Antonio Legrottaglie’s Biography
Born in Acquaviva Delle Fonti (BA) on February 3, 1997, he began studying piano at the age of 6 under the guidance of Maestro Paolo Cuccaro. At the age of 9, he was admitted to the Conservatory “G. Paisiello” in Taranto, where he graduated in 2019 with top marks.
He attended various masterclasses in musical performance and interpretation with Pierluigi Camicia, Michele Rossetti, Antonio Ciacca, Cinzia Falco, and Joao Carlos Parreira Chueire.
He participated in numerous national and international piano competitions, predominantly achieving first prizes and absolute first prizes, including the National Competition “Giovani Promesse” (1st), the International Music Competition “Città di Valentino” (1st), the National Music Competition “Igor Strawinsky” (absolute first prize in the 2008 and 2009 editions), the European Music Competition “Città di Matera” (1st), the National Music Performance Competition “Città delle Gravine” (1st), the National Music Competition “Città di Mottola” (1st), and the International Music Competition “Domenico Savino” (2nd prize in 2014 and 1st prize in 2018).
Passionate about composition, he participated in the 13th National Competition for Unpublished Passion Marches “Città di Mottola” with the march “Lux Aeternam,” finishing in 4th place out of over twenty participants from all over Italy and receiving the Critics’ Award “Franco Leuzzi.”
He attended the “Archita” Music High School in Taranto, where he studied French horn, which allowed him to be part of various youth orchestras and to join civilian brass bands, including the fanfare of the ANB (National Bersaglieri Association) section of Altamura. With this group, he performed in a concert held at the “Zuiderstrandtheater” in The Hague, organized by the Italian Embassy in the Netherlands to celebrate the 2018 National Day.
During the same period, he studied opera singing at the conservatory in the 2016/2017 academic year, which enabled him to participate in various theatrical productions, including Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale” as a chorister and Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi” in the role of Guccio.
In November 2022, he graduated in Orchestral Conducting Bachelor Degree cum laude, and in October 2024 he obtained a Master Degree in Orchestral Conducting with the highest marks, honors, and special mention under the guidance of Maestro Giovanni Pelliccia at the Conservatory “N. Piccinni” in Bari. For musical festivals and events organized by the same institution, he conducted Saint-Saëns’ “The Carnival of the Animals” in October 2021, Fauré’s “Masques et Bergamasques” op. 112 in April 2022, Bach’s Piano Concertos BWV 1055 and BWV 1062 in May 2022, and Vivaldi’s Magnificat RV 611 in December 2022.
He has attended several advanced conducting courses with internationally renowned conductors, including Fabrizio Dorsi and Marco Boni, at the Imola International Academy Foundation.
In February 2023, he conducted a concert for a Lyric Gala organized by the “Taranto Opera Festival,” performing, in addition to various opera arias by Mozart, Verdi, Giordano, and Puccini, the national premiere of Otto Nicolai’s “Fantasia e Variazioni Brillanti sulla Norma di Bellini” op. 25.
In 2024, he gained further recognition by conducting at the European Brass Band Competition at the Palanga Concert Hall in Lithuania, representing Italy and being the youngest conductor at the event. That same year, he conducted three concerts for the Symphonic Season of the Taranto Opera Festival and worked as an assistant conductor for the Choir of the Ventidio Basso Theater in Ascoli Piceno during the Rossini Opera Festival 2024, collaborating with various conductors, including Roberto Abbado, Michele Mariotti, and Diego Matheuz.
Also in 2024, he became the Co-founder and Chief Conductor of the Orchestra Filarmonica dei Due Mari. During the debut concert, he conducted César Franck’s “Panis Angelicus,” Beethoven’s “Coriolan Overture” op. 62, and Symphony No. 1 in C Major op. 21.
Since 2019, he has collaborated with the Taranto Opera Festival as Assistant Conductor, Deputy Director, and Conductor, participating in various theatrical productions, including Aida, Carmen, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Don Giovanni, L’Elisir d’Amore, Gianni Schicchi, Cavalleria Rusticana, and others.
Since 2024, he has written and published with the publishing houses “Salatino Edizioni” and “Anyname Edizioni.”
