Filippo Gorini

The idea is simple: instead of constantly travelling from one concert venue to another, I will focus on seven cities in different parts of the world, staying in each for a full month and offering much more than a single performance. I hope to build ongoing relationships and create a new way of developing my career for the long-term future in this way with many more cities around the world.

Filippo Gorini

The 2023 Franco Buitoni Award was given to Italian pianist Filippo Gorini. The award enabled Filippo to develop Sonata for 7 Cities, a residency-based project that will see him spend time living and working in seven cities including Vienna (February 2025), Cape Town (September 2025), Hong Kong (November 2025), Portland (March 2026), and Milan (May 2026). Delivered in partnership with a leading classical music institution in each city, each residency will be built around concerto and recital performances, including the premiere of one of a set of specially-commissioned piano sonatas; while the rest of Filippo‘s time will be devoted to creative local partnerships with free teaching, mentoring and philanthropic activity, as well as performances in more unusual venues beyond the city centre for audiences who are not regular concert-goers for a variety of reasons. Filippo will also collaborate with filmmaker Ruggero Romano and Movies Move Us to make a docu-series that will capture and share the project on film.

Filippo Gorini
Photo: Simon Pauly

Ilaria Borletti Buitoni presented the award to Filippo at a special concert in association with Società del Quartetto in Milan on 22 June 2023.

I very much admire Filippo’s very generous commitment to sharing his great musical talent and insight with a much wider community, especially those who are often unable to attend major concerts through lack of such things as money, confidence, education and ability. I wish Filippo every success with this philanthropic initiative, which I am sure, will be a very rewarding experience for him and for everybody involved.

Ilaria Borletti Buitoni

Read the press release here

More information about Filippo Gorini can be found here: www.filippogorini.it

More information about the Sonata for 7 Cities project can be found here: www.sonatafor7cities.com