Recently, renowned Italian composer and orchestrator Fabrizio Pigliucci had his original music celebrated in German playwright Heiner Müller’s theatrical production of L’Orazio, which was staged in an open Roman villa at Anzio, near Rome. Mr. Pigliucci was greeted afterwards by numerous members of the audience who said they felt shivers while listening to his music and watching the story unfold, under the direction of Simone Barraco and Giordano Di Palma

L’Orazzio is set in ancient Rome and is an age old story of tension between two families, the Orazi and Curiazi families. Without spoiling the storyline, there is a death, there are moral and legal judgments that are passed and it is viewed through the lens of today’s society and values.

Fabrizio Pigliucci says that “there is a parallel between this story and the truth of our day. We cannot have the real truth without having all of the facts from both sides and today in Italy this is a serious problem, because we need both sides of the medal to build a real truth.”

As for his music which was featured in L’Orazio, Mr. Pigliucci says, “The music is a union between ethnic sounds (such as), flutes, guitars, percussion, and classical orchestral instruments like piano, violin and cello. There are also sampled orchestra (selections) and electronic sounds. The director requested some themes (consistent) with the story and then he let me make the rest of the choices about the music.”

As one gets to know Fabrizio Pigliucci you realize that he is a gracious man and a creative genius, although you will never hear him ever suggesting to you that his music is great, yet so many of the people with whom we come in contact and who are themselves, very accomplished musicians, singers, composers and producers use words like, beautiful, pretty, wonderful and breathless to describe his music and the effect that it has upon them. Mr. Pigliucci’s spirit is reflected in his involvement with a not for profit organization which works with terminally ill children and for which he wrote “Message Of Hope.”

I wrote “Message Of Hope,” for a friend, Gianluca Galotta, who each year organizes a wonderful charity named Il Cuore Oltre (The Heart Is Over) in Latina, near Rome. We artists, have the opportunity to offer some of our time and our work to help people who are in difficulty. We are building something to offer children with terminal cancer, the possibility of and the dignity that comes, with having home assistance, which enables them to live their last days with their parents, instead of in a cold hospital. I am the father of two wonderful little sons and I was very touched (by Gianluca Galotta’s charity), so one day, I started to play piano and the music came out. I think that when the intention is pure, things can happen and they did happen. I was lucky to be able to collaborate with a wonderful Albany violinist named Elvin Dhimitri, an extraordinary musician who performed the theme on his violin, accompanied by the sweet flute of Susanna Valloni. The music was used for the videos, television and radio promotion and it was played by the orchestra, as the final song of the show.

You do not have to talk to Fabrizio Pigliucci for very long, before you become aware of just how passionately he feels about music and about people. “The best way for me to (create) my music is to be filled with emotions, so I can feel totally a part of the music, then I can enjoy the moment and the magic appears!  This can happen when I am writing an original composition or when I am working for others as a composer or an arranger. If an author (of a song) or a director gives me a (composition), I will feel inspired and I will work my best. Emotions are the most important food for an artist, so I try to remain open in both work and in life. It is strength and it is a weakness,” says Mr. Pigliucci.

Fabrizio Pigilucci has scored more than seventy films, has written themes for television and he has worked with some of Europe’s most noteworthy Classical, Jazz and Pop singers. “The overall sound of my compositions and arrangements is really wide. I like Jazz harmony, I love classical orchestral sounds and I also love electronic sounds and ethnic instruments,” he says. 

Mr. Pigliucci also attributes his love for a diversity of music and a wide array of instruments, to his involvement with the filmmaking process and although he does not appear to have a favourite instrument, he has an appreciation for what he describes as, “their profuse vibrations and emotions,” and the moods that they create. He also has over the years acquired through his own travels and through gifts from friends, a variety of instruments, which he has learned how to play and these include; a udu, djembe, darubka, daf, tin whistle, pipe, shakuachi, nay and duduk. His most recent acquisition is a futujara a two meter long woodwind instrument given to him, by his friend, singer-songwriter Kara Johnstad. Although, Fabrizio Pigliucci processes the songs electronically to create fascinating live sounds and backgrounds for his music, he always ensures that live hand played instruments outnumber the samples, for he says this gives him the greatest opportunities to evoke strong emotions.

“The expressive power of an orchestra is enormous, and it can drive you to the past, it can be in the present, or it can be used to paint music for the future.  A great number of the best science fiction films have an orchestral sound. I really like to write for orchestras, especially for strings, so when I can, I use orchestras for my compositions and arrangements, as well as for Pop music,” says Mr. Pigliucci.