News

14/11/2024 Night (e)scape is out!

This seven-part work is now accessible on all streaming platforms! Featuring soprano Elisabeth Hetherington and lyrics by Barbara Black. If you prefer a more cinematic experience, please visit the Listening Booth for the link to the videoclip.

I was around 8 or 9 years old, and out of sheer curiosity, I picked up a random CD from my parents' collection. The stereo set filled the room with Chopin's first ballade; goosebumps appeared on my skin, shivers ran down my spine, and an electrifying and ecstatic feeling got a hold of me. Right then and there, I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up: recreate that same mesmerizing feeling and share it with others. So, I started taking piano lessons, and that's when my journey began.

Jump to

My story

My music

My projects

INTRO

I come from a small village that looks upon a small lake in North Italy. Landscape artists Christo & Jean-Claude made it super famous back in 2016 with their work 'Floating Piers'. My first piano teacher ever was my grandfather Angelo; he probably taught me the most important thing: "Paolo, to be a musician, you need the 3 Ps: Patience, Passion and Perseverance." So true. So, off I went to the nearest 'big city'—Brescia—to attend high school and the conservatoire. I was the unconventional teenager madly in love with classical music, my portable CD player (yes, I grew up with one of those) blasting Rachmaninov, Chopin, Beethoven, and all the gang. The more I learned the black-and-white terrain of the piano, the more I wanted to 'just play'. So, I got myself a basic audio recorder and started improvising. What a feeling! I was creating music on the spot. I humbly and shyly handed these 'experiments' to composer Mauro Montalbetti, who visited my high school for a series of lectures. I was very interested to get his feedback and to know whether there was something I could build upon.

My story

He did see something. He invited me to start taking composition classes with him, so I did. I learned how to read an orchestral score, the orchestration tricks and how to translate on paper (yes, the physical sheet music with pencil and rubber eraser at hand) the whirlwind of my imagination. During those weekly meetings, I discovered what is referred to as 'Contemporary music': the music of living people. A new door opened in front of me; there was so much to discover, listen to, and learn! Every composer paints a different sound world, and I was eager to get my hands on that. I became the best friends of the librarians of all the conservatoires I attended, and I explored the dark corner shelves where the "contemporary music repertoire" was patiently collecting dust.

Okay, what about the piano, then? Montalbetti suggested I go to Milan to play for Andrea Rebaudengo, a contemporary music specialist and the pianist of Ensemble Sentieri Selvaggi. That was another pivotal encounter as I started to use my piano skills to serve the music of "now," and I had the chance to play a few times with a professional ensemble such as Sentieri Selvaggi. Milano was the place to be after my " classical-oriented" bachelor's degree in Brescia. I enrolled in the Chamber Music Master's degree, got to play with many great fellow students, and even landed in one of the most prestigious contemporary music festivals called Milano Musica, playing Bruno Maderna's "Concerto for 2 pianos and instruments": what a ride!

I was in my early 20s then, with all the excitement and stamina that goes along with it. I was traveling two or three times per week between Milano and Brescia, practising like crazy, attending concerts in the city, and throwing parties in my one-bedroom apartment. At this point, Montalbetti's wisdom kicked in again: "Paolo, I think you should go study abroad." Okay, that's a giant leap, but I took that step. At the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, there is this 'Master in Piano with New Music specialisation', which seemed perfect for me. "Bye, Mum and Dad. I will live in Amsterdam for a couple of years". That was almost nine years ago!

My first public appearance in a concert setting in Amsterdam was with the Score Collective Ensemble of the CvA in the Kleinezaal of Concertgebouw: quite a start! Besides one project as a soloist in Elliot Carter's Double Concerto, my time in The Netherlands has been dedicated to collaborations. I felt so lucky to meet, engage with, play with, and hang out with so many people from all over the world: a great lesson in cultural exchange. Several projects bloomed during my time in the "Venice of North" (as some Italians call Amsterdam). If you want to know more about them, I suggest you look at the Section "Projects," where I discuss them in more professional detail.

As I look back on my journey from the peaceful little village to the bustling cities, I am grateful for the mentors, the musicians, and the moments that shaped my musical destiny. As I walk further down my artistic path, I carry the lessons of patience, passion, and perseverance that my grandfather infused in me—a legacy that echoes in every day of my life.

So, welcome to my website! I am glad you made until here. I hope you will enjoy yourself, and learn something about what I do with music!

Claudio Monteverdi, Luciano Berio, Gyorgy Ligeti, Radiohead, Steve Reich, Herbie Hancock, Muse, Bill Evans, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Jon Hopkins... my taste in music has gone through a lot of phases and all of these can be heard, somehow, in my compositions. If I have to boil it down to some features, I like rhythmical drive, order, clarity, and sound design. However, Creativity is a strange beast, a chameleonic creature of our mind, slippery, transparent, continuously morphing in unexpected shapes, the lightest feather to grasp gently (if you can!).

My music

Feel free to peruse the “catalog” below. If you want to listen, it’s best to head to the Listening booth section, but I will also leave some anchor links here and there.

Quick jump to

Bigger stuff

Chamber music

Solo stuff

2020/2021

Seven colours of the night

for piano, toy piano and melodica

new version 2021

Beyond the sound’s mirrors

for piano

2014

... di scura luce

for cello

Corpi Elettrici

for solo Seaboard

2022/2023

Clock Beats Heart Machine

for piano and loop station

2021

Grid 3

for piano

2020

Solo stuff

It’s like...

for voice (S/M) and piano

Text by Emily Dickinson

2014

Chamber music with and without voice

Night (e)scape

for voice (S), keyboards, electronics

Text by Barbara Black

2023

Broken chain

for clarinet and piano

2018/2019

Caligo Luminis

for voice (S) and piano

Text from fragments by Luigi Tansillo and others

commissioned by “CidneOn Festival internazionale delle luci” - Brescia (IT)

2017/2018

Concerto da Camera per quattro solisti

for violin, cello, clarinet and piano

2015

Geometrie di vento

for orchestra

2016

Commissioned by Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali (Milano)

Bigger stuff

Ritratti ai bordi della Neva

Stage music for big ensemble and choir

2015

Slør

for chamber orchestra

2021

Commissioned by Festival Cantiere d'Arte Montepulciano

My projects

Here we start unpacking the main projects I have been involved so far as performer, composer or both.

you can quick jump to:

PRISMI

Night (e)scape

Duo Ebano

Generously supported by

The music of PRISMI attracts like a magnet what I find most interesting: rhythm and mechanism, the sonic world inside the piano, the space between sound and noise, the sound design technologies, the murmurs of the night. This project bloomed during the dark pandemic times, I am glad I could find this creative anchor! The whole set is roughly 60 minutes long, the video on the left shows the keyboards set up.

PRISMI

Clock Beats Heart Machine (piano and loop station) Grid 3 (piano) Seven colours of the night (piano, toy piano and melodica) Beyond the sound’s mirror (piano - new version 2021) Corpi Elettrici (seaboard)

For more information about each piece, you can head here Wanna listen? Great! Please head here

Night (e)scape

Seven songs for voice, keyboards and electronics

23'

Come to the inside of night Silence! Dark mirror The Crystal Fox Hidden Flower The House with No Clock - Timescape Indigo Hour

a collaboration with Soprano Elisabeth Hetherington and writer Barbara Black

Première: May 2023 at Oranjewoud festival

Night (e)scape is part of the program “Under many a star” where Elisabeth and I explore the night and its many meanings and inspirations.

Jump here to either listening to an audio recording or to enjoy the movie!

Night (e)scape results from a deeper search inside my solo piece Seven Colours of the Night" whose creative and imaginative process has been one of the most challenging and inspiring in my artistic practice. Months after I finished Seven Colours of the Night, my imagination kept running to that world, and my notebook was still filled with numerous drafts, sketches, and ideas. Why not go back and give it another life, a different sound? Why not make the story more tangible using an actual text sung by a singer? Working on this topic profoundly affected me; it opened a precious and fruitful space in my artistic imagination that I wanted to explore further.

Generously supported by

Duo Ebano

Duo Ebano's journey began with the friendship of Marco Danesi, an exceptionally skilled clarinettist and fantastic person. Although we are from the same city (Brescia) and studied at the same school (Milan's Conservatoire), I officially met Marco in 2015 when I started my master's in Amsterdam. Our contrasting personalities maintain a balance in our approach to making music, encouraging each other to strive for higher and higher standards. Our musical collaboration began officially in 2016 with low-profile concerts organised by the CvA. Over the years, we gained some recognition in The Netherlands and abroad (Storioni Toonzaal prijs 2018, 1st prize Salieri-Zinetti competition in Verona—IT, and the Dutch Classical Talent Tour 2019/2020). Both of us are involved in new music, and we strive to be creative in the programs we propose. For more info, please head to our website: www.duoebano.com

To listen Duo Ebano’s playing, please head to the “Listening booth” section

Watch and listen

Here you can enjoy some audio-visual documentation of my projects. For more content, you can follow the various YouTube links you will bump into.

Night (e)scape

PRISMI

Duo Ebano

Other recordings

NIGHT (E)SCAPE

Audio recording

Video clip

This videography project was made in collaboration with Michal Gryco. For the single songs, you can jump to my YT Channel

The audio recording of Night (e)scape is available on all streaming platforms! Use the following link to choose your streaming service:

During the creative process of this music, I had a complementary idea to create a video clip for each chapter. My vision was to end up with a sort of movie that would enhance the overall musical narrative.

🎧 Night (e)scape Link Tree

PRISMI

more info

Web

Published by Limen Music - December 2023 Recording studio: Officine Meccaniche (Milano) – 2023 Recording, mix and mastering: Michele Forzani

Corpi Elettrici is my first electronic piece written with and for the capabilities of MIDI-controller Seaboard RISE. It was quite fun to make a good-looking score, you can follow it on your right.

Corpi Elettrici’s videoscore

PRISMI 2020-2022

My first solo album is available as digital release. Choose your favorite streaming service.

Mobile

DUO EBANO

Blackbird (R)evolution TRPTK 2020

Carl Maria von Weber - Gran Duo Concertante Alban Berg - Vier Stücke op. 4 Paolo Gorini - Broken chain Johannes Brahms - Intermezzo op. 117 n 1 (arranged for clarinet and piano) Boris Bezemer - I Love You (for bass clarinet and Seaboard) Gerardo Gozzi - The Underwater Life of a Bass Clarinet (for bass clarinet and Seaboard)

Info

Booklet

One of the most exilerating and fun pieces from our Dutch Classical Talent tour was, without doubt, the medley of Frank Zappa’s tunes made by Andrea Chenna. Enjoy! Live from Tivoli Vredenburg (Utrecht) January 2020

Concert recordings

Other Video recordings

One of the main purpose of Duo Ebano is to present repertoire that is seldom played. The Clarinet Sonata of one of the main figure in the North American classical music history, Aaron Copland, falls perfectly into this category. This Sonata was originally written for violin and piano, this arrangement is from the composer’s hand.

Recorded at Singelkerk - Amsterdam

For extra videos please head to our YT channel

Other Audio/Video recordings

SHI Opera by Carlo Boccadoro and libretto by Cecilia Ligorio Live from Teatro Rossi - Macerata - 2017 Video recording available here

Through out my career I had the pleasure to work with inspiring musicians and composers. In this section you can enjoy some published and unpublished recordings of my collaborations.

In the hot summer of Macerata (IT) I spent almost one month working as corepetitor and ensemble pianist for this intriguing and challenging opera production. More info about the project: EMA VINCI contemporanea

Effervesce by Gregory Glancey for flute and piano (with Rogier Pijper) Ravello Records - 2023

Fossils by Arnold Marinissen for piano and live electronics Concertello records - 2021

Composer and performer Arnold Marinissen invited me to record his new piece for piano and live-electronics, how exciting! This piece is part of his PhD research around the composition of concert music in the Digital Workstation environment.

Rogier Pijper is the reference point in The Netherlands when it comes to extended techniques on flute. I was honoured to receive his invitation to record Effervesce by Gregory Glancey (member of the Berkley University faculty). His music is very dynamic and colourful, I never heard the flute making such sounds! The piano part is challenging but fun, with a thoughtful use of extended techniques inside the instrument.

Silvia Borzelli has a very vivid and creative musical mind. It was a pleasure to practice her music and working with her on this composition. The video recording is from my short recital for the International Piano competition in Orleans, last April.

A Self-portrait (with Anatsui in the background)

Music by Silvia Borzelli for prepared piano

Ecce Homo

When I got the call from the artistic director of the CidneOn Festival to write a new piece to accompany a video mapping project, I was very excited! The theme was a paint of Moretto, pivot figure of the Renaissance art. Drawing inspiration from Marenzio's madrigals, I wrote a 3-part song that weaved in snippets from the texts that Marenzio himself used in his compositions. The stunning video mapping was expertly brought to life by Scena Urbana. Thus, my piece Caligo Luminis was born, you can enjoy the video recording on your left. (the actual piece starts at 01:49)

CidneOn Light Festival 2018 Castello di Brescia Project by: Scena Urbana

Stop, Repair, Prepare: Variations on Ode to Joy for a Prepared Piano, No.1

Concept: Jennifer Allora, Guillermo Calzadilla

Coaching: Luca Ieracitano

Berlin - Neue Nationalgalerie - 2022

This must have been the craziest project I have been involved so far: playing upside down! The reaction of the audience was priceless. “We’re asking the musicians to reinvent their skills, or to use their skills to make new gestures or forms that are not part of their standard vocabulary,” the artists have said. “And this idea of re-skilling doesn’t end with the performer. The public is asked to re-skill its way of viewing.”

I am involved in other kinds of work besides playing the piano, writing music, and having long-term artistic collaborations. I come to realise that having a variety of activities is remarkably healthy within a creative career. Even though the rabbit hole of the imagination is luring and exhilarating, you don't want to lose yourself beyond recovery! Arrangements Translating a score into a new one is a delicate job. It involves understanding the composer's original intention while delivering a result in line with the client's wishes. It is still a creative process, yet a slightly different one involving problem-solving and an inventive attitude.

Leonard Bernstein - Suite from “West Side Stories”

for saxophones, violin, cello and piano

Aaron Copland - 12 Songs of Emily Dickinson

for voice, violin, cello, clarinet and piano

Johannes Brahms - Intermezzo op. 117 n 1

for clarinet and piano

other works

Education Some wise person once said: "Sharing is caring". I have been a piano teacher at the British School of Amsterdam since 2022. It is priceless to see the joy in the young pupils' eyes when they start making music. Chamber Music coaching Thanks to my Master's degree in Chamber Music, I have played and seen many scores and worked with countless different groups. I offer coaching sessions to young groups that want to further explore the subtle nuances of the chamber music repertoire. Curious? Get in touch!

Agenda

New program with Elisabeth Hetherington around the songwriting genres through-out time. Andriessen/Beatles + my new arrangements of Radiohead + others

🗓️ January 17th 2025

📍 Utrecht (NL) - Tivoli Vredenburg

ℹ️ Klassiek in the cloud serie

A week full of new music in various chamber music setting.

🗓️ April 2025

📍 Middelburg (NL)

ℹ️ Mostly Modern Festival

Night (e)scape With Elisabeth Hetherington @ New Music Conference

🗓️ November 14th 2024

📍 Den Bosch (NL) - Verkadefabriek

ℹ️ New Music Conference

Electronic Press Kit

Pictures

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Bios

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CV

Contacts

Booking and management Salotto In Prova Sandra Scurani - email