Dino Ciani was born in Fiume on June 16, 1941, but the city that nurtured and shaped him was Genova, where he moved at the very start of his musical training. He was precocious, and gifted with a rare sensitivity; he had an unshakeable memory and the precious gift of perfect pitch. He sailed through his studies and graduated at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome with the highest marks and in that same year held his first official public concert in Santa Margherita Ligure. He participated in various master classes in Paris and in 1961 he was a prize winner in the Liszt-Bartók competition in Budapest. From that moment on, he began a brilliant international concert career which brought him to share the stage with the likes of Abbado, Muti, Giulini, and Gavazzeni. His last concert was held at the “Piccolo Teatro” in Milan where he performed Schubert’s “Winterreise” with the baritone Claudio Desderi. On March 27 in 1974, at the young age of 32, he fell victim to a fatal car accident near Rome. Cortina, where he is buried, was one of his favorite places in the world and the town, since 2007 honors his memory with his Festival and Academy.
Dino Ciani
