Leonardo Preitano, born in 1998, owes his musical training to Marco Scano (former principal cellist of La Scala, Milan), Giovanni Scaglione (Quartetto di Cremona) and Michele Ballarini (Trio Brahms), with whom he graduated with top marks and distinction from the Conservatorio Arrigo Boito in Parma in March 2019. In 2020 he began a master’s in concert performance with the same teacher at the Zurich University of the Arts, graduating in 2022; he currently studies with Claudius Herrmann (Opernhaus Zürich, Gringolts Quartet).
Particularly devoted to chamber music, he has worked with many figures and renowned international ensembles, including the Trio di Parma, Quartetto Prometeo, Quartetto di Cremona and the ATOS Trio. In 2024 he founded the Leonis Trio, with which he is currently completing the Stauffer Artist Diploma at the Accademia Stauffer. The ensemble is also part of the “Le Dimore del Quartetto” network.
He has taken part in numerous masterclasses with Giovanni Scaglione, Giovanni Gnocchi, Yves Savary, Enrico Bronzi, Romain Garioud, Asier Polo and Martti Rousi, and has performed at major festivals such as the Festival di Portogruaro, the Festival delle Nazioni in Città di Castello, MusicWithMasters, the Garda Lake Music Festival and the Salso Summer Class & Festival – at the latter also as soloist in Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D major.
As an orchestral musician he has played with several youth and professional orchestras, including I Musici di Parma, the orchestra of the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, the Arteviva Symphony Orchestra and the Savona Symphony Orchestra. Since October 2020 he has been a permanent member of Gli Archi di Cremona, a string orchestra with which he performed at the renowned Stradivari Festival in 2021 and 2024.
He is a multiple prizewinner as both soloist and chamber musician, including at the Salieri Competition (4th prize), the Premio Città di Giussano, the Giulio Rospigliosi International Chamber Music Competition, the Premio Crescendo (2nd prize) and the Stresa International Music Competition (1st prize).
He plays an instrument by Francesco Toto, Cremona, 2016.
Photo: zVg