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Pianist Federico Colli is a rising keyboard star known for imaginative interpretations supported by an acquaintance with European philosophy and literature. He has been signed to the prestigious Chandos label.

Colli was born in Brescia, Italy, on August 10, 1988. No one else in his family was musical, and he told the Cross-Eyed Pianist blog (July 19, 2018) that the process of becoming a pianist was "so natural that I still don't know if I chose the music, or if the music chose me." Colli studied at the Milan Conservatory under a variety of teachers, including Sergio Marengoni, Konstantin Bogino, Boris Petrushansky, and Pavel Gililov, but he listed primary influences, as quoted by the Cross-Eyed Pianist, "philosophical essays, some big German, French, Italian and Russian novels. And of course the holy books." This combination of influences propelled Colli to top prize wins at the Salzburg Mozart Competition in 2011 and the Leeds International Piano Competition the following year. His performing career has often highlighted Mozart's works. In 2014, Colli recorded his debut album for the Champs Hill label, featuring Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

The competition victories opened up appearances in an exceptionally long list of top venues in Europe and beyond, including the Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Wigmore Hall in London, the Cidade das Artes in Rio de Janeiro, and Lincoln Center in New York, among many others. Colli was signed to Chandos and released his debut on that label, an album of sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, in 2018. Critically acclaimed, it was designed as Volume 1. Colli followed that up in 2019 with an album of works by Bach, together with Ferruccio Busoni's transcription and adaptation of the Chaconne from Bach's Partita No. 2 for solo violin in D minor, BWV 1004. In 2020, he released the second volume of Scarlatti sonatas, following that up in 2022 with the album Mozart, which featured unorthodox recordings of that composer's works. ~ James Manheim