Piano
Biography:
Fernando Calixto is a brazilian pianist born in Uberaba (Minas Gerais). He holds a Doctorate with Excellence in Piano Performance from the N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in Saint Petersburg (Russia) — the first conservatory founded in the country and one of the most prestigious in the world — where he also earned his Master’s degree in Piano. In May 2010, he was awarded the Red Diploma, an honor granted only to students who achieve the highest marks in all final state examinations.
As a student at the Conservatory, he studied with Nadezhda Eysmont (Piano), Ivan Mikhailov (Chamber Music), and Irina Kusonskaya (Collaborative Piano), and served as Nadezhda Eysmont’s teaching assistant from 2010 to 2013. Between 2015 and 2017, after returning to Brazil, he taught piano and theoretical subjects at the University of Brasília’s Department of Music, where he had completed his undergraduate studies in 2005 under the guidance of Alla Dadayan (Russia), Daniel Tarquinio, and Jaci Toffano.
A member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and Music (chair 17) and an Honorary Member of the Frutalense Academy of Letters, the pianist is widely recognized for his pedagogical commitment, giving masterclasses and preparing pianists for concerts, examinations, and competitions. He is also founder and director of the Fernando Calixto Institute, headquartered in Brasília with a branch in Uberlândia, dedicated to music education for both professionals and amateurs, as well as to the promotion of concerts and events that bring classical music closer to the broader community.
His CD Contrastes, recorded in Italy in 2020 for the Sheva Collection label, is available on major digital platforms. Calixto has extensive international experience as a concert pianist, having performed in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, and Russia.
A promoter of Brazilian music, he toured Russia in November 2023, presenting seven concerts in eight days, half of them devoted to twentieth-century Brazilian piano repertoire. That same year, he made his debut at the prestigious Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. Following his most recent appearances there in February 2025 — performing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 at the Mariinsky Concert Hall and presenting a solo recital featuring works by Heitor Villa-Lobos and Franz Liszt — Calixto became a Guest Artist of the Mariinsky Theatre. In the second half of 2025, he also undertook international tours with performances in Hong Kong and Madrid.
What do you like most about CIMC?
What I appreciate most about CIMC is its professionalism and the valuable opportunities it provides for young musicians to grow and be recognized.