Ottavio Dantone
After graduating from the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan in organ and harpsichord, Ottavio Dantone began his concert career at a very young age, soon attracting the attention of critics as one of the most experienced and gifted harpsichordists of his generation.
In 1985, he won the basso continuo prize at the International Competition in Paris and in 1986 he was a prizewinner at the International Competition in Bruges. He was the first Italian to receive such international recognition in the harpsichord field.
A thorough connoisseur of the performance practice of the Baroque period, since 1996 he has been the Music Director of the Accademia Bizantina in Ravenna, with which he has collaborated since 1989.
Under his conductorship, within a few years Accademia Bizantina established its reputation as one of the best-known and most accredited Baroque music ensembles with period instruments on the international scene.
Since 2024, he has been music director of the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik.