Davide Pozzi
Short biography
Davide Pozzi is one of the most highly regarded Italian harpsichordists and organists of his generation. He graduated in harpsichord, fortepiano, clavichord, organ and organ composition at the Conservatorio “G. Verdi” in Milan and continued his studies at the Civica Scuola di Musica in Milan with Lorenzo Ghielmi and Laura Alvini and at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Jean-Claude Zehnder and Andrea Marcon. He has performed across Europe, in the United States, Russia, Israel, Mexico and Japan, in halls including the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Philharmonie in Essen and the Tchaikovsky Philharmonic in Moscow. He has recorded Bach’s Goldberg Variations for Pan Classics and the complete first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier. He is professor of harpsichord and historical keyboards at the Conservatorio “N. Piccinni” in Bari and teaches basso continuo at the Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado in Milan.
Full biography
Davide Pozzi is one of the most highly regarded Italian harpsichordists and organists of his generation. He completed his musical studies at the Conservatorio “G. Verdi” in Milan, where he earned diplomas in harpsichord, fortepiano and clavichord, as well as in organ and organ composition. At the same institution he completed his second-level academic degree in organ, graduating with top marks, honours and a special mention.
Devoting himself chiefly to the study of historical performance practice, he completed and refined his training at the Civica Scuola di Musica in Milan, where he graduated in Baroque organ with top marks under Lorenzo Ghielmi and furthered his study of the harpsichord with Laura Alvini. He then crowned his international education at the prestigious Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland, specialising with Jean-Claude Zehnder in historical organ and with Andrea Marcon in harpsichord.
His intense concert activity has taken him across Europe, the United States, Russia, Israel, Mexico and Japan, collaborating with some of the leading international ensembles and musicians. As a soloist he has played in prestigious venues including the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Philharmonie in Essen, the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden and in Baden-Baden, the Nikolaisaal and the Schlosstheater in Potsdam. He has also appeared at the Teatro Regio in Parma, the LAC and the Auditorium RSI in Lugano, the Auditorium in Milan and the Palazzo della Cultura in Messina. A particular highlight of his career was the recital on the great organ of the Tchaikovsky Philharmonic in Moscow.
Very active in the recording studio as well, he has recorded a solo CD of J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations for the German label Pan Classics, which received excellent reviews in the specialist magazine Early Music Review. His latest recording is the complete first book of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier.
Critics have received him with unanimous favour. The magazine Suonare described his playing as “brilliant and knowing, always temperamentally dissatisfied and therefore happily varied”, noting how Pozzi phrases shrewdly on the harpsichord, exploiting every register with skill. Classic Voice called him a “mature interpreter, particularly expert in the eighteenth-century German repertoire” who approaches the score with rare authority and confidence, while the Corriere della Sera hailed him as one of the leading Italian exponents of his instrumental specialty.
Alongside his concert career he has long been active as a teacher: he is professor of harpsichord and historical keyboards at the Conservatorio “N. Piccinni” in Bari and teaches basso continuo at the Early Music Institute of the Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado in Milan.