Improvisational Pianist Mario Mattia Releases 3 Albums that Include a Variety of Tonal and Non-tonal Tracks
Rhode Island – Improvisational pianist, Mario Mattia, has just released 3 albums that include various tonal and non-tonal tracks. For his piano improvisations, Mario Mattia draws inspiration from a multitude of genres, including baroque, classical, romantic, progressive rock among others. Mario had a progressive rock band, Möbius, and relates that he transcribed classical pieces for his band and composed all the music. The multi-faceted pianist explains that he wrote film scores for Bradley Hospital and PBS-RI during that time as well. Mario privately teaches composition, piano, and theory. He discovered improvisational piano, his musical voice, in his forties.
Mario Mattia does not preconceive or compose his improvisations. These improvisations represent extemporaneous journeys. When freed of any intrusions, Mattia notes that he sits at his piano, eyes closed and starts playing after pressing the record button. He has no predetermined notions about the tempo, form, rhythm, tonal or non-tonal influences, and length of these improvisations. This process results in his world stopping completely and allowing the improvisations to flow unhindered.
Mario Mattia’s many improvisations explore the infinite possibilities of musical structure and form, inspired by the Möbius strip, which represents infinity. He has spent many hours listening to music of most genres. In his quiet, rural, woodland setting, Mattia has had time alone at the piano to explore and experiment during his innumerable improvisation sessions. Mario confirms that he explored improvisational possibilities to push the limit, reimagine, and experiment with all he knows about musical structure and form. Mattia’s process has proven invaluable. Mario wants his improvisations to be indistinguishable from written compositions. He observes that his goal is to have an intimate sound that will seem like the listener is right there in the room with him. Mario hopes that his years of improvisatory effort will provide listeners with an interesting and unique musical experience.
Response
“Mario Mattia’s piano improvisations are stunning – stunning in their clarity, their motion, their elegance. Not fragments of what might be, but complete, complex compositions, emotional, vivid,… from the heart to the ear.” – Umberto Crenca, Founder of AS220, Providence, RI
“Mario Mattia’s remarkable piano improvisations manage to marry a sense of freedom, spontaneity and emotional depth with an uncanny compositional attention to form and structure.” – Michael Nicolella, Concert Guitarist and Composer, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA
About Me
Mario Mattia is a classically trained pianist, a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music. Listeners will hear many genres and musical styles in his improvisations. Mattia fell in love with several jazz artists as a young boy, including Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum and Ella Fitzgerald. Chamber and symphonic studies included, among others, Mozart, Brahms, Chopin, and Bach. Mattia’s conservatory training included studies of Mahler, Stravinsky, Bartok, among others. His exposure to Boulez, Carter, Webern, Schoenberg, and others, opened him to the non-tonal world. Improvisational pianists like Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett have been highly influential. Also contributing to his musical knowledge was ambient music, a primary inspiration being Brian Eno. Influenced by progressive rock music, some of his favorites include Symphony X, Dream Theater, Genesis, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, and others.
Listeners can find Mario Mattia on https://improvpianist.com/
Media Contact
Company Name: Improvpianist.com
Contact Person: Mario Mattia, Improvisational Pianist
Email: Send Email
City: North Kingstown
State: Rhode Island
Country: United States
Website: https://improvpianist.com/
