Daniele Pollini

Daniele Pollini developed his own musical identity apart from his celebrated lineage as the son of pianist Maurizio Pollini, pursuing conducting alongside piano performance and cultivating a strong engagement with contemporary repertoire. He frequently appeared in two-piano recitals alongside his father over many years. Independently, he issued multiple recordings, among them the Deutsche Grammophon release Schubert, captured in collaboration with Maurizio shortly before the elder Pollini’s passing and issued in 2024.

Born in Milan on November 27, 1978, Pollini grew up with a pianist mother, Marilisa Marzotto. He trained at the piano under Franco Scala, the longtime teacher and director at the Conservatorio Rossini in Pesaro. His first public piano performance occurred at the 1997 Rossini Opera Festival in that city, where attention quickly focused on his parentage, prompting joint stage appearances with Maurizio. He later pursued conducting studies with Gianluigi Gelmetti at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, making his podium debut at the 2002 Ravenna Festival by directing an all-Beethoven program with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI. His initial commercial recording featured him as pianist with the same ensemble on the 2008 Kairos album Salvatore Sciarrini: Orchestral Works. He also led performances that showcased his father as concerto soloist.

As a concerto pianist, Pollini appeared with ensembles including the Tuscan Regional Orchestra, the Orchestra dei Pomeriggi Musicali, and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI. Festival engagements took him to the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Salzburg Festival, and the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, while recitals occurred in prominent Italian halls. His conducting schedule extended to France and Spain in addition to Italy. In 2018 Deutsche Grammophon issued his solo recital disc Chopin: Etudes, Op. 10; Scriabin: Late Works Opp. 70-74; Stockhausen: Klavierstück IX. Additional joint projects with Maurizio Pollini appeared on the same label, culminating in the 2024 posthumous release of Schubert.