Alessandro Villalva, born in Conegliano (Treviso), was introduced to the piano at the age of five. In his early years, he studied under the renowned Russian pianist and pedagogue Siavush Gadjiev at the Slovenian Center for Musical Education “E. Komel” in Gorizia. In 2013, he completed his pre-academic studies at the B. Maderna Conservatory in Cesena, graduating with full marks and honors.
His early career was marked by significant competition successes. In 2010, he was awarded the “Rachmaninov Prize” at the Rachmaninov Wettbewerb in Frankfurt am Main. In 2011, he received second prize and a special award for the best performance of J.S. Bach at the International Piano Competition in Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic. That same year, he was named absolute winner of the 1st International Piano Talents Competition in Milan, where he received the “Piano Talents Award 2011.”
In 2017, he began his studies at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg under Professor Pietro De Maria. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2021 and completed his Master of Arts in 2024.
Over the same span of years, he expanded his artistic development through masterclasses and lessons with renowned pianists including Natalia Trull, Pavel Gililov, Robert Levin, and Imre Rohmann. In early 2023, he was selected to be one of the few students to experience in first person the precious lessons on W. A. Mozart with Alfred Brendel. Currently he is pursuing further studies with Professor Jacques Rouvier.
After the pandemic, Alessandro resumed competitive performance with strong results. In 2021, he won the First Absolute Prize at the International Competition “City of Minerbio”. The following year, 2022, brought several more accolades: he won the “Master Orchestra” International Concerto Competition in Brescia, performing Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto Op. 18; the First Absolute Prize in Category E and Second Prize for the Premio Amadeus at the 2nd International Amadeus Piano Competition in Lazise (VR); the First Absolute Prize at the Rospigliosi Piano Competition; and the Third Prize at the Massarosa International Piano Competition.
From March 2022 to June 2023, he held a teaching position in Munich, Germany. At the end of June 2023, he was the only Italian accepted into the prestigious 17th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and was awarded the Special Prize “Best Contestant of Round 2”. Most recently, in July 2025, he has been awarded the First Prize at the 5th edition of the ArtePiano International Competition, becoming the first Italian to do so.
In addition to his competition successes, Alessandro has been invited to perform at several important festivals, including for example the Lucca Classica Festival and the Ravello Festival. He has also performed extensively in solo and chamber music concerts across Italy, Russia, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia.