About
“Classical music is an absolute heritage of humanity and is a language that, however exotic or distant it may seem, simply needs frequent exposure and an ongoing process of raising awareness among the younger generation.”
Milan-born Federico Gad Crema was a 9-year-old more drawn to the drums and a rock-and-roll image when his mother noticed he had a special talent for the piano; he would sit in her lap and copy her hand movements as she played. That relatively late start certainly didn’t slow him down. “I truly cannot pinpoint one specific moment in which I decided to pursue music professionally,” he says, “but I could not imagine my life without it.” He earned two master’s summa cum laude (G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan and Haute école de musique de Genève), studied at Colburn Conservatory, and is now mentored by Kirill Gerstein in Berlin.
Federico has performed around the world, including at Carnegie Hall, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Philharmonie de Paris and Teatro Castro Alves in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. He has collaborated with major orchestras, as well as world-famous artists such as Martha Argerich, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Renaud Capuçon, Marc-André Hamelin, Kimbo Ishii, Ricardo Castro, and many others. He's also a prizewinner of numerous international piano competitions in Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Greece, and the United States.
Founder and artistic director of the Oropa Music Festival, he created the Peace Orchestra Project in 2023, an inclusive program whose main goal is to give a renewed purpose to the symphonic orchestra and use it as a platform for social transformation, peace, and integration through the power of music. The first edition brought together more than 80 accomplished young musicians from four continents and 17 countries, including disadvantaged communities. The life-changing experience ended with an international tour featuring Martha Argerich, with the next tours happening in Europe in 2026 and 2027.
Federico is proud to wear haute couture creations, exclusively made in Italy—fabrics by Fratelli Tallia di Delfino.
Competition Repertoire
Preliminary Round
- SCARLATTI Sonata in A Major, K. 208
- SCARLATTI Sonata in G Major, K. 146
- CHOPIN Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat Major, op. 61
- DEBUSSY Images, Book I
- MONTERO Rachtime
Quarterfinal Round
- SCHUMANN Fantasie in C Major, op. 17
- SCRIABIN Fantasy in B Minor, op. 28
Semifinal Round - Recital
- SCRIABIN Preludes, op. 11, nos. 9, 6, 13-15, 18
- CHOPIN Preludes, op. 28, nos. 7, 8, 11, 19-24
- MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition
Semifinal Round - Mozart Concerto
- MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488
Final Round - Concerto 1
- CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, op. 21
Final Round - Concerto 2
- TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, op. 23