He pursued his studies under the guidance of such masters as Jorge Fanelli, Arthur Loesser,[1] Adele Marcus, Nikita Magaloff, and Guido Agosti.
[2] Calligaris' technique is characterised by the sheer brilliance and powerful touch typical of the Leschetizky school;[3] his technical qualities,[4] complemented by a detailed attention to the composition’s form, made him a fine interpreter of both romantic (especially Schumann and Chopin) and post-romantic (Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Debussy) repertoire.
Calligaris has performed in prestigious concert-halls such as the Konzertsaal Bundesallee in Berlin, the Auditorium of S. Cecilia in Rome, the Musikverein Brahms-Saal in Vienna, and as a soloist in his own Concerto for piano and orchestra op.
[11] Beside the production for piano (which ultimately led to a fruitful cooperation with pianist and director Vladimir Ashkenazy),[12] Calligaris wrote for a variety of instruments (voice, cello, trumpet, organ, clarinet, flute, violin, horn) and for both chamber and symphonic orchestras.
[13] In 2007, Sergio Calligaris has been awarded the International Prize "Giuseppe Verdi" in recognition of his activity as both performer and composer.