The guitarist Maurizio Grandinetti is engaged in exploring and extending the boundaries of his instrument.His activities span across solo recitals, contemporary and chamber music and improvisations, performing also on electric guitars, and accompanying himself with several electronic devices. He interprets classical-romantic repertoire on an 1820 Lacote instrument.
Maurizio Grandinetti was born in Lamezia Terme, Southern Italy, in 1964. He graduated cum laude at the Bari Music Conservatory, he transferred to Switzerland to continue his training under the guidance of Oscar Ghiglia at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel and with Frank Bungarten at the Lucerne Music Conservatory, where he got his soloist diploma. He then went on to Basel to study with the lutenist Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where he perfectionated in early music and original instruments.
His vast, poliedric repertoire is particularly oriented towards contemporary and avant-gard music. He has done several premier performances of works by Rebecca Saunders, Vinko Globokar, isato Mochizuki, Jürg Wyttenbach, Alex Buess, Thomas Kessler, Tim Hodgkinson, Gwyn Pritchard, Rudolf Kelterborn and Heinz Holliger.
He has interpreted several guitar concertos : with the Basel Sinfonietta, the Katowice Chamber Orchestra, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Milano Classica Orchestra, among others.
He has been invited to play across Europe an China as soloist by prestigious organizations: the Lucerne International Festival, Output Guitar Festival, the Venitian Fenice Theatre, Radio Bremen, Output Festival Amstrdam, Silesian days of Contemporary Music Katowice.
He is a member of the Basel Phoenix Ensemble and often plays with important European Ensembles. One of his latest performances was Pli selon Pli under the baton of author/conductor Pierre Boulez.
In 2003 a new CD with music for the solo guitar by John Cage & John Dowland, was released by the Italian CD del Manifesto. More of his recordings can be found under the German Collegno label.
Maurizio teaches at the Monopoli Music Conservatory and runs workshops on contemporary music..