It seems that the pianist does what Claude Monet told once: he plays "the light itself"
A. Osipova
Danilo Mascetti is an Italian pianist and fortepianist renowned for his captivating performances and innovative programming, blending traditional repertoire with lesser-known piano works. He is a member of the International Piano Academy Lake Como and was the 2019/20 Carne Trust Junior Fellow at the Royal College of Music in London.
Equally skilled on both modern piano and fortepiano, Danilo made his debut with the Pomeriggi Musicali Orchestra at Milan’s Sala Verdi. Since then, he has performed across Europe with renowned orchestras, including the Thessaloniki State Orchestra, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Symphonic State Orchestra of Craiova.
Since 2014, Danilo has expanded his international presence, performing in China and Japan, and making his London debut at Steinway Hall. He has since performed in New York at Merkin Hall, at Wallenstein Palace in Prague, as well as in Rome, Russia, South Africa, and Morocco. He has collaborated with orchestras such as the West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra Hradec Králové, Nova Amadeus Orchestra, and the NYCA Symphony Orchestra, and appeared for organizations including the Aspect Foundation for Music and Arts, Concentus Moravie, New York Concert Artists, and the Kyoto International Music Students Festival.
As an active fortepiano and continuo player, Danilo frequently performs solo in Bach and Mozart concertos and collaborates as a continuo player with ensembles like Scherzo Ensemble, Brixton Chamber Orchestra, and the University of Milano Orchestra. He was generously supported by the A. Jacoba Fonds to pursue a European Master in Early Music in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, where he graduated with a thesis on the Minuet in Beethoven's piano works.
Recent highlights include debuts at the Slovenian Presidential Palace, the ZK Matthews Great Hall in South Africa, and the MuTh Concert Hall in Vienna. He has also performed at the Bodrum Gümüşlük Müzik Festivali in Turkey and in Cambridge, where he played Brahms's Concerto No. 1 with conductor Peter Britton. Additionally, Danilo has premiered new piano concertos by E. Karlidag and E. Sener with the Talent Unlimited Orchestra and introduced new harpsichord works at Milan's Castello Sforzesco.
In 2023, Danilo delivers thrilling performances of concertos by Mozart, Chopin, Haydn, and C. Ph. E. Bach with historically informed orchestras in the Netherlands and Czechia. He also presents 19th-century performances of Brahms's Quintet and Rachmaninoff’s Sonata No. 1 and embarks on the "Dialogues" tour, alongside various chamber music concerts.
In 2024, Danilo is on an extensive tour with "A Diabelli Project" in South Africa and across Europe, records a Schubert-Schumann album for Accento7, and premieres the cycle Scheggie di memoria by Italian composer Luca Vago. His debut in Portugal takes place in October, performing with the Orquestra Clássica do Centro.
A dedicated chamber musician, Danilo regularly collaborates with distinguished young artists such as flautist Alenka Bogataj and historical cellist Anna Litvinenko, performing in chamber music recitals and as soloists with orchestras. He has also recorded chamber music for fortepiano and cello with Bartolomeo Dandolo Marchesi.
Danilo studied with renowned teachers such as Vsevolod Dvorkin, Natalia Trull as well as Vanessa Latarche, and Gordon Fergus-Thompson in the UK. He continues to study with William Grant Naboré, Bart van Oort, and Barbara Maria Willi. He has earned international recognition through awards at prestigious competitions such as the 2020 UNISA International Piano Competition, the Princesse Lalla Meryem competition in Rabat, the Gyorgios Thymis competition in Greece, and the Chopin Competition in Rome, among others.
Throughout his studies, Danilo has received support from institutions such as C. Bechstein, the Ann Driver Trust, the Music Talks Award, the INPDAD Italian awards, Talent Unlimited, and Live Music Now.
From an early age, Danilo has been involved in social causes, particularly through his family’s work with foster children. Since 2015, he has been working with non-profit organizations in Lombardy and is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Arte Solidale Festival (Lake Como), an initiative that directs all its proceeds to helping minors in need. After ten years of charity concerts, the festival remains deeply committed to its charitable mission while shifting its focus to historically informed performances of 19th-century repertoire on original instruments from Danilo’s personal collection and other supporters of the festival.