Biography
Born in Italy, Francesco Pelizza began his organ studies in Rome at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia with Jiri Lecian. He later moved to Vienna, where he studied concert organ with Michael Gailit at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, graduating with distinction. His musical training was further shaped by studies in contemporary music and harpsichord, as well as masterclasses and seminars with Gerhard Weinberger, Wolfgang Zerer, Barbara Vignanelli, Orchidea Salvati and Nicola Piovani.
As a soloist and in collaboration with orchestras and choirs, he has performed in Austria, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic. His concert activity has included major projects such as performances of Louis Vierne’s six organ symphonies and Marcel Dupré’s Le Chemin de la Croix, broadcast by an Austrian classical radio station. He has also appeared on Austrian television as an organist.
At the centre of his artistic work lies a fascination with the organ as a concert instrument of almost limitless variety. Pelizza’s repertoire embraces the great works of the classical organ tradition while deliberately reaching beyond it. His themed programmes have included Super Organ Bros, inspired by video game music, When You Wish Upon a Star, featuring Disney classics, as well as concerts devoted to dance music and other repertoire reimagined for the organ.
Rather than treating the organ as an instrument confined to a single tradition, he explores its ability to move between styles, characters and musical worlds — from monumental symphonic works to familiar melodies heard in an entirely new way. His programmes aim to reveal the organ not only as a historic instrument, but as a vivid and versatile presence on the concert stage.
Since 2019, Francesco Pelizza has served as church musician at Breitenfeld Church in Vienna, where he founded the organ concert series Pfeif drauf. He also oversaw the restoration of the church’s organ, the second-largest church organ in Vienna. The instrument plays a central role in his work there, bringing together liturgical practice, concert programming and the preservation of Vienna’s organ heritage.
Alongside his musical career, Pelizza studied Transcultural Communication and Conference Interpreting at the University of Vienna. He is currently pursuing doctoral studies and working as a researcher at the University of Vienna.
Across all of these activities, one idea remains constant: to let the organ speak beyond boundaries and to reveal just how many musical worlds it can inhabit.