Maxime ZECCHINI
Pianist
Biography
Born in Paris in 1979, Maxime ZECCHINI received a gold medal in 1995 from the Conservatory of Saint Maur des Fosses in Maurice Blanchot 's class. He went on to study at the Higher Regional Conservatory in Paris where, in 1997, he was awarded the first prize (by a unanimous vote) in Jean-Marie Cottet 's class.
That same year, he began a course of study at the Higher National Conservatory of Music in Lyon, in Géry Moutier 's and Danièle Renault- Fasquelle 's class, where, in June of 2001, he earned the DNESM (Diplôme National d 'Etudes Supérieures Musicales) with highest honors and special commendation (by a unanimous vote). In 2002, he received the diploma of technical virtuosity from the Regional Conservatory of Rueil-Malmaison in Danièle Renault-Fasquelle 's class, before being accepted at the National Music Conservatory in Paris in Jean-François Heisser 's advanced proficiency class.
Maxime Zecchini is the first French pianist to receive a degree from the prestigious "Incontri col Maestro" academy in Imola, Italy, where his professors were Giovanni Valentini et Piero Rattalino.
He has attended master classes with Maria João Pires, Leslie Howard, Sergio Perticaroli, Dimitri Bashkirov and Marie-Josèphe Jude, and received regular guidance from Laurent Cabasso et Olivier Cazal.
In 2000, he won the international competition in Arcachon. In 2002, he was awarded the Cziffra Foundation prize. In 2003, he was in the semi-finals at the international competition in Shanghai, China, and then won the first prize by a unanimous vote at the international competition at Varenna-Lake Como in Italy.
Maxime Zecchini has received a bourse de la vocation from the Marcel Bleustein- Blanchet foundation, as well as further awards from the Meyer Foundation, and the Mécénat Musical Société Générale (MMSG).
He has played at the Pamiers Festival, at the Saint-Etienne Opera, in Menton, at the Château of Pouys-sur-Vannes Festival, at the Clairac Festival, in Villecroze, Ecully, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Paris (Salle Gaveau, Atrium Magne, Centre Tchèque ), Saint-Amand-Montrond, Luchon, Montivilliers, Senlis, and many other locations, as well as in Italy (at the Stresa-Lake Maggiore festival), on Italian radio (Rai 3) and in China (at the Arts Theatre).
He has played the repertoire 's great concertos under the direction of conductors such as Jean-Pierre Ballon and Philippe Cambreling, and has collaborated with the National Orchestra of Ile de France under the direction of conductors like Luciano Acocella and Vladimir Cosma.
A recording of the repertoire for the left hand, including works from Bach to Ravel came out in 2006, distributed by Integral Classic under the label Explora Concept.
Maxime Zecchini is an eclectic musician: he has written music for commercials, orchestrated music for television, and directed musicals. He has been fascinated with composition since early childhood, and is the author of numerous original works and transcriptions which he likes to include in his concerts.