Francesco Corti was born in Arezzo, Italy, in a musical family in 1984. He studied organ in Perugia, then harpsichord in Geneva and in Amsterdam. He was awarded at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig in 2006 and at the Bruges Harpsichord Competition in 2007.
As a soloist, he has appeared in recitals and concerts all over Europe, in the USA and Canada, in Latin America, in Asia and in New Zealand. He has been invited by festivals such as Mozartwoche and Salzburger Festspiele, Bachfest Leipzig, Musikfest Bremen, Utrecht Early Music Festival, Festival Radio France Montpellier. He has performed in halls such as Salle Pleyel in Paris, Bozar in Bruxelles, Konzerthaus Wien, Tonhalle Zürich, Mozarteum and Haus für Mozart in Salzburg and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. He is a member of Les Musiciens du Louvre, Zefiro, the Bach Collegium Japan, Les Talens Lyriques, Harmonie Universelle and Le Concert des Nations.
Since 2015, he conducts regularly Les Musiciens du Louvre and since 2018 he is Principal Guest Conductor of il Pomo d’Oro. Among other projects with this ensemble, he has conducted a European tour of Handel’s “Orlando”. He was invited to lead B’Rock, the Nederlandse Bachvereniging and Holland Baroque. In the 2021/22 season he will conduct a new production of Handel’s “Agrippina” at the Royal Theatre in Drottningholm near Stockholm.
His solo recordings include a CD of Louis Couperin Suites, the Partitas by J. S. Bach, Haydn Sonatas, the two Piano Quartets and the Piano Concerto K. 488 by Mozart. Pentatone has recently published the the first two volume of Bach’s Harpsichord Concertos with il Pomo d’Oro. His last solo recording “Bach, Little Books” (Arcana) has been awarded a Diapason d’or and an Editor’s Choice (Gramophone). Soon to be published are Handel’s “Apollo e Dafne” with il Pomo d’Oro and Rossini’s “Petite Messe Solennelle”.
He has taught in masterclasses all over Europe, in Latin America and in Asia. Since September 2016, he is professor of harpsichord at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.