Daniele Ciminiello
*6 June 1991
Works by Daniele Ciminiello
Biography
Composer and pianist Daniele Ciminiello was born in Lecce, Italy, in 1991. He ran into music by chance when he was 11, and one year later he started to study piano with Roberta Epifani and composition with Fabrizio Piccinno. He continued his studies at the “Tito Schipa” Conservatory in Lecce, where he graduated in piano in 2010 and in composition in 2014 with Giuseppe Gigante.
In 2011, he was awarded the Licentiate of Royal Schools of Music in Music Performance – Piano by The Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music – London.
In 2015, he began his post-graduate studies at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, where he studied with Ivan Fedele until 2018. He also attended masterclasses with Federico Gardella, Stefano Gervasoni, and Salvatore Sciarrino.
In 2019, he obtained a Master of Music in Film Scoring at E-Campus University in Lecce, where he studied with Francesco De Donatis, who appointed him assistant professor until 2019.
He was professor of music theory and piano at Harmonium High School of Music in Lecce from 2015 until June 2019.
Then, in 2020, he moved to Saudi Arabia, where he started teaching piano and performing at events in the kingdom. He is currently a piano, composition, and music theory teacher at the Saudi Music Hub in Riyadh.
As a pianist, he specialises in solo and chamber music. In chamber music, he gained most of his experience in the classical repertoire for saxophone, performing with several Italian artists. In 2019 he recorded with the well-known Italian sax player Federico Mondelci the work Sonata for New York by A. Patera for the IMG label. On May 18, 2021 he was the piano player in the ensemble that performed in a concert organised by the Saudi Ministry of Culture on Internarnational Museum Day.
As a composer, he obtained important recognition in Italy and abroad.
His Fantasia N. 2 for Symphony Orchestra has been premiered in the S. Lyudkevych Concert Hall on February 2, 2024, by the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Volodymyr Syvokhip.
His Fantasia N. 1 for Symphony Orchestra has been premiered on June 1, 2021, by the National Symphony Orchestra "Sergei Lunchevici" of the Republic of Moldova, conducted by Mihail Aghafita in the XXX Edition of the "New Music Days" International Festival, and later included in the album Chisinau 2, released by Phasma Music in 2022.
Since 2019, he has had long term collaboration with the famous Polish flutist Iwona Glinka, who performed and recorded several of his works with the label Phasma Music: Click for solo flute, album Two Minutes, Phasma Music, 2019, winner of “Global Music Award - Outstanding Achievement - Silver Medal” in the two categories contemporary classical and album; Gymnopédie for flute and string trio, album Teth, Phasma Music, 2021; A un altro me stesso for solo flute, album Yodh, Phasma Music, 2021; Lament for Theodore for solo flute, album Lament for Theodore Antoniou Vol. 1, Phasma Music, 2021, winner of Akdemia Music Awards - Music Award of Excellence.
His work Le Forme del Fuoco has been premiered by the Duo Carrozzo – Fasiello at Usmar Ismail Hall in Jakarta on September 25th 2019 and later included in the album In Focus 6, released in October 2021 by RMN Classical, a label based in London.
His Trio for violin, violoncello and piano was premiered at Parco della Musica in Roma in 2017 and was later included in the album Contemporary Chamber Music released by RMN Classical in 2019.
On the May 12, 2021, he released his first solo album for piano, Message in a Bottle, which includes 10 original compositions.
Since 2023, the music scores of his compositions have been published by Universal Edition.
About the music
If I had to describe my musical style in one word, it would be syncretism. My greatest effort in recent years has been to combine the legacy of the western musical tradition with the many expressive needs that characterize the many aspects of contemporary music. An analysis of activity and more generally of the human condition transpires in my music, conducted with seriousness and lightness at the same time, with an ironic element that offers itself as a catharsis to life's bitterness. The driving force behind my compositions is always the melody. Whether it's singable melodies or more concise melodic-rhythmic cells, the development of these elements is what conditions the formal structure of my pieces. These elements can sometimes be linear, sometimes three-dimensional, giving life to more complex textures depending on the expressive needs. Into all of this is inserted the use of timbres typical of contemporary music.