He is one of the most distinguished pianists of the italian tradition. He studied under Vincenzo Vitale and in the 1980 he was awarded at the International Santander Piano Competition. The same year he won the secon prize at the Concours International d'Exècution Musicale in Geneva and began as one of the world's foremost pianists of his generation.

 

He has played both recitals and as a soloist with prestigious orchestras, in some of the most famous concert halls in the world (Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, Victoria Hall of Genève, Radio Nacional in Madrid, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Teatro alla Scala and Sala Verdi in Milano, Teatro dell’Opera and Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Roma, Teatro di San Carlo in Napoli, Herkulessaal in München, Brahmssaal in Wien, Kennedy Center in Washington, Megaron in Athens among others).

 

He toured in Iceland, United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Russia, Japan, Singapore and China and he is a regular guest at Festivals such as: Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Rossini Opera Festival, Ravenna Festival, Festival di Ravello, Festival Pianistico Internazionale di Brescia e Bergamo, Taormina Teatro Musica, Settimane Musicali in Stresa, Estate Musicale Sorrentina, Settembre Musica in Torino, Marathon Internacional in Sevilla, Festival de Musique in Menton, Rencontres Musicales en Artois, Weimar Kunstfest, Budapest Liszt Festival and many others.

 

He has recorded for three record labels: Nuova Era, Naxos and Marco Polo. His recordings were reviewed always in enthusiastic way by the most famous european, asian and american musical magazines and are frequently broadcast worldwide on the radio. The authoritative critic and musicologist Paolo Isotta has written of him on the occasion of the recording of two rare concerts of Paisiello: (...) listening to him playing  is enough to remind us that no one today can match his luminosity of sound, his ability to draw out the song-like legato qualities of a keyboard instrument (...) he has acquired a reputation as one of our greatest living pianists (...) The great Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli performed eighteenth-centuryworks, his inspiration came principally from the same source as Nicolosi’s, but perhaps lacked some of the latter’s lucidity and coherence. Nicolosi is now perfecting the process begun by Michelangeli.

 

His recordings of Thalberg and Liszt Bellini paraphrases received the 1994 Bellini Golden Prize. As president of the Sigismund Thalberg International Study Centre, he has developed for years an intense work of search and revaluation of the music of the legendary austrian pianist, of which today he is, thanks also to the numerous recordings, the only recognized interpreter in the world.

 

He is moreover Artistic Director of the Sigismund Thalberg International Piano Competition. He was Artistic Director of several festivals such as I concerti d’Estate di Villa Guariglia in Amalfi Coast, Jeux d'Art Festival Internazionale Villa d'Este in Tivoli and Roccaraso in Musica.

From January 2015 to December 2019 he was the Artistic Director of the Opera House Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania.