5-year-old Italian piano prodigy plays astonishing Mozart for competition audience

Alberto Cartuccia Cingolani, aged 5, is an Italian piano prodigy. Picture: Simone Cartuccia

By Sophia Alexandra Hall

@sophiassocials

 

Alberto Cartuccia Cingolani, a five-year-old Italian pianist, has gone viral for his prodigious performance of Mozart at a music competition in Italy, earlier this month.

Having only started learning the instrument in 2020, the five-year-old is already a multi-award winning musician. Cingolani has taken part in seven competitions so far in his early, but unquestionably promising, career, and placed first in each of them.

Two weeks ago, Cingolani entered his eighth competition; the 10th International Musical Competition in the Italian town of Penne.

The young star opened the competition with a captivating performance of the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major impressing the in-person audience, and online viewers alike. Watch his mesmerising musical delivery below.

Like Mozart, Cingolani is from a musical family; both of his parents are music conservatoire graduates, but his mother has been quick to clear up any rumours about pushing their son into classical music.

Alessia Cingolani told the regional Italian newspaper, Corriere Adriatico, that, “He started playing during the months of the first lockdown. I was always at home, so we started playing with a small keyboard, in order to do something stimulating. From there I realised that Alberto was well suited. [Doing this, my] husband and I noticed that he had perfect pitch.

“For a year and a half now, [Alberto] has been doing remarkable things, both for his age and for the time it took him to learn.

“Even though he still doesn't know how to read [music] notes well, indeed almost not at all, he takes his position on the keyboard and repeats the pieces. He is very instinctive.” [translated from Italian]

The video of Cingolani’s competition performance has been viewed by millions of people across Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

But the five-year-old isn’t a stranger to being on the end of a phone camera. His father, Simone Cartuccia, often records pieces played by his son, and uploads them to his YouTube channel.

As the young musician performs, it’s clear he is engrossed in the music, and with this along with his technical pianistic skills, we’re sure he’s bound to go far in his musical journey.