Angelo Villani has performed extensively in the UK, Europe, Asia and Australia, and has received coverage on major media, including Classic FM and live BBC interviews and performances. The release of his debut album, Angelo Villani plays Dante’s Inferno, garnered considerable praise and earned five star reviews in International Piano, The Independent, and a ‘Tokusen’ (specially recommended recording) in The Record Geijutsu.
Angelo has received considerable acclaim for his highly charged yet intensely poetic Romantic style, commended by esteemed artists including Nikolai Demidenko and Daniel-Ben Pienaar, and also in the musical press by prominent critics including Jessica Duchen and Bryce Morrison. His luminous pianism, with a style that has been described as an incandescent yet soulful lyricism, encompasses a wide repertoire centred – yet not exclusive to – the composers of the late Romantic era. Villani’s recitals frequently feature his own paraphrases on great romantic works, including Purcell’s Dido’s Lament, and Wagner’s Tristan & Isolde.
Angelo Villani began his career as a child prodigy in his native Australia, where his teachers included pupils of Friedman and Michelangeli. As a teenager, Angelo performed major works including the Rachmaninov 2nd and Tchaikovsky 1st piano concertos.
Injury and years of silence
In 1990, an injury to his right hand prevented his participation in the International Tchaikovsky Competition.
Shortly after he returned to Australia and then settled in London to find a medical solution to the problem which proved to be very illusive. After an exhaustive run of consulting over a hundred specialists, results began to slowly emerge. Playing diminutive works at small private concerts/soirees enabled Villani to gradually gain flexibility needed for a potentially full recovery.
By 2005 he experimented with applying a faint layer of talcum powder over the keyboard to prevent his fingers from ‘over gripping’ (a common sensation often confused with focal dystonia). Between 2006 and 2021 he utilised cotton gloves which became crucial in his re-training and reshaping of his technique.
His recovery, over a period of three decades, culminated in a highly anticipated comeback recital in 2012 at St. James’s Church Piccadilly. Other concerts soon followed, most notably in Japan, Spain, Denmark, Romania, Austria, the UK and at the Suoni Dal Golfo Music & Poetry Festival in Lerici, Italy, where his performances have been greeted with rapturous enthusiasm.
In Summer 2024, Villani will commence writing a short memoir detailing his fight to return to the concert platform.
His latest CD (Angelo Villani : Transcriptions) marks the inaugural release of the new ARTéMUS label. Future releases include : Transcriptions (Vol.2) and further albums of works by Franck, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, plus a homage to Ignaz Friedman (Chopin).
Angelo Villani currently resides in Bucharest and London.
Villani is currently seeking Management but is proudly represented by Nicky Thomas Media