Italian pianist Michelle Candotti graduated with top honors at the remarkable age of 14 under the guidance of Professor Laura Palmieri. She later earned both a Master's degree in Performance with distinction and an Artist Diploma from the Royal College of Music in London.
 

Michelle has achieved outstanding success in numerous national and international piano competitions. Among her early accomplishments are First Prize in the piano section of the Concorso Internazionale Riviera della Versilia, victory at the XV Best Graduates Showcase of Italy (2010–2011) in Castrocaro, and First Prize in the piano section of the Concorso Alessandro Pavia in Piacenza.
 

At just 17 years old, she reached the solo finals of the prestigious 59th Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition. She has since earned numerous distinctions, including shared Second Prize (with no First Prize awarded) and the Audience Prize at the Madesimo International Piano Competition; Second Prize and the Audience Prize at the XV Premio Pianistico Internazionale A. Scriabin; Second Prize and the Sir Philip Ledger Trophy at the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition; Second Prize, the Prize for the Youngest Finalist, and the Italian Senate Medal at the XXIII Concorso Pianistico Internazionale Chopin in Rome; Third Prize at both the Massarosa International Piano Competition and the Brescia Classica International Piano Competition; and the Henk de Junior Jury Prize at the Franz Liszt Competition in Utrecht.
 

More recently, Michelle won the Crescendo Award and the Premio Crescendo at fORTissimo in Florence, claimed First Prize at the X Concorso Internazionale Andrea Baldi in Bologna, and reached the semifinals of the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.
 

As a concerto soloist, Michelle has performed with distinguished orchestras including the Orchestra Sinfonica Città di Grosseto under Maestro G. Emilsson, the Orchestra Filarmonica di Bacau under Maestro O. Balan, the Royal Philharmonic Concerto Orchestra under Maestro B. Wright, and the Orchestra della Fondazione Goldoni conducted by Maestro M. Menicagli.
 

Her recital career has taken her to many prestigious venues throughout Europe, including the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Teatro Verdi in Pordenone (broadcast on RAI Radio 3), Teatro Manzoni and Sala Mozart in Bologna, the Polytechnic University of Turin, Sala Casella for the Roman Philharmonic, Auditorium Puccini in Torre del Lago, Sala dei Giganti and Palazzo Zacco-Armeni in Padua, Palazzo Albrizzi and Palazzo Cavagnis in Venice, the Orbetello Piano Festival, Sala dei Concerti in Prato, Teatro delle Commedie and Teatro Goldoni in Livorno, Teatro Comunale in Fiuggi, the Stables Theatre in Hastings, the Elgar Room at London's Royal Albert Hall, Tasis in Lugano, Sala Chopin in Warsaw, and concert venues in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Paris.
 

Michelle has further refined her artistry through masterclasses with internationally renowned pianists, including Boris Petrushansky, André Dele Vigne, Roberto Plano, Riccardo Cappello, José Ramón Méndez Soriano, Graham Scott, Douglas Humpherys Pollack, and Vladimir Ashkenazy, receiving enthusiastic acclaim for her performances.
 

She currently continues her studies with Maestro Enrico Pace at the "Incontri col Maestro" Academy in Imola, Professor Carlo Palese in Livorno, and Maestro Dmitri Alexeev.