Annalisa Orlando (born 1991) began playing the piano at the age of seven. In 2012 she graduated with distinction from the Conservatorio Tito Schipa in Lecce and went on to study at the Conservatorio Nino Rota in Monopoli, where she completed her master’s degree with full marks, lode and a mention of honour.
At the same time she attended masterclasses with great pianists such as Michele Marvulli, Aldona Budrewicz-Jacobson, Jeffrey Swann, Andrea Lucchesini, Marisa Somma, Cristiano Burato, Thomas Hell, Evgeny Sinaiski. She was also a participant of the 8th German Lied Academy Trossingen.
She has won first places in numerous national and international competitions (finalist in the “Nuova Coppa Pianisti ed.2012-Osimo” and second place in the “XVI Pietro Argento” competition). At the “XII Società Umanitaria Competition” in Milan and at the “Premio Lamberto Brunelli for the best graduate- ed. 2013” in Vicenza she also received a special mention from the jury. With her performance of Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto op. 15 she won first prize at the “Eurorchestra-Lions Costanza d’Altavilla ed. 2014” competition. At the Coop Music Awards 2018 she won a special prize with the violinist Marco Gialluca.
Annalisa Orlando performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Italy and also gives frequent concerts in Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Switzerland. She has appeared in productions of Italy’s Orchestra Nazionale dei Conservatori, the Conservatorio Tito Schipa Orchestra, the Mannheim National Theatre, the Stuttgart Philharmonic and KlangForum Heidelberg. As a soloist, she has performed with the Conservatorio Nino Rota Orchestra and the EurOrchestra da Camera of Bari. As a pianist with a particular affinity for chamber music, she has specialized in the repertoire for voice and violin, working with numerous acclaimed singers and violinists. She spent some time as an accompanist in the Strings Department of the Hochschule für Musik in Mannheim, where she was pursuing a specialization course.
She has a keen interest in contemporary music and has worked with a number of contemporary composers (including Federico Gardella and Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson). She holds scholarships from various organisations (Yehudi Menuhin-LMN Rhein Neckar, Ludwigshafen Rotary Club, Kagel-Burghardt Foundation). Since 2019 she has been employed as an accompanist in the Strings Department of the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg.
