Riccardo Sandiford is a Florentine concert pianist and a professor at the Conservatory of Bologna. He graduated with honors in piano and chamber vocal music. He studied composition with Salvatore Sciarrino and Rosario Mirigliano. Under the guidance of Antonio Bacchelli, he enriched his cultural background by meeting and studying with renowned international musicians such as Paul Badura Skoda, Murray Perahia, Aldo Ciccolini, Paolo Spagnolo, Charles Rosen, and Maurizio Pollini.
Winner of various national competitions, including the F. Schubert competition in Turin and the Italian selection for the Rai competition, Sandiford has performed in Italy, France, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Japan, China, and Turkey. Among his notable interpretations are Études and Préludes by Debussy, Miroirs by Ravel, Beethoven’s Sonata op. 106 and op. 111, Berg’s Sonata, and Webern’s Variations op. 27.
Highlighted performances include two concerts for the Angelo Mariani Association in Ravenna at the Teatro Alighieri (2010-2015), a concert at the Kammermusiksaal of the Berlin Philharmonie (2009), concerts for the Società dei Concerti in Milan (1994-1998), the Regina Estate Festival in Montecatini (1998-2000-2003-2005), Fiesole Summer (1992), performances with the Florence Chamber Orchestra (Mozart’s Kv 414, Kv 271, Kv 595; conducted by Grzegorz Nowak, Giuseppe Lanzetta, Mario Roncuzzi), the Grosseto Orchestra, Cukurova National Orchestra, and Toscana Classica Orchestra (Beethoven’s Concerto No. 5), concerts for the Conoscere la Musica Association in Bologna (2014, 2015, 2016, and 2021), Heidelberg Piano Festival (2006-2008), and the Ostrovskj Museum in Moscow (2008).
In chamber music, he collaborates with violinist Ilya Grubert, flutist Andras Blau, and mezzo-soprano Anastasia Boldyreva. In 2000, he recorded a CD, published by Bongiovanni, featuring works by Respighi, Pizzetti, and Alfano. In 2016, he recorded Brahms’ three Sonatas with flutist Claudio Ferrarini for Limen Music.
With the primary aim of promoting musical art in unconventional cultural settings, Sandiford is committed to arranging concert seasons and served as the Artistic Director for the Toscana Classica production association from 2007 to 2012. He also developed interdisciplinary projects for the Florens Foundation (International Biennial of Cultural Heritage), the Florence Summer Festival, the Michelangelo Week, and finally, the creation of Piano Novecento (since 2019), a piano festival dedicated to the 20th-century repertoire at the Museo Novecento in Florence.
