Born
in Naples, Italy, Emma Abbate initially
graduated in Pianoforte from the S. Pietro a Majella Conservatoire at
the age of 19. Following advanced studies at the S. Cecilia
Conservatoire in Rome, Emma studied with Yonty Solomon at London's
Trinity College of Music, from where she graduated with First Class
honours. She then pursued her postgraduate training with Geoffrey
Pratley and Patsy Toh as a scholar at the Royal Academy of Music, where
she was awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Accompaniment with
Distinction. Her many prizes have included the Anglo-Czechoslovak Trust
Award, the Jeejeebhoy prize for piano studies, the Grover Bennett Prize,
the AMA Calabria award, and the international Ibla Grand Prize as
Distinguished Musician. An official accompanist at Trinity College of
Music, London, she collaborates with singers and instrumentalists in
many countries.
Emma Abbate has performed in numerous
prestigious UK venues, such as the Wigmore Hall, St
Martin-in-the-Fields, Regent's Hall, Southwark Cathedral, Blackheath
Halls, the Italian Institute of Culture, and the Pump Room in Bath.
Internationally, she has performed at the Salzburger Schlosskonzerte,
the Aldo Ciccolini Music Society in Naples, the Anghiari International
Festival with Southbank Sinfonia, the International Festival
Santanellese in Sorrento, the Italian Institute of Culture in Lisbon,
and for The William Walton Society in Ischia. Emma has also performed in
masterclasses for distinguished musicians, including Marcello Abbado,
Rudolf Jansen, Michael Dussek, Douglas Finch, and received chamber music
coaching from Clifford Benson, Thomas Brandis and Richard Deakin. Emma
was also awarded a degree cum laude in Italian Literature and Culture
from the Federico II University in Naples, and she is very happy to
devise programmes and educational events based on Italian and Spanish
themes. Current projects include a world première recording of complete
works for cello and piano by the contemporary Polish composer Krzysztof
Meyer, in collaboration with Evva Mizerska.
In addition to a
busy programme as soloist and accompanist, Emma is a member of
Duo Leda.
