Biography
“From the first day I discovered somebody with great talent, wonderful musicality, wishing to understand music in a deep way” - Maria João Pires
“He is one of the most wonderful and complete talents encountered in recent years. His musicianship is really of the finest kind. All parameters of the most complex repertoire are perfectly mastered, and there seem to be very few limits to what he can do, whether artistically, or instrumentally” - Aleksandar Madzar
“He is one of the most talented pianists I have heard during the last ten years at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. During his performances he always showed a superb technique coupled with an infallible musical instinct. His affinity with Robert Schumann's work is of an extraordinary intensity” - Jan Michiels
“He is a well-rounded and refined musician, gifted with secure technique and dazzling virtuosity as well as fervent musicality and natural and direct communicative skills. These gifts of his are unwaveringly at Music’s service, allowing him to stand out with excellent results in each and every performance” – Andrea Lucchesini
Marco Mantovani has performed as a soloist, with orchestras and as a chamber musician in major concert halls in Belgium (notably Bozar and Flagey in Brussels), Italy (La Fenice and Malibran in Venice, La Pergola in Florence, Teatro Regio in Parma), China (Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing and the Oriental Art Center in Shanghai), as well as in Porto (Casa da Música) and Salzburg (Mozarteum).
A passionate chamber musician, he collaborates with artists such as violinist Vilmos Csikos and cellist Pierre Fontenelle (Trio Electrum), flutist Aldo Baerten (flute teacher at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen), violinist Nicolas Dupont (violin teacher at Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles) and violist Mihai Cocea (principal viola of the Brussels Philharmonic). Together with clarinettist Emanuele Mammarella (Aes Duo), he won 4th Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2025 ICM Competition Pinerolo e Torino. Jury member Lukas Hagen commented: “Their musicality, their stage presence, the focus on the essentials took me immediately, and I would like the opportunity to experience the duo live in concert as often as possible.”
In 2023 Marco Mantovani was selected for the Flagency Programme, supported by Flagey and BNP Paribas Fortis, which enabled him to perform regularly during Flagey’s concert seasons. In 2026 he is invited for two concerts at Flagey’s Studio 1: the PhD defence concert Kreislerkreis (23 March) and a solo recital (22 May). As part of the Erasmus+ programme, he also gives a masterclass for piano students at Juraj Dobrila University in Pula (Croatia). Highlights of the 2024–2025 season include Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire conducted by Kazushi Ono, a solo recital at Flagey, and two tours of China: one with Aldo Baerten, principal flute of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra (November 2024), and another with violinist Vilmos Csikos (July 2025).
After studying at the conservatory in his hometown, Marco Mantovani continued his studies with Andrea Lucchesini at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole. He then obtained his Master’s degree in piano (2017) and his Postgraduate Diploma (2018), both with distinction, at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Brussels in the class of Aleksandar Madžar. The advice of the renowned Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires has also been fundamental for his artistic development.