Holder of a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from the Lisbon Superior School of Music, José Maria Bessone has performed as a soloist and in chamber music ensembles in public concerts, musical outreach initiatives, social solidarity events, and live broadcasts on the Portuguese national radio station Antena 2.

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He has appeared on this station three times, including twice within the PortugalSom series: first with the Piano, Oboe, and Horn Trio by Karl Reinecke, then in a solo recital featuring Bach’s Partita in C minor and Tristan Murail’s Impression, Soleil Levant. Subsequently, he was invited by the director, Dr. João Almeida, to record the recital Piano Agosto, an anthology of some of the most beloved works in the piano repertoire. This project, which he prepared entirely from scratch in just four months, was recorded on June 21st at the Museum of the Orient in Lisbon. The recording will be available soon.

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Bessone made his solo recital debut in Madrid at the Víctor Espinós Music Library on May 29th. He arrived in Canada on July 1st after being selected to participate in the 74th edition of the Orford Music Academy, where he worked for two weeks with the Canadian pianist Stéphan Sylvestre, supported by a scholarship from the GDA Foundation. He also received a merit scholarship from the Lions Club Figueira da Foz Centro, in recognition of the recital he gave in that city on November 29, 2024, featuring works by Bach, Scriabin, Murail, and Schumann.

That same year, he also took part in Lied masterclasses with pianist Julius Drake and with João Paulo Santos, conductor at the São Carlos National Opera Theatre.

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He studied piano with Artur Pizarro and Paulo Pacheco, and chamber music with the latter. A versatile artist, he also dedicated himself to studying harpsichord and basso continuo with Elisabeth Joyé, as well as historical style improvisation on the organ with António Esteireiro. He studied orchestral conducting for two years (2023-2024) with Jean-Marc Burfin, in the perspective of adding a symphonic dimension to his musical approach. His first contact with conducting was at the Porto Conducting Lab, under the guidance of Jan Wierzba, and his curiosity about early music repertoire led him in 2022 to the Tonerre Harpsichord Workshop in France.

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He began his musical studies in Figueira da Foz with Luís Rodrigues at the David de Souza Conservatory, where he stood out in several piano competitions. He continued his training at the Coimbra Music Conservatory, studying piano with Catarina Peixinho, basso continuo with Júlio Dias, and musical analysis with David Miguel, where he also developed an interest in composition, which he deepened with Eli Camargo Jr.

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He has participated in numerous masterclasses with internationally renowned artists, including Guigla Katsarava, Małgorzata Walentynowicz, António Rosado, and Helena Basilova (piano), António Chagas Rosa, Andrew Watkinson, Evan Rothstein, Meagan Milatz, and Paul Wakabayashi (chamber music), Olivier Latry and Franz Josef Stoiber (organ and improvisation), as well as Christophe Coin, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, and Cristiano Holtz (early music).

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In addition to teaching private piano students, he served as a teacher and collaborative pianist at the Lisbon Conservatory during the 2023-2024 academic year, helping students of all ages discover the joy of making music.

Bessone complements his artistic life with a strong curiosity for other arts, particularly literature. He was awarded first prize in poetry at the Dra. Cristina Torres Literary Competition in Figueira da Foz.