Mario Balzi
Mario Andrea Balzi has lived and worked in Salzburg for more than a decade and has collaborated with leading singers, conductors and orchestras in Europe, the United States and Brazil. Since March 2025, he has worked as an accompanist at the Department of Elementary Music and Dance Pedagogy at the Mozarteum University’s Orff Institute.
Born in Barcelona, Mario Andrea Balzi began studying piano at the age of six and later pursued musical studies in Brazil, Italy and the United States. He studied with distinguished musicians including Sergio Perticaroli, Caio Pagano and Dalton Baldwin, and completed a master’s degree in accompaniment at Westminster Choir College in 1999. During these years, he won several piano competitions in Brazil and developed an international career as both soloist and répétiteur.
As an accompanist and collaborative pianist, Balzi has worked with singers, orchestras and choirs throughout Europe and the Americas. He performed with the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur, appeared at Carnegie Hall, and collaborated with institutions including the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra. He has also accompanied renowned singers such as Fiorenza Cossotto and worked extensively as a rehearsal pianist and vocal coach.
Since settling in Salzburg, Balzi has accompanied masterclasses for artists including Barbara Bonney and Lavard Skou Larsen. He is the official pianist of the Philharmonie Salzburg under the direction of Elisabeth Fuchs, and was the first pianist to perform The Carnival of the Animals in the Great Hall of the Mozarteum. In addition to his concert activities, he has taught piano and worked as an accompanist at several institutions in Brazil and Austria.