Leeds International Piano Competition  * * * *

Alessandro Taverna never put a finger wrong and his every note was weighed with the utmost finesse. Those who only heard his magisterial account of Chopin's First Piano Concerto in the final won't have twigged what a remarkable musician he is: his semi-final recital spanning Ligeti, Chopin, Bach and Stravinsky was fifty minutes of flawless poetry. Taverna sounds to me like the natural successor to his great compatriot Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli - and there's not much higher praise than that.

THE GUARDIAN, SEPTEMBER 2009

Leeds International Piano Competition * * * *

Like many in the audience I would have liked to see the first prize go to bronze medallist Alessandro Taverna, who played Chopin's e minor Concerto with forthright, articulate beauty. He commanded the platform as if it were his by right, and looked to be thoroughly enjoying himself. Remember his name, I suspect we shall be hearing much more of him in the future."

THE TIMES, SEPTEMBER 2009
Leeds International Piano Competition * * *

The Italian Alessandro Taverna, eventually placed third, although he perhaps ought to have ranked higher on this performance alone, made lovely work of Chopin’s fiendish Piano Concerto No 1. What marked him out from some rather forced emoting elsewhere was the delight he showed in and through the music, resulting in a triumphant rondo.

MUSOLIFE.COM, SEPTEMBER 2009

Final Night of the Leeds Piano Competition

Italy’s Alessandro Taverna, 25, took centre stage, giving a delightfully elegant performance of Chopin’s first piano concerto with mesmerizing, beautifully articulated phrases while performing with a genuine and contagious sense of enjoyment.

YORKSHIRE POST, SEPTEMBER 2009

Leeds International Piano Competition Semi-Final

Another to impress was the Italian, Alessandro Taverna. Ever thoughtful, weighting the various elements of Beethoven’s Eroica Variations and infinitely detailing Scriabin’s Tenth Sonata, he threw caution to the wind in the three extracts from Stravinsky’s Petrushka. Not without error, but it excited the audience.

MUSIC & VISION, JULY 2009

Recital, Steinway Hall London

Taverna’s perfect pedalling, synchronised with long fingers scaling their dexterous journey through J S Bach’s English Suite No. 5 in E minor, BWV 810.  The remainder of the programme with its Russian-German tinges of mysticism, ornate versatility and pictorial stage craft really brought the whole thing alive. Stravinsky’s eternal barnstormer in his truncated three-movement reduction for Artur Rubinstein – Petrushka – left the piano still intact. Brilliant!

WWW.CLASSICAL SOURCE, APRIL 2009

London International Piano Competition - Final

Alessandro Taverna impressed mightily in Chopin’s E minor Piano Concerto. Taverna brought something special to this music. Too many pianists treat it as though they would rather be playing Liszt. Taverna refused to try and take the music by storm, finding instead a gentle melancholy, varying his tone and phrasing and bringing a maturity beyond his years . . . found his way to the music’s heart, especially in the poetry of the moonlit slow movement.