Maurizio Mastrini is considered one of the most original pianists and “uncontaminated” composers on the international music scene. He rose to global attention in recent years for performing classical masterpieces backwards—from the final note to the first. The result is astonishing: audiences hear a completely new work built from the same notes as the original, yet transformed by reverse order. His musical creativity is rooted in his retreat in Umbria, where he lives far from the frantic rhythms of daily routine. This solitude enriches his compositions with raw emotion, earning him the reputation of a “wild heart”—solitary by nature, yet expressing a vast world of feeling at the piano.
Mastrini’s works bridge traditional classical forms and contemporary classical aesthetics through refined and emotional research. Elements of minimalism, dodecaphony, mathematical construction, and lyrical expression coexist in his writing. “Even just a few notes may move a person to tears,” he says; other compositions unfold with such density of sound that they evoke a full orchestra.
Critics have praised him widely:
“Maurizio is extraordinary.” — Steve Orchard, Grammy Award–winning engineer, Air Studios, London
“A little bit crazy and a little bit genius — but 80% genius.” — Corrado Canonici, World Concert Artists, London
“Phenomenal pianist.” — Margherita Ferrandino, RAI
“Mastrini: madness and brilliance in pure essence. Fantastic!” — Federico Taddia, RADIORAI
“Maurizio Mastrini is a genius!” — Michele Cucuzza, RAI
“Mastrini represents one of the best international music talents.” — Fabrizio Frizzi, RAI
Major newspapers including Corriere della Sera, Repubblica, Il Giornale, La Nazione, Il Messaggero, Focus, and L’Espresso have written about him. He has appeared as a guest on RAIUNO, RAIDUE, RAITRE, Italia 1, Canale 5, Rete 4, Deutsche Welle, BBC, RADIORAI, and more. His world tours continue to bring him to major cities across the globe.
Mastrini graduated from the “F. Morlacchi” Conservatory in Perugia, where he studied with Maestro Vincenzo Vitale. Although the piano remains his primary medium, he is also active as a composer and conductor. Born in Panicale, a small village in Umbria, he showed early musical gifts. At age seven or eight his father discovered him creating rhythms on makeshift drums made from metal paint cans. Recognizing his unusual talent, a local teacher encouraged him to enter the conservatory. Soon labeled a child prodigy, Mastrini won numerous national and international competitions, toured extensively, and recorded for the AZZURRA label, achieving notable international sales.
Among his many recordings, the Ricordi series Storia della Musica – Capolavori holds particular importance, placing Mastrini’s interpretation of Schumann’s Phantasiestücke alongside Artur Rubinstein. His discography includes I Miei Romantici Vol. 1, Sogno d’Amore, Sacro & Profano, I Miei Classici (Progetti Sonori), Love Music, Classic Music for Christmas, Le Musiche dello Zodiaco, and Love Piano. He wrote a Mass in Latin at age fourteen, an opera, an Ave Maria, and numerous other compositions, many of which he performs in concert. His tours have taken him to Iceland, Denmark, Turkey, France, England, the Netherlands, the United States, Spain, and the Czech Republic, with performances in cities including Dijon, Basel, Cincinnati, London, Inverness, Paris, Verona, Rome, Besançon, Perugia, Milan, Messina, and Reykjavík. He has recorded for Italian RAI, Swiss Radio and Television, BBC, ABC, and Mediaset. His principal teachers include Vincenzo Vitale, Don Mario Venturi, and Winjand van de Pol.
Mastrini founded and directed the Accademia Nazionale d’Arte Musicale, one of Europe’s most respected music schools, introducing innovative programs for pre-school children using his self-developed Pentamano method. He has published educational works including La tecnica del pianista contemporaneo, Mastro Solfeggio, Mastrini Piano, and collections of four-hand pieces.
From 1994 to 2002 he directed the Royal Academy of Music Art. Beginning in 1998 he staged short operas including Mozart’s La finta semplice, Scarlatti’s Il trionfo dell’onore, Cimarosa’s Il marito disperato, Salieri’s Falstaff, and Donizetti’s Giovedì Grasso and Il campanello. After performing his own music alongside Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Beethoven, and Scarlatti—with enthusiastic audience response—he began presenting concerts entirely dedicated to his compositions. Critics described him as “a great technician with sublime sensitivity.”
He later founded Mastrini Production & Communication, producing musicals, television programs, communications projects, and marketing initiatives. His productions have included VIP Mobile and Dindo Mobile for networks such as Canale 5, Italia 1, MTV, and All Music. For the Cinque Stelle network he created the musical program Musica Maestro, Palcoscenico Aperto, and Il Diavolo e l’Acqua Santa. He developed the television formats Drin Game, L’Autostop, Tutti a sCQuola, and Un biglietto per due, and produced the fiction series Oltre la Collina, which received special recognition at Romafictionfest 2009. He composed the soundtrack for the sitcom Così fan tutte broadcast by Mediaset.
Balancing public activity with private solitude, Mastrini continues to create from his Umbrian retreat. Since 1992 he has served as artistic director for festivals including the Piano Festival in Verneuil en Halatte (France), Ross Shire Music (Scotland), and the youth orchestra Malden Young Strings at Reykjavík Song Skólinn. He managed the Città di Folgaria Musica & Neve festival from 1993 to 2003, directed the international festival Euritmia Sonora, and led competitions including the M. Petri (Città della Pieve), Città di Marsciano, and the Panicale Mosaico Sonoro festival. For RAI he composed theme music and arrangements for twenty-seven episodes of Favolando Favolando and wrote music for Uno Mattina. He was musical consultant for TMC’s Zap Zap TV (1998–2000), RAI’s Uno Mattina from 1996, and I Fatti Vostri (RAIDUE) from 1999 to 2003.
In 2001 he composed the shortest opera in the world, Il Bacio (The Kiss), with a duration of 3 minutes and 20 seconds—soon to be included in the Guinness World Records. His artistic language is both cultivated and immediate, complex yet emotional. While his concerts have long attracted attention in Italy, his international recognition as a contemporary composer expanded with the 2009 release of Il Mio Mondo al Contrario (My World in Reverse), featuring masterpieces and original works performed backwards, from last note to first. Driven by relentless research and experimentation, Mastrini continues to explore new musical frontiers, drawing growing media attention and recognition as one of the most surprising contemporary pianists of our time.
