Chiara Cattani, conductor
Conductor

Chiara Cattani

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Represented By:

Worldwide:
Maria Gabriella Mafara

+43 676 341 53 77

In the Nordic Region:
Fredrik Akselberg

+47 45 41 20 33

INTRODUCTION

Chiara Cattani is an Italian conductor, maestro al cembalo, harpsichordist, pianist, and historical pianist. She has been appointed Music Director of the renowned Baroque Orchestra Academia Montis Regalis for the 2025–2027 seasons.

RECENT AND FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS

In April 2025, Chiara Cattani led the Ensemble Locatelli in two concerts (Bagnacavallo-Bergamo, Teatro Sociale, Italy) with a programme focusing on Giuseppe Torelli, after the release of the CD with the 12 Concerti Grossi op. 8, finalist at the ICMA 2024 Prize.

She then made her debut at the Vienna Kammeroper with Marianna Martines’ Oratorio Isacco, figura del Redentore in ten performances between June 5-26. In October 2025, she made her debut at the Teatro Goldoni in Florence as part of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino season, leading the orchestra of the Academia Montis Regalis in Alessandro Scarlatti’s opera Il Ciro.

Chiara Cattani will make her Bergamo debut conducting Donizetti’s Alahor in Granata at the Donizetti Festival 2026.

BIOGRAPHY

Graduating with honors in piano at the Conservatorio “B. Maderna” in Cesena under Maestro Denis Zardi, and in harpsichord at the Conservatorio “G.B. Martini” in Bologna under Maestro Silvia Rambaldi, Chiara Cattani has established herself as an Italian conductor, maestro al cembalo, harpsichordist, pianist and historical pianist.  She earned a Master’s degree in Harpsichord with highest honors and a mention of distinction. Cattani furthered her studies at the International Piano Academy in Imola, graduating in chamber music and fortepiano with Maestro Pier Narciso Masi and Maestro Stefano Fiuzzi, respectively. She also earned a degree in choral conducting with honors from the Conservatorio di Bologna under Maestro Leonardo Lollini. Cattani completed her harpsichord studies at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, where she obtained a postgraduate harpsichord degree under Maestro Florian Birsak.

As a harpsichordist and conductor, Cattani regularly leads historical instrument ensembles. In August 2022, she made her international conducting debut at the harpsichord with the finalists of the Cesti Competition at the prestigious Festwochen der Alten Musik in Innsbruck. The following year, she conducted Vivaldi’s La Fida Ninfa at the same festival, receiving rave reviews. In June 2025, she debuted at the Theater An der Wien. Cattani has been appointed music conductor of the esteemed Baroque Orchestra Academia Montis Regalis for the 2025-2027 season and has recorded Alessandro Scarlatti’s oratorio Humanità e Lucifero with the ensemble, which was featured on the cover CD of Amadeus Magazine.

A prizewinner in several national and international competitions, Cattani performs extensively as a soloist on harpsichord, piano, and fortepiano, as well as a continuo player in chamber music and soloist with orchestra, in Europe and Asia. She has recorded over 25 CDs for labels such as Tactus, Brilliant Dynamic, CPO; Movimento Classical, Glossa, and Concerto Classics. Notable recordings include the complete sonatas of Johann Adolf Hasse, composed in Italy, and Giuseppe Sarti’s sonatas for historical keyboards and duo with flute and violin, released on six CDS by Tactus, with the violinist Roberto Noferini and the flutist Silvia Moroni. She has also recorded the Sonatas op. II for Violin and Basso Continuo by Giovanni Battista Somis and the six Sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach with Roberto Noferini.

As a conductor, Cattani’s recordings of Torelli’s Concerti grossi with Ensemble Locatelli and Vivaldi’s La Fida Ninfa have received critical acclaim. She is the author of the book “Giuseppe Sarti: cantabilità operistica nelle sonate per clavicembalo e violino”, published for Associazione Jervolino in Caserta. Cattani collaborates as musical assistant, maestro ai recitativi, continuo player (harpsichord, organ, fortepiano) with prominent European orchestras, including the Accademia Bizantina, Freiburger Baroque Orchestra and with the orchestras of important theatres, such as Staatsoper Hamburg and Berlin, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Theater Basel, Semperoper Dresden, and has performed at major festivals such as Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci and Handel Festspiele in Halle and Festspiele Baden-Baden.

In 2009, Cattani founded the Duo Sarti with violinist Roberto Noferini, with whom she performs as a soloist on three instruments, receiving widespread acclaim. With Silvia Rambaldi, she explores the repertoire for two harpsichords, and an upcoming recording will feature J.S.Bach’s “The Art of Fugue”.  She is a permanent professor of harpsichord at the Conservatorio di Cosenza, and collaborates with the Baroque Department of the Mozarteum University in Salzburg at the Summer International Masterclasses in Siena, Accademia Chigiana.

Cattani is also the artistic director of the “Marco Allegri” summer music course in Faenza and holds a degree in Ancient History with honors and a thesis in Papyrology.

For more information, please contact:
Maria Gabriella Mafara

+43 676 341 53 77

MEDIA

Chiara Cattani – ‘Dubilate Deo Salutari Nostro’ w. Academia Montis Regalis (2024)

Chiara Cattani on Spotify

REVIEWS

Il Ciro by Alessandro Scarlatti w. Orchestra Barocca Academia Montis Regalis (Oct. 2025)

“The musical interpretation was entrusted to Chiara Cattani, conductor and harpsichordist of the Academia Montis Regalis. The orchestra stands as the true protagonist of the opera, allowing Scarlatti’s musical writing to shine at its very best.
The beautiful ouverture immediately provides a lively impulse, full of color and promise—promises that are indeed fulfilled throughout the entire course of the work. It is a synthesis of lightness and strength, of keen sensitivity in supporting the voices, with dynamics perfectly measured to the contours of the singing—powerful when performing alone, yet delicate and present in accompaniment, enhancing the vocal lines without overwhelming them.
Magnificent in the accompanied recitatives—varied and rich in invention—superb in the dances, enriched by evocative percussion such as castanets and bells. Expressive when it takes flight as evoked by the libretto (“Dall’aquila altera”), and surprising in the accompaniments that unfold like an ongoing symphony (“Queste fasce tinte d’ostro”).
Never does one have the impression of encountering that sense of routine which sometimes appears in works of the period, nor of any lack of inspiration. This was an outstanding orchestral performance, worthy of the great tradition rooted in the 1980s, which, since then has continued to bring new perspectives to the oeuvre of Alessandro Scarlatti.
The audience warmly applauded the entire cast, with particularly heartfelt appreciation for conductor Chiara Cattani.” [translated from Italian]
– Daniela Goldoni, Operaclick.com

“The credit for the success of these performances must be attributed largely to Conductor Chiara Cattani, leading the Baroque Orchestra of the Academia Montis Regalis. Endowed with a contagious energy that she transmitted to every member of the orchestra, the conductor imparted to the score—through a clear, articulated, and decisive gesture—a distinct character that revealed the overwhelming beauty and mastery of Scarlatti’s writing.
From the very first orchestral bars, she established a pace of resolute, brisk momentum—energetic and vigorous—while also highlighting the languid moments and the touching pathos of the more reflective sections. The unmistakable color of Scarlatti’s musical fabric and the orchestra’s richly varied palette emerged vividly from the ensemble, which proved responsive and supple under the conductor’s compelling enthusiasm as she recreated shades and dynamics with refined taste.
Her direction was consistently meaningful—sparkling yet spirited, capable of rendering the intricate splendour of Scarlatti’s style. Her approach was evocative and historically aware, conjuring the atmosphere that must have filled the theatre of the Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome when Il Ciro was first performed.
A skillful concertmaster, she demonstrated deep understanding of the singers’ needs, supporting them with great dedication and sensitivity.
The audience greeted the entire vocal company with festive applause, and with particular warmth for Maestra Chiara Cattani.” [translated from Italian]
– G.F. Previtali Rosti, Il Corriere dello Spettacolo

“Equally perfect was the decision to collaborate with the Fondazione Academia Montis Regalis, whose mission is the recovery and revitalization of early music. Today, the director of this institution is Chiara Cattani, harpsichordist and fortepianist—though more precisely, a passionate scholar of all forms of musical archaeology. For over a decade, she has been called upon wherever the rediscovery and appreciation of ancient music are pursued, particularly to preserve the rich heritage dating back to the origins of musical theatre.
Here she appears both as harpsichordist and conductor, as well as concertmaster of the excellent ensemble that is the Baroque Orchestra Montis Regalis. We are transported into another world, where opera aspires to be an expression of elevated sentiment and moral reflection—through music and through that very wonder that lies at the heart of the Baroque universe.” [translated from Italian]
– Annamaria Pellegrini, ilsipario.it

La fida ninfa by Antonio Vivaldi w. the Baroque Orchestra Jung (Aug. 2023)

“Musical director Chiara Cattani succeeded in bringing Vivaldi’s colourful score to life in a lively and imaginative way. An opera like this really makes you want more!”
– Franz Gratl, Kronen Zeitung

“From the harpsichord, Chiara Cattani animates the orchestra to play with colour and character: The focus is not on an academic, dry view of the score, but on the musico-dramatic whole.”
– Walter Weidringer, Die Presse

NEWS

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