Roberto Cacciapaglia is an Italian composer and pianist.

His work has always brought together classical tradition and electronic experimentation in compositions for piano, orchestra, voice and music theatre. Melody, harmony and the exploration of sound itself lie at the heart of his work, reflecting a vision of listening as a transformative experience of emotion, presence and connection.

Born in Milan, Cacciapaglia studied composition under Bruno Bettinelli at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory, where he also studied electronic music and conducting. He worked at RAI’s Studio di Fonologia and collaborated with the CNR in Pisa, exploring the applications of computer technology to music. His academic training and experience in research studios laid the foundations for a musical language in which acoustic instruments and technology develop in continuity with one another.

His recording debut, Sonanze (1975), was released by the German label Ohr and was the first quadraphonic LP released in Italy. Orchestra, voices and electronics come together in an approach to composition that encompasses both space and the spatial diffusion of sound. During this period, he performed alongside Popol Vuh at the University of Milan, in an encounter with the German experimental scene. This was followed by Sei note in logica (1977), for voices, orchestra and computer, released by Philips. With The Ann Steel Album (1979), which he composed and produced, Cacciapaglia brought electropop into dialogue with contemporary music practices through the use of prepared pianos and reversed tapes.

During the 1980s and 1990s, his work expanded into opera, theatre and performance. Generazioni del cielo (1986), an opera in two acts, was staged at the Teatro Metastasio in Prato and the Lingotto in Turin, and revived at Milan’s Teatro Dal Verme in 2024. Works from this period include Lamentazioni di Geremia, presented at the Tel Aviv International Festival; Transarmonica, performed at Aterforum in Ferrara; and Aurea Carmina, based on a text by Pythagoras and commissioned by the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. During these years, he also performed and recorded In C with its composer, Terry Riley.

These were followed by Il segreto dell’alba (1989), a ballet-pantomime commissioned by the Teatro Comunale di Bologna; Un giorno X (1990), a video opera for voices, orchestra and electronic instruments, presented at the Milan Conservatory; and Le mille e una notte (1991), a musical tale for the Carlo Colla & Figli Marionette Company, staged at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, the Berliner Festspiele and the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto.

The relationship between music and other forms of thought also runs through the projects Cacciapaglia created for La Milanesiana, founded by Elisabetta Sgarbi. In 2003, he presented La dissoluzione dell’aria with Derek Walcott, Nobel Laureate in Literature; in 2005, Mente radiosa with Rita Levi-Montalcini, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine. This dialogue with poetry and science informs a reflection on the physical, perceptual and spiritual dimensions of sound.

Cacciapaglia began a long-standing collaboration with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which led to Quarto tempo (2007), Canone degli spazi (2009) and Ten Directions (2010). In these works, the piano engages with symphonic writing while preserving the intimacy of expression within a broader orchestral architecture. In 2010, he also performed with the UAE Philharmonic Orchestra at the opening ceremony of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.

In 2012, he founded the Educational Music Academy, dedicated to the education and development of young musicians. In 2013, he composed Antartica for the European expedition to the Concordia research station in Antarctica. The following year, he released Alphabet on Decca, recorded at the Sala Verdi of the Milan Conservatory.

In 2015, he created Tree of Life, the official soundtrack to the Tree of Life, the symbol of Expo Milano 2015. The composition was performed with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Teatro alla Scala during the Expo’s closing ceremony. In the following years, Wild Side – Tree of Life Suite accompanied performances by the Farfalle Azzurre, Italy’s national rhythmic gymnastics team, who won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games. The music also accompanied the team at the World Championships in Kitakyushu.

Cacciapaglia has performed at major international venues including Carnegie Hall in New York, Cadogan Hall in London, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, Guangzhou Opera House and the National Art Center in Tokyo. He has collaborated with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he has recorded five albums, the Moscow Imperial Orchestra, the UAE Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Teatro alla Scala.

Alongside his concert and recording career, his music has entered into dialogue with projects dedicated to the environment, visual arts and design. In 2017, he took part in Earth Day events in Rome and the G7 Environment meeting in Bologna. Stella McCartney selected Sparkling World for the campaign for her Spring/Summer 2018 collection.

In 2018, Cacciapaglia embarked on the Celebration Tour, which continued through to his 2019 concert at Carnegie Hall in New York, named “Best Live Act 2019” by Bluebird Reviews. He also recorded Diapason with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London, followed by the Diapason Worldwide Tour.

During the pandemic, he composed Days of Experience (2020), dedicated to the shared experience of that period and presented in concert at the Teatro Bibiena in Mantua. In 2021, he released Angel Falls and performed solo piano recitals at the Milan Conservatory and Cadogan Hall in London.

In 2023, he released Invisible Rainbows, created with I Virtuosi Italiani and also recorded in Dolby Atmos. That same year, he received the Premio Montale in the Music category.

In 2024, Cacciapaglia gave the world premiere of Incipit / Moz-Art K.488 ReComposed at Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh. Borderlands was subsequently performed at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh as part of the Festival of Politics and, in Italy, at the Sale Apollinee of Teatro La Fenice in Venice. Both works became part of Time to Be, released by Virgin Music Group in November of the same year. The album explores the relationship between composition, expression and presence in listening and was presented in theatres across Italy during the Time to Be Tour in spring 2025.

In September 2025, he performed at the National Art Center in Tokyo on the occasion of the exhibition Bvlgari Kaleidos – Colors, Cultures and Crafts. The following month, he performed in Gorizia as part of the celebrations for Nova Gorica and Gorizia, European Capital of Culture 2025.

In February 2026, Cacciapaglia composed and conducted the music for the Grand Finale of the Opening Ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games. The project took shape as OLYMPIA – Symphonic Cycle in Four Movements, recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London: a cycle dedicated to the journey of the Olympic flame, culminating in the lighting of the cauldrons. He also composed the music for the daily Olympic cauldron show at Milan’s Arco della Pace.

In the spring of the same year, he presented AURAL in theatres and concert halls across Italy. The project continues with his new recording project, AURAL – Songs on Reality, conceived as a single musical arc unfolding through a series of compositions. At its heart is the piano, whose acoustic presence expands through electronics and sonic space. Melody, harmony and experimentation converge in an exploration of the power of sound to engage the listener and open up new possibilities of perception.