Vanessa Benelli Mosell

Vanessa Benelli Mosell is a rising star on the international music scene, continuously praised for her dazzling virtuosity, technical brilliance and the sensitivity of her musical insight that she brings to her piano playing, as well as to her conducting and directing from the keyboard. Benelli Mosell’s charismatic artistry and natural leadership have been shaped significantly in mentorships with Mikko Franck, Cristian Mãcelaru and Daniel Harding, quickly establishing her as one of the most interesting personalities in the young conductor’s generation. 

As a conductor she led prestigious ensembles and orchestras as the Divertimento Ensemble, the Romanian Chamber Orchestra, the Järvi Academy Sinfonietta, the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, the Juni Orchestra of Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Leipziger Symphonieorchester, the Youth Academic Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra (LVSO), the Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, the Witold Lutoslawsky Chamber Philharmonic, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, the Allegra Festival Orchestra Sofia and the Wiener Kammerorchester making the Austrian Prémière of Eric Tanguy’s Incanto (2001) for orchestra. In 2019 she was second place in the European Competition of Female Conductor Mawoma - Maestra Women in Vienna. With the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn she extensively toured Germany during February/March 2022, conducting in some of the most prestigious concert halls including the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Laeiszhalle Hamburg and the Liederhalle Stuttgart. After her past year's tour she was immediately reinvited by the orchestra to conduct them again in the 23/24 season. Future engagements see her conducting the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, Le Balcon and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

As a soloist she now has nine releases for DECCA CLASSICS, turning from Stockhausen and the drama of Italian opera for her album Casta Diva, through Debussy's Twelve Preludes of the second book, released in November 2021, following her first book's recording of Debussy's Preludes in 2018, to her latest Album, ITALIA, released in September 2023.

Latest seasons saw her performing with the Orchestre National de France under the baton of Sir George Benjamin, with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Mikko Franck, concerts at the Al Bustan Festival in Beirut and with the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar de Venezuela and Diego Matheuz; with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra performing Ravel’s jazz-inflected Concerto in G, concerts at London’s Royal Festival with the London Philharmonic and at Cadogan Hall with the Royal Philharmonic. Most recently she performed with Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, with Orchestre National de Lyon as well as concerts at Festival Présences in Paris, Grame Lyon and at Paris Philharmonie. Future engagements as a pianist will see her debuting with Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano.

Recent highlights include her debut at La Scala in Milan and Turin’s Teatro Regio; solo recitals at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam and at the Seoul Arts Center; portrait concerts at the National Concert Hall, Dublin in Ireland for RTÉ, and at Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts; praised performances at Salle Gaveau and Auditorium de Radio France in Paris, Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Edinburgh’s Usher Hall and London's Wigmore Hall. 

World-known for her performances of Stockhausen’s Klavierstücke, she was invited by the composer to study under him, as he believed that she “has the power to let people appreciate my music”. Benelli Mosell worked closely with the composer, and he remains an important influence on her music making, encouraging her passion for contemporary music. Since becoming a key figure in the music of Stockhausen, Benelli Mosell has had collaborations with many leading contemporary composers including George Benjamin, Olga Neuwirth, Hugues Dufourt, Claire-Melanie Sinnhuber, Stefano Gervasoni, Martin Matalon and Marco Stroppa, making national and international prémières of their works.

As a chamber music performer, she collaborated with Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Julian Rachlin, Vadim Repin, Massimo Quarta, Radovan Vlatkovich, Julien Martineau, Daishin Kashimoto, Bertrand Chamayou, Alexander Knyazev, Alexander Chauchian, and Henri Demarquette, with whom she released the album “Echoes” for DECCA, a juxtaposition of works by Philip Glass and Sergey Rachmaninov for cello and piano.

Vanessa Benelli Mosell began her comprehensive musical studies at the age of three. At seven years old she was admitted at the International Piano Academy in Imola, giving her orchestral debut as soloist at the age of nine followed by her New York appearance at eleven years old with pianist Pascal Rogé, who described her as “the most natural musical talent I have encountered in my entire life”. In 2007 she entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Mikhail Voskresensky, before pursuing her Master degree's studies with Dmitri Alexeev at the Royal College of Music in London, where she graduated in 2012. 

After studying orchestral conducting with Prof. Luca Pfaff in Strasbourg, Vanessa has been coached by mentors including Paavo Järvi, Mikko Franck, Cristian Macelaru, Daniel Harding, Colin Metters, John Axelrod and Günter Neuhold. She is currently enrolled for a Postgraduate in Contemporary Repertoire Orchestral Conducting at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano with Maestro Arturo Tamayo. In 2023 she was selected by Paavo Järvi to take part as Active Conductor to the Järvi Conducting Academy 2023 in Tallinn and Parnu.

Benelli Mosell also received educational musical training in violin, choir and lyrical singing, score reading and composition.