Composer · 21st Century
Francesca Badalini
Biography
Francesca Badalini graduated in piano from the Genoa Conservatory, in composition from the Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado in Milan, and in Classics from the Università degli Studi di Milano. She continued her studies through masterclasses in chamber music with Paul Badura-Skoda and Alfons Kontarsky, in music for theatre and cinema—including Nicola Piovani’s course at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena—and in improvisation and jazz piano.
She teaches piano, composition, improvisation and film music, with work at the Scuola Internazionale Musicale di Milano, the Università del Tempo Libero in Melzo, the Politecnico di Milano and the Dreamers film school in Como. She also leads music workshops for children. Her activity encompasses music for theatre, audiobooks, short films, documentaries and silent-film DVDs, as well as live improvisation.
Since 1999, she has collaborated regularly with the Cineteca Italiana as a pianist accompanying silent films. This has led her to compose and perform live scores throughout Italy and in France, Switzerland and Tunisia. Venues include Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Spazio Oberdan in Milan, the Museo del Cinema in Turin, Teatro della Tosse in Genoa and the Cinémathèque de Nice. She has also appeared at the Locarno Film Festival, Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone, Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna, the Festival du Cinéma Italien in Annecy and Castellinaria in Bellinzona.
She has written music for award-winning animated shorts by Julia Gromskaya, receiving five Best Soundtrack prizes, and for Simone Massi, winner of a David di Donatello award for animation. In 2012, she composed the music for Massi’s animated opening sequence for the Venice Film Festival. Her first album, Musiche in bianco e nero, released in 2010, collects her film scores. In the same year, she received the Bianca d’Aponte award for Best Female Italian Soundtrack Composer. Her work in radio includes presenting music programmes on Radio Popolare; its later programme Labirinti musicali ran from 2014 to 2023.