Nicola Elias Rigato, Pianist, Composer and researcher
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Nicola Elias Rigato (b. 1991) is an Italian classical pianist, composer, and researcher known for his eclectic artistry and deep interdisciplinary approach to music. His work bridges classical traditions with contemporary experimentation, combining performance, composition, improvisation, and anthropological research.
He graduated with full marks, honors, and special mention in Piano, Composition, and Chamber Music from the "F. Venezze" Conservatory in Rovigo, later obtaining a degree in Composition from the “Steffani” Conservatory under Gian-Luca Baldi. Rigato has studied with renowned artists such as Oxana Yablonskaya, Massimiliano Mainolfi, Pier Narciso Masi, Roberto Prosseda, and Giovanni Sollima, among others.
A prizewinner of several international competitions — including the Don Sante Montanaro Award, Giussano, and Salieri Prize — he has performed across Europe as a soloist and in chamber ensembles. His repertoire spans from classical masterworks to original and unpublished compositions, always seeking to connect music with philosophy, gesture, and imaginative narrative.
Rigato’s compositional voice is highly individual, blending minimalism, post-romanticism, jazz, progressive rock, and pop influences. His music is performed internationally and has been featured in contexts ranging from contemporary art museums to virtual choirs. In 2021, his composition Left Alone was performed via video by eleven acclaimed pianists, and in 2023, his Piano Concerto and the suite Elusion were published by Universal Edition. The score for Left Alone is published by Terentyev Publishing.
Dedicated to expanding the experience of music beyond performance, Rigato is the Italian coordinator of FUNDUS, an international project bringing new music into art museums. He is also the founder of We-Choir, a global virtual choir born during the pandemic, dedicated to the performance of contemporary works.
In education, Rigato is a passionate pedagogue committed to integrating neuroscience and holistic approaches to music learning. He is the vice president of the cultural association FOUR – Casa di Musica Scienza Poesia in Modena, where he teaches piano, composition, and ensemble music. His pedagogical method, La Mano, La Mente, Il Cuore ("The Hand, The Mind, The Heart"), developed in collaboration with Laura Polato and based on the "Metodo Four" and "Pedagogia per il Terzo Millennio", is published by Fabbrica dei Segni and adopted by several Italian schools. He is also the author of Sul Palco – A Practical Guide for Musicians and Pianists.
Rigato is frequently invited to masterclasses and serves on international competition juries, such as the Yablonskaya Piano Festival, where his music is also used for the “Challenge Award” category.
In recent years, his work has expanded into interdisciplinary and technological fields, including AI-generated music. His collaboration with Francesco Bardozzo resulted in the creation of Crypt.01, a composition fully realized by a neural network. With the Futura Modulans label, Rigato has released over 50 singles and two full-length albums (Elusion, Undone), further establishing his distinctive voice in today’s musical landscape.
At the core of Rigato’s artistic and pedagogical philosophy is the belief in music’s power to develop human potential and facilitate deep communication between inner and outer worlds. Each of his events is conceived as a multidimensional experience—intertwining sound, word, gesture, and imagination—to recreate a necessary sense of myth in the contemporary age.

 

Nicola Elias Rigato Website