chopin’s Concerto No. 1 in E Minor Op. 11, accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra of the G.P. Palestrina Conservatory in Cagliari, conducted by M° Sergio Monterisi.
Since 2023, Ruben has been attending advanced courses at the Accademia Chigiana with pianist Lilya Zilberstein and the Accademia Amadeus with pianist Alberto Nosè. During the 2024 Summer Academy of the Chigiana Academy, he was awarded a scholarship for his outstanding artistic qualities.
Throughout his musical journey, he has attended masterclasses with renowned pianists, including Vincenzo Balzani, Benedetto Lupo, Sofya Gulyak, Boris Bekhterev, Riccardo Risaliti, Pietro De Maria, Aleksandar Madzar, Andrea Lucchesini, Philippe Raskin, Oleg Vainshtein, Vsevolod Dvorkin, Giuseppe Andaloro, and Andrzej Jasinski.
Some of his recitals and interviews have been broadcast on Rai Radio 3.
He is a student of the Fondazione Accademia di Musica.
