Gabriele Laura

Biography

"Gabriele is a musician that owns a remarkable domain of instrumental technique and a mature interpretative dowry"

Sunghoon Simon Hwang

Born in Palermo (Italy) in 1999, he began studying the piano at the age of six years old with Massimo Bentivegna. From 2009 he attended the “V. Bellini” Conservatory of Palermo under the guidance of Patrizia Pitrolo, continuing from 2012 with Antonio Sottile and graduating with full marks, honors and mention. He is currently studying at the International Academy "Incontri col Maestro” of Imola, under the guidance of Andrè Gallo. 

He made his recital debut at the age of 14 and just a year later made his debut as a soloist with the “Salvatore Cicero” Orchestra and with the Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatory "Vincenzo Bellini" of Palermo. 

He won more than 20 First Prize and Absolute First Prize in National and International Competitions in Italy and Europe, including the “Eliodoro Sollima” National Competition (occasion in which he also won a Special Prize as best performer, between all categories, of a romantic piece), “ANTONIO TROMBONE” National Piano Competition, “Lucio Stefano D’Agata" International Competition, "Giulio Rospigliosi" National Piano Competition, where also won the Special Audience Award, "Amigdala" International Music Competition - “Giuseppe Raciti” Award, also receiving the “Paolo Frontini” Special Prize, “Maria Elisa Di Fatta” Prize, the International Competition "Gianluca Campochiaro", "City of Francavilla Fontana" - Prize "Terra degli Imperiali" International Competition, “Crescendo - City of Florence” Prize and the "City of Minerbio" International Piano Competition.

In 2015 he won the 2nd Edition of the “Crescendo: giovani talenti della classica" thanks to which he could perform as soloist with orchestra at the Politeama Theater "Giuseppe Garibaldi" of Palermo for the 57th concert season of the Sicilian Symphonic Orchestra Foundation, directed by Roberto De Maio. Finalist at the "Steinway & Sons Piano Competition" of Verona and subsequently at “International Anton Rubinstein Competition” of Düsseldorf (Germany), he received the Special Prize for the best performance of a virtuoso piece between all the categories. He has held numerous solo and chamber recitals for prestigious associations such as Teatro Massimo in Palermo, RAI Auditorium in Palermo, Triennal University of Milan, the Amici della Musica "Arcangelo Speranza" of Taranto, "Castelbuono Classica", Teatro Tempio of Modena, "Amici della Musica" of Oleggio and institutions such as UNESCO and the F.A.I. In 2013 he performed at the concert of the 40th Congress European Conservatory AEC and in 2014 opened a concert held by Fabrizio Bosso, renowned Italian trumpet player. 

Gabriele attended masterclasses held by renowned international pianists like Pietro De Maria, Boris Petrushansky, François Joel Thiollier, Riccardo Risaliti, Pasquale Iannone, Dennis Lee, Chee Hung Toh, Sunghoon Simon Hwang, Alexey Lebedev, Giuseppe Andaloro, Ingrid Fliter, Igor Roma, Valerij Voskoboinikov and Gabriele Baldocci. In 2017 he was also guest of the "Windsor Piano Academy" (UK) where he studied with Edita Stankeviciute and Giulio Potenza. Parallel to his solo activity he also carries out an intense chamber music activity with his brother saxophonist Alessandro. The duo has performed in prestigious venues such as Parco della Musica in Rome, Association Musical Montserrat of Barcelona in Spain and Mozarthaus in Vienna. They won the First Absolute Prize in various competitions such as "Amigdala International Music Competition ”,  awarding also the special “Alcantara" Prize, the "London Prize Virtuoso" 2017, thanks to which they performed in April 2017 at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London and the "Golden Classical Music Awards" International Competition of New York, being invited to perform at the Weill Recital Hall of the prestigious Carnagie Hall.

Since 2016 Gabriele has been the pianist of the Sicilian Youth Symphony Orchestra, with whom he also performed as a soloist in the "Carnival of the Animals" of Saint-Saëns. He also collaborates assiduously with the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra.

Recently he was awarded by the Mayor of Palermo Leoluca Orlando of the “Tessera Preziosa del Mosaico di Palermo”, one of the highest honors that the City of Palermo assigns to citizens who stand out particularly in the social, artistic and cultural fields.

He collaborated as an accompanist pianist in Masterclasses held by renowned musicians such as Federico Mondelci and Jerome Laran.