Manila Santini

Manila Santini: Described as a musician that combines a fiery temperament and a solid technique with extraordinary sensitivity and a charismatic stage presence.

Praised by the audience for her expressive force and brilliant virtuosism she has gained critical acclaim for her natural and elegant phrasing, her great sense of melody, together with a warm fullness of sound. She has performed in some of the most prestigious European Concert Halls including the Wiener Saal of the Mozarteum (Salzburg), De Doelen Juriaanse Saal (Rotterdam), Salone de' Cinquecento of Palazzo Vecchio (Florence), Salle Gothique de L’hotel de Ville (Brussels), Paganini Auditorium (Parma), Teatro Regio (Parma). She has also appeared at numerous Music Festivals such as the Festival Gergiev and the Operadagen in Rotterdam (the Netherlands), the Ravenna Festival (Italy), the Festival Verdi 2010 and 2012 in Parma (Italy). After graduating summa cum laude at the Pescara Conservatory, she continued her musical training with professors Roberto Cappello, Aquiles Delle Vigne, Alfredo Speranza, and Pier Narciso Masi. She obtained a Master’s Degree at the Hoogeschool voor Muziek an Dans in Rotterdam and at the Parma Conservatory. From an early age, she was awarded in numerous national and international piano competitions. A devoted Chamber musician, Manila collaborated with such artists as Francesco Manara, Simonide Braconi, Fabrizio Meloni and Alessandro Serra, concertmaster, principal violist, principal clarinet and principal double-bass at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Emmanuele Baldini, and saxophonists Mario Marzi and Federico Mondelci. She also has an intense concert activity of piano duo, performing Liszt's transcription for two pianos of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana for soloists, choir, two pianos, and percussion.