Giovanni Piacentini

photo: Zony Maya

Featured in the Los Angeles Times in 2021, Giovanni Piacentini is a composer, performer, educator, and advocate for the music of others. Recently praised as “paying homage to the important cultural heritage of music in the west” by Forbes magazine, his original music has been described as “able to encapsulate tiny, winsome worlds as if passing through a gallery of paintings” (Winnipeg Free Press), and as “stunningly beautiful with accessible compositional language” (The Clarinet Magazine). Piacentini has established himself as a significant voice in Latin American classical music. 

As a true embodiment of a composer and performer, Piacentini has drawn the attention and praise of the guitar world. Arkiv magazine described Piacentini’s playing as “displaying degrees of sophistication and control that can’t help but mark him as a virtuoso.” He was invited to do a solo guitar tour of China in 2018 and has performed his own compositions in prestigious halls such as the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, the Museo Nacional in Mexico City, and Carnegie Hall. His music has been performed by some of the world’s greatest instrumentalists like classical guitarist Eliot Fisk, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, the Lyris string quartet, violinists Tim Fain and Movses Pogossian, and many more. He has released five albums that have earned him a feature on the prestigious British music magazine Gramophone and a nomination for an Independent Music Award in 2020. 

He graduated summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music in Boston MA, earned his M.A. in Composition under renowned American composer Richard Danielpour, and recently earned his Ph.D. in Music Composition at the University of California Los Angeles where he served as Teaching Fellow in music theory and aural skills.

In October 2022 he premiered a concerto for guitar and orchestra dedicated and performed by legendary classical guitarist Eliot Fisk with the Orquesta Juvenil Carlos Chavez in Mexico City, Mexico. He was recently appointed Teaching Artist Fellow by the prestigious Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He resides in Los Angeles where he teaches at Mt. San Antonio College and the National Children’s Chorus.

Albums

Orígenes

Release Date: November 3, 2023
Catalog Number: NV6570
21st Century
Solo Instrumental
Guitar
Composer-performer Giovanni Piacentini’s ORÍGENES is an exploration of the spirit of the Americas through the guitar. Spanish colonizers introduced string instruments like guitars and vihuelas when they arrived in America, which in turn gave rise to a series of indigenous instruments across the continent such as the Colombian tiple, the Mexican jarana, and the Panamanian mejoranera, to name a few. This blending of American and European cultures is at the heart of ORÍGENES. Drawing on the contributions of legendary guitar composers like Manuel M. Ponce, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Astor Piazzolla, Piacentini’s ORÍGENES contributes a fresh perspective to this musical legacy.

Between Worlds

Release Date: April 26, 2019
Catalog Number: NV6224
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Electronic
Flute
Guitar
Composed almost entirely in 2018 and performed by composer Giovanni Piacentini, the music on BETWEEN WORLDS serves as a brand-new snapshot of a musician's prowess at the height of his creative capabilities. In an age where the musician-composer is a dying breed in the realm of so-called "serious" music, Piacentini brings a breath of fresh air in a multitude of ways. There is no doubt that his astounding technical skill as a guitarist deeply informs his compositions, and the effect is nothing short of breathtaking. Strikingly, even when employing modern elements – such as adding electronics – Piacentini resolutely resists the temptation of putting trendy, cheap showmanship over the soul of the music. The guitar, the mainspring of musical expression, remains paramount and prominent, always. And, thanks to the composer's talent for lyricism, structure, and depth, this pays off. Immensely.

Moto Bello

Release Date: May 11, 2018
Catalog Number: NV6156
21st Century
Chamber
Piano Trio
Navona Records and the acclaimed ensemble Trio Casals proudly present MOTO BELLO, the next chapter in the moving series that brought 2015’s MOTO CONTINUO and MOTO PERPETUO in 2013. Living up to its name, MOTO BELLO, or “beautiful motion,” is a collection celebrating the synergy of Trio Casals and the vibrant works of ten contemporary composers including Diane Jones, Beth Mehocic, David N. Stewart, Sidney Bailin, L Peter Deutsch, Giovanni Piacentini, Adrienne Albert, Clive Muncaster, Joanne D. Carey, and Bruce Babcock.

Chiaroscuro

Release Date: May 12, 2017
Catalog Number: NV6097
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Clarinet
Guitar
Violin
Global guitarist and composer Giovanni Piacentini’s talents as a dual-threat musician are on full display on CHIAROSCURO, his debut album. He wrote all these works themed around his instrument of choice, and his playing appears on two pieces – Miniatures, for guitar and chamber ensemble, and a solo guitar performance on the title track. Yet, even on the tracks where he does not perform, the composer’s voice remains ever-present, namely in each work’s reverberant use of space.