Maria Gabriella Mariani

Martha Argerich has praised her musical nature: “An extremely interesting talent; sure, imaginative, very artistic, her way of playing is so varied, it is never predictable […], I love her Scarbo […] Her improvisations are extraordinary.” Mariani has explored improvisation since childhood.

Her pianistic roots lie in Vincenzo Vitale’s Neapolitan school, although she soon distanced herself less from Vitale’s teaching than from the concept of a school in general. She studied with Aldo Ciccolini in Italy and Paris and graduated with an “Excellent” assessment from the Lorenzo Perosi International Academy in Biella. She also studied chamber music with the Trio di Trieste, while preferring solo performance.

At the age of fourteen, she made her debut at Rimini’s Aterforum, receiving substantial attention from leading Italian critics. A few years later, winning the Liszt piano competition in Lucca brought her a scholarship to study in Paris; she subsequently received a prize from the Senate of the Italian Republic. She won first prizes in numerous national and international competitions.

Her compositions and recordings, presented throughout Italy, have attracted the attention of A. Barizza, N. Cattò, L. Ciammarughi, G. P. Minardi, L. Segalla, S. Valanzuolo, L. Valente and A. Zignani, among others. In 2014, the Neapolitan musicologist, composer and conductor Roberto De Simone devoted an essay to her work and to possible approaches to composition today, observing that “the music of Maria Gabriella Mariani could declare the possibility of today’s creativity.” As a soloist, she has performed for prestigious concert associations and theatres in Italy and abroad.

A graduate in literature, she wrote a thesis entitled Schumann. Thought and Fantasy and has published scholarly writings on music, literature and the arts in collaboration with several Italian universities. At the time of the original biography, she had received four Global Music Awards in the United States, recognising her work as a composer and as an interpreter of French music—including Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit—and her own piano compositions. Her work has received public and critical acclaim.

After hearing some of her music, Ciccolini said: “Her music reveals a very impressive creative sense, supported by exceptional pianistic skills and a complete mastery of the keyboard, together with a search for tonal colour that is more unique than rare.”