Raffaele Grimaldi is an italian  pianist, composer and conductor. He graduated in Piano with Carmen Romano and Composition with Lucia Ronchetti at the Conservatory of music “G. Martucci” in Salerno with highest honors, and graduated with the highest honors, at the Master’s courses (high improvement in Composition) of Ivan Fedele at the National Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome. He has obtained some prizes in National and International Competitions, among others:

Valentino Bucchi, International competition (Roma) 2005; Progetto giovani compositori, (Forlì – Milano) 2007, (chairman Giacomo Manzoni); International composition competition Toru Takemitsu 2009, chairman Helmut Lachenmann (Tokyo – Japan); FORUM 2010 – MUSIQUE ET VIDÉO D’ART – Montreal (Canada); “Reading Session” of The 45 International Summer Course for New Music Darmstadt; Gaudeamus Music Week 2011, Amsterdam (The Netherland); Wiener Konzerthaus’s International composing competition 2012 – «Towards the Next 100 Years» (Vienna – Austria), 34th Frederic Mompou International Award (Barcelona, Spain).

He has followed the masterclass of Salvatore Sciarrino, Tristan Murail, Brian Ferneyhough, Georges Aperghis, Michael Jarrell, Marco Stroppa, Hugues Doufourt, Yan Maresz, Bruno Mantovani.

LET’S KNOW HIM BETTER AND ENJOY HIS INTERVIEW ON MAG…

1. Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?
The international experiences influenced me very much, they were key factors for my artistic and spiritual growth. I took part to many festivals and exhibitions all around the world where I met musicians, composers, instrumentalists, orchestra conductors who enriched my cultural background and the perception I had about music and arts in general. The most important meetings I made, were those I had while studying last century’s composers such as Ligeti, Stravinsky and Grisey, but also those I made while approaching rock artists like Pink Floyd, Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Frank Zappa. The international environment not only boosted my career by expanding my reputation outside of Italy; it nourished my curiosity toward different musical genres as well, pushing me to experiment as much as I could and challenging myself continuously.

2. What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?
Every day I find a new challenge, in my life and in my music. I experimented many kinds of musical genres, from installation art to opera, passing through orchestral and chamber music. I don’t like to stare at a single genre or hide behind a “style”, which I think is a harmful trap for those who play music. I think it’s important to face our work challenges and learn to fight them putting oneself at stake. Experimenting means nourishing our curiosity and I do strongly believe that an artist should be able to express himself totally, going beyond his limits. The international environment not only boosted my career by expanding my reputation outside of Italy; it nourished my curiosity toward different musical genres as well, pushing me to experiment as much as I could and challenging myself continuously.

3. What inspires you most?
The silence.

4. Do you have a favorite concert venue to perform in?
I like Paris and Vienna, two cities which I fondly recall and where I use to play nowadays as well.

5. Do you have a favorite composition?
Not only one composition. I like the music of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Ligeti, Stravinsky and Grisey, but also rock artists like Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Frank Zappa.

6. How will you describe your music to someone who couldn’t hear it?
My music deals with emotions, quite explorative sounds and extended performance techniques. I invite to imagine my music as occurring in spatial dimensions or vast landscapes where sonic activity occurs in space rather than time: a world beyond linear movement that breaks free of the constrained dimensionality of moving from performer to listener and instead unveils a sense of physical elasticity. I am still learning my craft and trying to develop as best I can.

7. What is your most memorable concert experience and why?
It was in Japan, at the Tokyo Opera City with the Tokyo Philarmonic orchestra. My orchestral composition was played by this beautiful orchestra and with a huge audience.

8. What do you enjoy doing most?
I like to be focused on my work and to image new sounds. In my free time I like to read a good book, to draw or to have a nice walk.

9. What is your main concern in this time of your life and how would you describe the future of contemporary music?
I deeply believe that the music of the future will be contaminated by different styles and cultures. And this will be the heritage of the actual globalization. If contemporary music is to thrive, it must do so in a pluralist and eclectic culture. The digital world is providing an extra artistic dimension that’s why I think that the future of music, and generally of the art, depends directly on the development of humanity.

Official Site : www.raffaelegrimaldi.com