Born in Italy, Massimiliano Mainolfi initially studied at the "S. Pietro a Majella" Conservatory in Naples. As a young pianist, he gained early recognition as the winner of various national and international competitions.

In 1992, he was accepted at the Juilliard School in New York, where he continued his studies under Oxana Yablonskaya. He also studied chamber music with Felix Galimir and Harvey Shapiro.

He completed his studies in New York in 1996 and debuted a few months later at Carnegie Hall as the winner of the "Young Concert Artist International Auditions".

That same year, he moved to London, where he worked for several years with Maria Curcio, one of the most successful students of Arthur Schnabel. During this time, he also obtained his diploma from the "Incontri col Maestro" Academy in Imola.

Massimiliano Mainolfi attended masterclasses with several renowned pianists, including Leon Fleisher, Alexander Lonquich, Ferenc Rados, András Schiff, and Pier Narciso Masi.

As a prizewinner of many international competitions, such as the "Concorso Internazionale Vittorio Gui" in Florence, the "G.B. Viotti International Competition" in Vercelli, and the “Pinerolo International Competition,” Massimiliano Mainolfi has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in major concert halls across Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Finland, South Africa, and the United States.

In 2003, he made his debut at the Berlin Philharmonie and has performed several times at Carnegie Hall in the past.

Massimiliano Mainolfi is a regular guest at many major festivals. He has performed at the Montreux Festival de Lascours in France, the "Young European Soloists Festival" in Brussels, the International Musicians Seminars in Cornwall, and the Swiss Davos Festival.

He has recorded for the "Ducale" and "Lyra Classic" labels and is currently under contract with the prestigious Swiss label "Claves." Further recordings have been made for Deutschland Radio, Bayerischer Rundfunk, DRS, Rai 3, and Radio Espace 2.
 Massimiliano Mainolfi is often a member of the juries for national and international competitions.

Among his students are prizewinners of numerous competitions, such as the "Schumann International Youth Piano Competition" in Zwickau, the "Padova International Piano Competition," the "Enschede International Piano Competition," and the national competition "Jugend musiziert".

Massimiliano Mainolfi is the director of the International Academy of Music in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Italy, as well as the Summit Music Festivals in New York.

He is currently a professor of piano at the "F.A. Bonporti" Conservatory in Trento, Italy.

Prof. Massimiliano Mainolfi has held the position of half-professorship in piano and chamber music at the University of Music in Nuremberg since October 1, 2016.