Fiammetta Tarli was born in Pisa, Italy. She started studying piano with Giampiero Semeraro, Maria Tipo, Lydia Rocchetti-Pezzati (at the Florence Conservatoire); she participated in master classes with Ilonka Deckers, and in a master class for Lieder and Vocal Music with Elio Battaglia in Acquasparta (Terni, Italy). Later she specialised in vocal and instrumental chamber music with Iain Ledingham, former Head of Opera at the Royal Academy of Music (London), and in solo repertoire with Dennis Lee. In November 2003 she took her Master of Musicology (MMus) at King’s College London with a Special Study on Schumann’s early piano music (passed with Distinction). In October 2008 she submitted her PhD thesis, which was completed with an AHRC scholarship, at the same institution. She won awards at prestigious piano competitions: 1st Prize of the National Piano Competition “Muzio Clementi” in Florence, “Pietro Napoli” in Livorno (three times), “Pasquale Cafaro” in Galatina, “J. S. Bach” in Sestri Levante, 1st prize as an accompanist in the “Jugend Musiziert” competition in Munster (Germany), the International Piano Competition in Stresa. She performs regularly in Italy, Germany and the UK in solo recitals and as an accompanying pianist. In January 2003 she made her debut in Bulgaria as a soloist performing Schumann’s Piano Concerto.
The works selected for this programme come as a logical choice, even though Schumann is a great challenge for every pianist (he was called the “Paganini of the piano”). Fiammetta Tarli demonstrates a permanent interest for this composer not only as a performer, but also as a musicologist. Her deep knowledge of his works helps her convey the composer’s philosophy.