Giordano, Battista: The way of Al-'ūd, for String Quartet and Guitar

Born in Nuoro in 1958, Battista Giordano graduated in classical guitar from the Antonio Buzzolla Conservatory in Adria, studying with Roberto Masala. He studied harmony with Antonio Doro and also holds a qualification in music education. In 1987, he won first prize at the Sant’Anna Arresi International Jazz Festival with his album Présage, for which he composed the music.

His collaborators have included Billy Cobham, Stochelo Rosenberg, soprano Antonietta Chironi and composer Antonio Doro. He has performed Doro’s music on several occasions, including Di bandiere, di occhi di cuori and A voi noi potremmo. The latter was performed at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in December 1997 as part of a festival devoted to contemporary European composers.

He has written music for theatre and recitals, including Microcosmi for soprano Paola Puggioni, and Due sogni di versi and Taglie forti for poet Alessandra Berardi. In 2004, Intermezzo commissioned Imprentas; in 2005, he composed the melologue Adelasia for tenor, contralto, soprano, violin and spoken voices. In 2007, he wrote music for the international production Isolanos, featuring Omar Sosa.

In 2009, he composed Terra for the ballet Sphairos, with choreography by Mick Zeni, Gianluca Schiavoni and Massimiliano Volpini and performances by dancers from the Teatro alla Scala. In October of the same year, his recital Caminantes was first performed at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York in a series organised in collaboration with Lincoln Center.

In 2010, N’ur commissioned Regio Coelis, first performed in the cloister of San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome. He also composed the music for the ballet Django, choreographed by Mick Zeni and Gianluca Schiavoni and performed by dancers from the Teatro alla Scala.

His music for pianist Claudio Constantini and violinist Carlos Garfias was released on the album Sonatina op. 1 e sei fantasie in 2013. In 2012, to mark a lifetime achievement award presented to director Ettore Scola, he arranged music from Scola’s films for the Karel Quartet.

For the thirtieth anniversary of the Calagonone Jazz Festival in 2017, he composed Krónos e Kairós for string quartet and guitar. Its première at the festival on 30 July 2017 featured Ariel Horowitz and Piotr Marciak on violin, Carlos Garfias on viola, Tomasz Wiroba on cello and Giordano himself on guitar.

In 2018, he wrote five pieces for pianist Larissa Belotserkovskaia, who presented them on 4 July at the Teatro Pirandello in Lima, in an event organised by the city’s Italian Cultural Institute. That year he also composed Missa ad Humiles for choir and orchestra and, in August, a concerto for violin and orchestra.