Alessandro Simonetto is a versatile musician and music producer.
His preference for board instruments was clear when as a child he began to play as a self-taught pianist.
Alessandro started composing at a very early age. At 14 y.o. he wrote a cycle of Mazurkas inspired by Chopin. He deepened aspects of jazz composition and silent-film music, and became a close friend with Eric James, the associate
composer of Sir Charles Chaplin, until his death. In 2000, a few minutes before his performance, James put a paper on the grand piano, and in front of the audience wrote: "Alessandro is a pianist of immense talent and will surely
make his mark on the musical profession [...]".
After a long period without playing, absorbed by the activity of being a producer, and making over 250 recordings for various musicians and labels, Alessandro began recording himself at both the piano and harpsichord, and obtaining
such acclaim from the critics as: The Suittes voor Clavicembel (Suites Op. 1) [BC94187] was nominated Recording of the Month by Music-Web International ("Nearly eighty minutes of enormously appealing, high-octane invention
superbly rendered by Alessandro Simonetto."). Furthermore his world première of Leroy Shield: Laurel & Hardy's Original Piano Music [AE16024], performed at the piano, was awarded (5 stars) both on classical and jazz/pop magazines
worldwide (Mojo, Piano International, Teatro, The L&H Magazine, Intra-Tent Journal, Furore, Pözenkrant) and widespread @ radios worldwide (BBC, CBC/ICI Musique, RAI Radio 3, NPO, BR Klassik, IPR, Ouverture).
To end Alessandro's version of Erik Satie: Early & Esoteric Works (1887-1897) [AE16019], also including the world première sketch Chanson Hungroise, was widely reviewed (4 Etoiles Classica on others).
Passionate about ragtime, in 2017-18 Alessandro recorded the Complete Piano Works by Scott Joplin [two albums published in the early 2018 / OC18022d].
He is the founder of the digital label OnClassical.
(Cover photo: © Enrica Pontin - Self-portrait [above]: © Alessandro Simonetto)