Harpsichord Masterclass

Harpsichordist and conductor Francesco Corti was born in Arezzo, Italy, in a musical family in 1984. He studied organ in Perugia, then harpsichord in Geneva and in Amsterdam.

He was awarded at the International "Johann Sebastian Bach" Competition in Leipzig (2006) and at the Bruges Harpsichord Competition (2007).

As a soloist and conductor, he has appeared in recitals and concerts all over Europe, in the USA and Canada, in Latin America, in Asia and in New Zealand. He has been invited by festivals such as Mozart Woche and the Salzburger Festpiele, Musikfest Berlin, BachFest Leipzig, MusikFest Bremen, Utrecht Early Music Festival, Festival Radio France Montpellier. He has performed in halls such as Salle Pleyel and Thêatre des Champs Elysées (Paris), Bozar (Bruxelles), Konzerthaus (Vienna), Philharmonie (Berlin and Hamburg), Mozarteum and Haus für Mozart (Salzburg) and Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Teatro Real (Madrid), Palau de la Música Catalana (Barecelona). 

He’s a member of Les Musiciens du Louvre (Minkowski), Zefiro (Bernardini), the Bach Collegium Japan (Suzuki), Les Talens Lyriques (Rousset) and Le Concert des Nations (Savall).

Since 2018 he is principal guest conductor of il Pomo d’Oro. Among other projects with this ensemble, he has conducted European tours of Händel’s Orlando and Radamisto. His collaboration with Pomo d’Oro include numerous recordings. He is invited to lead Les Musiciens du Louvre, Tafelmusik, Freiburger Barockorchester, B’Rock and the Nederlandse Bachvereniging. In 2021 he has conducted a new production of Händel’s Agrippina at the Royal Theater in Drottningholm (Stockholm, Sweden) and Monteverdi’s Combattimento in Cremona and Reggio Emilia (Italy). In 2022, he has conducted “Un Moto di Gioia. Mozart Concert Arias” staged by A. T. de Keersmaeker in Gent and Antwerpen (Belgium).

Starting January 2023, he will be musical director at the Drottningholm Royal Court Theater, where he will conduct a new production of Purcell’s Fairy Queen in August 2023. 

His solo recordings include a CD of Louis Couperin Suites, the Partitas by J. S. Bach, Haydn Sonatas, the two piano quartets and the piano concerto K. 488 by Mozart, and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solemnelle. Pentatone has recently published the first three volumes of Bach’s harpsichord concertos and Händel’s Apollo e Dafne with il Pomo d’Oro. His latest solo recordings (Arcana) “Bach: Little Books” and “Händel: Winged Hands” have received multiple awards and have been acclaimed by the international press. “Händel: Winged Hands” has been awarded a prestigious Diapason d’Or de l’Année 2022. 

He has taught in masterclasses all over Europe, in Latin America and in Asia. Since September 2016, he is professor of harpsichord at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.