Olivia Belli

Olivia Belli is an Italian pianist and composer from Mantova, Italy, who is raised in Trieste. She works in contemporary classical and modern classical music, with an instrumental style shaped by her training in classical piano at conservatory and by her interest in 20th- and 21st-century composers including Glass, Ligeti, Reich, Stockhausen and Ludovico Einaudi.

Early life and musical background

Belli is surrounded by music from childhood, and music remains a constant part of her life. Her early studies in classical piano lead her toward composition and performance, with a particular interest in minimalist and contemporary classical writing.

Festival and collaborative work

In the early 2000s, she and her husband, the musician Enrico Belli, found the festival Perpianosolo Meeting. The event involves collaboration with other artists, including dancers, actors, photographers, writers and painters, reflecting a cross-disciplinary approach to the arts.

Recordings and releases

Belli begins sharing her own music publicly in 2016 with My Piano Dolce Vita, a release in which she reinterprets well-known songs in a personal style. In 2018, she releases her debut album of original compositions, Where Night Never Comes, following a successful Kickstarter campaign. The album performs strongly in the modern classical field, reaching number one in SoloPiano.com’s list of Best Modern Classical Album of 2018 and appearing in ReverbNation’s Classical Top Chart.

Her second album, River Path, appears in 2020 on 1631 Recordings and Decca Records and gains significant support from media and streaming services. Later that year, she and Enrico Belli record and release Mater, an environmentally inspired album made as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. She also releases Sol Novo, a title that means “new sun” or “new day” and refers to the landscape around her home, between hills, villages and mountains on one side and the coast, beach and sea on the other.

Style and themes

Belli’s music draws inspiration from nature, which she describes as her main source of inspiration. She says that sunrise is her preferred time to compose, and her melodic, reflective writing carries a sense of calm and optimism. Her work often combines personal expression with a quiet, atmospheric piano sound.