Biography
‘Dances and stürmisch cantables look to more distant horizons, better defined in their designs, full of energy, such as only a 30-year-old and of good schooling can imagine’
Carla Moreni, Il Sole 24 Ore, 10/04/2022
‘Whoever decides to venture into the marathon of this enthralling listening will discover an already refined interpreter: acute, intelligent, daring, capable of combining impeccable rigour with whimsical mutability.’
Elide Bergamaschi, Il Cittadino di Lodi, 02/06/2021
‘It is to be hoped that through these excellent recordings Giustini's music will finally get the prominence it deserves.’
Mario-Felix Vogt, Pianist, no. 2, May 2021
‘[...] here this three-disc set does much to offer a wonderful picture of both the possibilities of the new instrument and Giustini's own abilities.’
Bertil van Boer, Fanfare, September/October 2021
After devoting himself to the more traditional repertoire, in recent years pianist Paolo Zentilin has focused his attention on little-known, but thick compositions worthy of attention, with the aim of carefully studying the score, possibly revising it and then making recordings.
The first project that saw the light of day is the recording of the 12 Sonatas op.1 by Lodovico Giustini (1685-1743). The album, released on 3CD by Brilliant Classics in January 2021, received excellent reviews in Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the United States and was broadcast on radio several times. Highlights include broadcasts on Radio3, Radio Svizzera Italiana, Radio Vaticana, SWR, Orf and reviews in Il Sole 24 Ore, Pianist Magazin, Fanfare and other magazines.
Paolo Zentilin is also interested in Composition, which he considers functional to his activity as a pianist, and he has currently delved into the relationship between gesture and sound, with reference to piano technique, developing a specific semiography. In addition to writing original pieces, he has also devoted himself to works by other composers. One of his transcriptions for piano and accordion of the Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra op. 146 by Danish composer Niels Viggo Bentzon was published by Wilhelm Hansen, arousing interest in the press (Suonare News).
For several years, he has also devoted much time to teaching. He is currently serving as Principal Piano Teacher at the Conservatorio ‘G. P. da Palestrina’ in Cagliari. He also has experience as a teacher of piano and ensemble music workshop at the Licei Musicali in Udine and Trieste.
He holds solo concerts in Italy in Rome, Milan, Venice, Ferrara, Trieste and other cities for concert organisations such as the Società dei Concerti in Milan, the Cultural Association ‘Il Tempietto’ (Rome), the Mozart Italia Association and other organisations. He has also performed in Salzburg (Mozarteum, Wiener Saal), Florence (Palazzo Vecchio, Salone dei Cinquecento), Todi (Teatro Comunale), Venice (Teatro La Fenice - Sale Apollinee).
Of a reflective nature, he prefers timbral research to virtuosity. With this in mind, he has gradually reduced his participation in piano competitions, where he has nonetheless obtained important prizes (for example, he distinguished himself at the XXVIII Concorso Pianistico Nazionale ‘Muzio Clementi - Yamaha’ - June 2011 - with the special prize for sound quality, also obtaining 2nd prize cat. D - I not assigned - and 3rd prize overall) and focused on an education that goes beyond instrumental practice alone, thus also devoting himself to Composition and university studies. In the piano field, he tried to follow teachers he felt were close to his way of playing. Reference figures, in different periods, were R. Prosseda, R. Zadra and T. Trevisan for Piano and F. Nieder for Composition. He has also attended numerous masterclasses, in order to be confronted with different visions and to make more conscious choices at an interpretative level. Among the masters with whom he has dealt are E. Torbianelli, B. Lupo, P. De Maria, R. Cominati, A. Hewitt, J. Kropfitsch, B. Van Oort, R. Kinka, P. Bordoni, K. Barth, A. Delle Vigne, S. Perticaroli, E. Virsaladze and others.
He graduated in Piano and Composition at the Trieste Conservatory, and also graduated in Philosophy at the Trieste University, with a thesis on Jankélévitch and the music of Debussy.
