OLAF JOHN LANERI
BIOGRAPHY / CV
Olaf John Laneri was born in Sicily from Italian father and Swedish mother; he takes his diploma with honours at the Conservatory of Verona, and continues afterwards his artistic education in Italy at the Piano-Academy of Imola, where he graduates as a Master in September 1998.
After several first prizes in national competitions, he results prize-winner at the international competitions of Monza , and in Japan of Tokyo and Hamamatsu. In the summer of 1998 he wins the 50th edition of the competition "F.Busoni" of Bolzano (2nd prize "with particular distinction"; 1st prize has not been awarded), where already the previous year he distinguished among the finalists; and in 2001 wins the 2nd prize at the World Music Piano Master of Monte-Carlo.
About his performance of Brahms’ Variations on a Theme of Paganini, included, only one recording of an Italian, in a CD published for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the competition, A.Cohen writes on International Piano: “Certainly the best live performance I ever heard”.
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He is invited to play for prestigious theatres in Italy and in Europe, in recital and with the Orchestra (the Orchestra of the Musical Afternoons of Milan, the Orchestra of the Arena Theater in Verona, with the Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Montecarlo), working with conductors as Lawrence Foster and Lior Shambadal.
He played at the Festival “A.B.Michelangeli” of Brescia and Bergamo, at the Teatro Bellini in Catania, at the Sagra Malatestiana of Rimini, at the Festival Sagra Musicale Umbra, in the Palazzo del Quirinale in Roma, at La Pergola of Florence, at the Tiroler Festspiele in Austria (organized by G.Kuhn), at the Ruhrfestival, in the Herkulessaal and at the Gasteig of Munich, in the Salle Cortot, in the Salle Gaveau and for Radio France in Paris, in Salle Molière in Lyon, at the Festival Paderewski and Chopin in Poland, at the Gijón Piano Festival, at the Opéra of Montecarlo, at Rudaki hall in Tehran.
His repertoire includes all the thirty-two Beethoven’s piano sonatas, which he presented in a cycle of eight concerts, for Circolo della Musica of Bologna, in Modena, in Udine and in Alessandria.
A cd with music by Brahms (Ballades op.10, Paganini Variations op.35, Klavierstücke op.76) was released for Universal and another one with Mendelssohn's Trios performed with Trio Gustav (Trios op.49 and op.66) for Da Vinci.
He teaches piano at the Music Conservatory of Venice, in Italy.
He plays in Duo with the Laura Marzadori (first violin of La Scala theatre of Milan), and in Trio Gustav with the violinist Francesco Comisso and the cellist Dario Destefano.
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THE CRITICS ABOUT HIS RECITALS:
"Auch wenn der Pianist es sich äußerlich nicht anmerken ließ, sein
Spiel verriet in jedem Takt das berühmte Chopin-Wort: Das Klavier
ist mein zweites Ich“
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“Ricercatissime le sonorità, soprattutto nella parte centrale della
Marcia Funebre di Chopin, che faceva trattenere il fiato per la bellezza del pianissimo velato”;
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"A talented and virtuoso personality; he doesn’t make mistakes, it seems
he knows the secret of an apparent easy performing such a difficult programme"
"Still lives in Laneri the great utopia of the Romantic century: the desire to sing with the piano"