Born in Rimini, Enrico Pace studied piano with Franco Scala at the “G. Rossini” Conservatory in Pesaro – where he also earned diplomas in conducting and composition – and at the “Incontri col Maestro” International Piano Academy in Imola. Jacques De Tiège was an important mentor. His international career was launched by his victory at the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Utrecht in 1989.
He has performed with major European and international orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam), Münchner Philharmoniker, Bamberger Symphoniker, BBC Philharmonic (Manchester), Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome), Rotterdam Philharmonic, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Hungarian National Philharmonic, Göteborgs Symfoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg, Rheinische Philharmonie (Koblenz), the symphony orchestras of Sydney and Melbourne, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, MDR Sinfonieorchester (Leipzig), Warsaw Philharmonic, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra (Dublin), Orchestra Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi (Milan), and the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic (Parma).
He has collaborated with conductors such as Daniele Gatti, Roberto Benzi, David Robertson, Andrey Boreyko, Mark Elder, Janos Fürst, Eliahu Inbal, Lawrence Foster, Kazimierz Kord, Jiří Kout, Gianandrea Noseda, Walter Weller, Carlo Rizzi, Jan Latham-Koenig, Vassily Sinaisky, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Bruno Weil, and Antoni Wit.
He has toured extensively, performing at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Milan’s Sala Verdi and Teatro alla Scala, Rome, Berlin, London’s Wigmore Hall, Munich, Salzburg, Prague, and in many South American cities, as well as at festivals such as La Roque-d’Anthéron, Verbier, Lucerne, Rheingau, Schleswig-Holstein, and Husum.
A regular duo partner of Leonidas Kavakos, Enrico Pace recorded the complete Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano (Decca Classics, Grammy-nominated) and performed them at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Salzburg Festival, the Beethovenfest in Bonn, and on tour throughout Europe, Asia, and the U.S.. With Frank Peter Zimmermann, he played Bach’s sonatas in New York, Zurich, Amsterdam, and Japan, and recorded both the BWV 1014-1019 sonatas and Busoni’s Sonata No. 2 for Sony Classical. He performed Schubert’s Schwanengesang with Matthias Goerne at La Scala and gave recitals with Antoine Tamestit, Akiko Suwanai, and Sung-Won Yang in Europe and Asia. He has also collaborated with Liza Ferschtman, Sharon Kam, Daniel Müller-Schott, Igor Roma, the Keller Quartet, and the Quartetto Prometeo, and has appeared at chamber music festivals in Delft, Moritzburg, Risør, Stresa, and Montreux.
His discography includes Mendelssohn’s piano trios with Leonidas Kavakos and Patrick Demenga (Sony Classical); the complete Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano with Kavakos (Decca Classics, Grammy-nominated), followed by a CD of virtuoso encores; Busoni’s Sonata No. 2 and Bach’s BWV 1014-1019 sonatas with Frank Peter Zimmermann (Sony Classical); and Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano as well as an album of works by Chopin and Liszt with Sung-Won Yang (Decca Classics). His solo recording of Liszt’s Années de pèlerinage – “Suisse” and “Italie” (Piano Classics) was met with critical acclaim.