…a pianist with immense talent; he will most surely make his mark in the musical profession […]

Eric James, Music Associates of the late Sir Charles Spences Chaplin [Charlie Chaplin]

Alessandro Simonetto (n. 1974). Pianist, harpsichordist, composer, choir conductor, sound engineer, record producer, ex architect.

He degreed autodidact in Piano (1998-2001), in only three years, and in Electronic Music (2004) at the Conservatories of Castelfranco Veneto and Padua. He studied and attended courses with (amonst others) G.di Toma, A.d.Vigne e A.Schiff (piano), G.Dial, C.McBee, J.Riley (harmony and jazz improvisation), E.James (silent film background music), M.Fumo (ragtime), C.Lombardino (harpsichord), G.Mazuccato, A.Cetrangolo, G.Acciai, C.Høgset (choir conductor), P.Zavagna, N.Bernardini (acoustic, psicoacoustic, computer music, sound engineering).

He never played in public except rare times, amongst other, at the Festival Internazionale Pianistico di Spoleto (1999), at the Primo Festival del Cinema Muto di Vogogna (unic event 1999) and, as soloist at the electronic sampler, with the Orchestra d'Archi Italiana of famous cellist Mario Brunello in three concerts kept in Sala Absidale S.ta Lucia (Bologna), Teatro dal Verme (Milano) and Teatro Accademico (Castelfranco Veneto).

Believer of the use of MIDI protocol as a vehicle for the automatic interpretation of keyboard instruments Alessandro founds Kunst der Fuge , the largest resource of classical music in .mid format on the web (with an average of over 5,000 unique visitors/day the site was in the past - 2005-06 - the most visited portal for classical music in Italy).
Alessandro is winner of several scholarship (Conservatorio di Castelfranco Veneto, KTH/MTH di Stoccolma). He also collaborated with Milan Digital Audio, OrganArtMedia eand other productors of sample audio and, as a sound engineer, furnished recordings for various record labels in Italy and abroad.

As a composer he wrote abstract and instrumental music: for piano (a collection of Mazurkas written at the very early age of twelve), organ, disklavier, computer; chamber and choral music (missas, motets, arrangements). He has been quoted by the École supérieure d'art d'Aix-en-Provence for a composition for diskavier, sounds on tape and accordion, and he is also one of few countemporary composers to have a work archived at the Mediateca delle Marche. He never partecipated to music contest and he is countrary to every kind of exclusive publication of his works.

In April 2003 Alessandro launched onclassical.com and a few later founded OnClassical , first record label worldwide to produce, publish and sell music under new Creative Commons philosophy and without intermediatios of every kind. He was guest of festival, conferences, exibits and radio broadcasts (Festival della Creatività, Festival delle Libertà Digitali, Radio Popolare, Radio Radicale), and was interviewed by the major national newspapers, reviews, blogs.

Alessandro loves freedom and free thought, the fresh air, nature and secular trees, photography, theater and dance, silent film, food and wine genuine, the popular songs ... hates any form of control of the masses, envy and mediocrity.
He happily lives with Benedetta, with two cats and two tortoises, in the delightful Pove del Grappa : land of oil and wind.

Some reviews
On the performances.

Welcome to the world of Jazz.

Cecil Mc Bee at Summer Jazz Festival in Bassano del Grappa, VIII/2001

Intriguing, full of intelligence and poetry...

Andrea Padova, pianist, winner of the Bach in Saarbrücken nel 1995, VIII/2003

A very talented and versatile young pianist.

Eric James, Music Associates of the late Sir Charles S. Chaplin, at the First National Silent Film Festival in Vogogna, Verbania, IX/1999

[...] I truly believe there is tremendous talent.

Dedication by Phyllis O'Really, Canadian's singer, at the First National Silent Film Festival in Vogogna, Verbania, IX/1999

On the compositions.

Really interesting writing.

Giovanni Acciai (about the Missa Brevis for coro a cappella)

Remarkable, inspiring. Your compositions & interpretations are brilliant, all very creditable and the mark of a truly talented/gifted young musician. YOU have given me an enormous amount of Pleasure, just listening.

Paul F.Mason-Duthie, Musician and Music Publisher (Australia), VII/2003

[Alessandro Simonetto's improvisations is] a very creditable and original style of composition. [...] I send our congratulations to you on your excellent improvisation and for the new sound that you have created.

Eric James, Music Associates of the late Sir Charles S. Chaplin, about 'Improvisations without a Theme', (private letter) 2001

...you [Alessandro Simonetto] most certainly achieved a truly remarkable quality of music that even Bach himself would never have believed possible [...]

Eric James, Music Associates of the late Sir Charles S. Chaplin, about the organ works recording, (private letter) 2001

I really like it. You're very talented! I wish I could do that

Daniel Simpson, American Composer, about the Jazz counterpointed Disgression in c minor, XII/2002

Excellent work!  -- Vote: 10.00 [Review at the Pixel-Arts MIDI contest]

Karl Wittenburg, about the Jazz counterpointed Disgression in a minor, the Fugue 'Pizzeca', XII/2002

It is really wonderful! [...] When I listen your works, I hear the music that I've searched for ca. 5 years. For me, your music is a very natural synthesis of the best musics of the world. Thanks for this wonderful post! [...] Usually, there is no more sorrowful thing when jazz-musicians try to play classical pieces, or when a very serious classical musicians try to improvise and be so cool. In the most of the cases it's a very forced experience. I think it's a serious value that you could speak in lot of musical language, as natural as in your native language. Your music is a really universal language, you can say everything with it, and anybody can understand it who live in the 'europian culture [...]

Miklós Preiszner, Young Hungarian Composer

See also some interviews released for Corriere della Sera, Giornale di Vicenza, TNT-Audio, Scuola & Musica and various articles on the net.

Other reviews on kunstderfuge.com and onclassical.com (1, 2) websites.

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