Born in Naples, Bruno Canino studied piano and composition at the Conservatory of Milan, where he would then teach for twenty-four years. For ten years he also held piano and chamber music courses at the Conservatory of Bern.

As a soloist and in chamber ensembles he has appeared at the most important venues of Europe, as well as in America, Australia, Japan and China. He forms a piano duo with Antonio Ballista and collaborates with renowned instrumentalists, such as Salvatore Accardo, Uto Ughi, Pierre Amoyal, Itzahk Perlman and Sergei Krylov.

From 1999 to 2002 he directed the Music Section of Venice’s Biennale; his particular dedication to contemporary music has led him to work with, among others, Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio, Karlheinz Stockhausen, György Ligeti, Bruno Maderna, Luigi Nono, and Sylvano Bussotti, whose works he has often premièred.

Canino has performed under the baton of such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Riccardo Chailly, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Luciano Berio, and Pierre Boulez; and with orchestras such as the Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra di Santa Cecilia, Berliner Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonia, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Orchestre National de France.

He has made numerous recordings: among the more recent ones are the complete piano works by Casella and Chabrier. He regularly holds piano and chamber music masterclasses in Italy, Germany, Spain, and Japan, and has taken part in the Marlboro Music Festival (US) for over forty years.

His books Vademecum del pianista da camera and Senza musica are published by Passigli.