ITALY
Francesco Stefanelli was born in San Marino in 1999. He graduated with honors the Institute of Musical Studies Giovanni Lettimi in Rimini at the age of 15. He continued his studies with Enrico Dindo at the Pavia Cello Academy and the Lugano Conservatory until 2019. Currently he’s studying at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid with Prof. Jens Peter Maintz and at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome with Giovanni Sollima.
He attended masterclasses given by Jens-Peter Maintz, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Ivan Monighetti, Frans Helmerson, Antonio Meneses, Thomas Demenga, and Asier Polo. He won 1st prize at the International Cello Competition Antonio Janigro in Croatia (2016), 2nd prize at the International Krzysztof Penderecki Cello Competition in Krakow (2018), 3rd prize at the Rahn Musikpreis in Zürich (2018), the Premio Tartini in Padova (2021), 3rd prize at the International Jeunesses Musicales Competition in Belgrade (2022).
Francesco won the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe Scholarship (2016) and the Premio Maura Giorgetti della Filarmonica della Scala di Milano (2015). He received scholarships from De Sono Associazione per la Musica, International Academy of Music in Liechtenstein, Eskas from the Swiss Government. He performed as a soloist at the Smetana Hall in Prague with the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, in Köln with the WDR Sinfonieorchester, in Padova with I Solisti Veneti, in Belgrade with the RTS Symphony Orchestra, and also in a cello piano duo in cities like Siena – Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Cremona – Museo del Violino and Teatro Ponchielli, Bergamo – Sala Piatti, Florence, Turin, Ravenna, Zürich, Lugano, Lübeck, Edinburgh, Porec, Krakow, Pesaro, Rome. He recorded David Fontanesi’s Arcadian Concert for Cello and Orchestra with the I Virtuosi Italiani Orchestra.
PROGRAM
Online Round
Piatti Caprice Op. 25 No. 7
Bach Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor BWV 1011
Haydn Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major Hob. VIIb/2
Schumann Fantasiestücke Op. 73 (any two pieces)
Debussy Cello Sonata in D minor L. 135
Penderecki Divertimento for Cello Solo
Semifinal
Enescu Cello Sonata No. 2 in C major Op. 26
Prokofiev Cello Sonata in C major Op. 119
Rostropovich Humoresque Op. 5
Final
Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante in E minor Op. 125
