Still not quite 10 years old, Laetitia Amodio is building up quite an impressive CV, because for the third consecutive year, this young and very talented pianist has won first prize in an international piano competition.

This was the International Piano Competition for Young Musicians held at the Teatro Comunale Curci in Barletta, in Italy’s southern region of Puglia.

Amodio won first prize with 98 marks out of 100 in Category A, which was for candidates aged between eight and 10. There were candidates from all over the world with a marked presence of young pianists from China, Russia and the Czech Republic.

Much to the surprise of her parents who accompanied her, during the competition’s concluding gala evening concert, the young pianist was awarded a special medal for the best interpretation of a Romantic work, Debussy’s Arabesque N. 1.

Born on August 24, 2001, Amodio started her piano studies at the age of five, under the tutorship of her mother Charmaine, who still guides her.

She obtained high marks with distinction in the first seven grades of examinations of the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music.

In 2009 Amodio won first prize in the W.A. Mozart International Piano Competition in Trapani, Sicily. Obtaining full 100 per cent marks, she was awarded the Primo Premio Assoluto as “the most distinguished young pianist”.

She repeated this feat last year in Bologna when winning top prize in her category at the International Piano Competition Marco Fortini.

She has performed in Victoria as well as at the Gaulitana music festivals, at the Casino Maltese, at the Sala Isouard and the MCI.

Amodio has had master classes with distinguished pianistsYuri Didenko from Moscow’s Conservatory in Malta and Francesco Foderà in Sicily and Malta.

She comes from a very musical family, her paternal grandmother being the distinguished piano teacher Dolores Amodio Chircop and a cousin of hers is the widely acclaimed violinist Carmine Lauri.