Leonardo Hilfdorf

Recognised as one of the leading Brazilian pianists of his generation, Leonardo Hilsdorf has performed in Europe, the United States and Latin America. Acclaimed by critics as “phenomenal” (Stuttgarter Nachrichten) and “captivating and masterful” (L’Indépendant), he spent two years as a resident soloist at the renowned Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, where he worked closely with Maria João Pires, who remains his mentor to this day.

Leonardo has won major international competitions in countries including Germany, France, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Portugal and Brazil. Among his most significant accolades are the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Prize in Paris, first prize at the European Union Special Prize for Youth Competitions in San Sebastián (2013), the Villa-Lobos Prize at the Rio de Janeiro International Competition (2014) and the Yamaha JJC International Competition in Mexico (2016), as well as first prize and the audience and critics’ prizes at the Pianale Akademia (2011). In 2018 and 2021, he was the top prize winner at the Verão Clássico festival in Portugal, and in 2020 he was unanimously awarded first prize at the ‘InMusica’ International Competition in Rome.

In recent years, he has performed at prestigious venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Flagey and Bozar in Brussels, the Maison de la Radio in Paris, the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, the Sala São Paulo and the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro. As a soloist, he has collaborated with leading orchestras, including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Royal Wallonie Orchestra and the Yucatán Symphony Orchestra, as well as major Brazilian orchestras such as OSESP, the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira and the Minas Gerais Philharmonic.

Leonardo has a particular interest in contemporary music, having premiered major works in Brazil, including Edino Krieger’s *Fantasia Concertante* with OSESP at the Sala São Paulo in 2017 and Yoshimatsu’s *Memo Flora* concerto in 2024. He is currently recording the complete piano works of Edino Krieger, reaffirming his commitment to the national repertoire.
He has a strong passion for chamber music, particularly the lieder and trio repertoire, and is widely recognised for his musical versatility, with a repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary music.

Leonardo is also regularly invited to major international chamber music festivals and masterclasses, including the Ravinia Festival (USA), the Emil Gilels Festival (Germany), the Campos do Jordão Festival (Brazil) and the Académie Musicale de Villecroze, where he has worked with Joseph Kalichstein and François-Frédéric Guy. In 2016, he was named ‘Young Talent of the Year’ by leading Brazilian music critics, an award presented by the magazine Revista Concerto.

He graduated with a degree in music from the University of São Paulo, where he studied with Eduardo Monteiro. He holds two Master’s degrees in piano: one from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he studied with Wha Kyung Byun and Russell Sherman, and another from the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, where he studied with Claudio Martínez Mehner. He also obtained the Diplôme de Concertiste from the École Normale A. Cortot in Paris, awarded by unanimous decision of the jury.
He recently completed the prestigious Konzertexamen course at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln and was awarded a PhD in Cultural Studies from the Catholic University of Lisbon.