ALESSANDRO PAGANELLI
Composer&
Guitarist
About
Alessandro Paganelli is a composer and guitarist based in Berlin and London, known for his international work in the fields of composition and performance.
His commissions include collaborations with major international labels and artists such as Ameritz Music (UK), Ostereo (UK), Believe Music (France), Quartet Berlin-Tokyo (Germany), Shannon Maynor (USA), and the fashion designer Rami Al Ali (United Arab Emirates). He has also worked with filmmakers like Szilyrd Varnai (Germany) and Christopher Larson (USA), composing music for two of Larson's documentaries that were showcased at film festivals in the US and Europe and won international awards.
In the realm of dance, he has created scores for prominent ballet companies, including the New York-based Movement Headquarters and the Hudson Ballet Theatre (USA). The music for the ballet "Mortar & Pestle" was premiered in New York in 2024 by the Hudson Ballet Theatre, with a full-length version set to debut in 2025 in both New York and London by BalletMAR (UK).
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Paganelli’s music explores the individual’s internal search for self: “When I compose, I always search for a key to access the place wherein a bridge between the sound and the listener is created, allowing communication between the composer, the performer, and the audience: a conversation that goes beyond words and enables us to feel a reflection of ourselves through sound.”
Exposed to music early on — his father was the guitarist of Milva in the 1970s — Paganelli began guitar lessons at the age of 7. By 11, he had entered the Conservatory of his hometown under the guidance of Flavio Cucchi and later attended summer courses at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena with Oscar Ghiglia. He also studied counterpoint, orchestration and composition with the composer Alan Belkin, refining his unique compositional voice.
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After graduating in Italy, he moved to the Netherlands (Conservatorium Maastricht), focusing his studies on Baroque music — particularly Bach — and writing a thesis on interpreting this repertoire on the guitar. He then relocated to Berlin, Germany, where he performed as a soloist in numerous opera productions (Theater Vorpommern in Greifswald and Stralsund, Bode Museum in Berlin, Trentino Music Festival) and collaborated on various ensemble projects.
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Driven by a strong desire to find his own form of expression and explore a wide range of musical genres, Paganelli began experimenting with different compositional approaches. This creative exploration led to the formation of his Ensemble, which has performed extensively in unconventional venues across Berlin. The Ensemble released two EPs — "Drifting" (2017) and "Nebula" (2018) — followed by the full-length album "Sum" in March 2020.
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In 2020, he was commissioned by the New York-based Ballet Company Movement Headquarters to compose a score inspired by Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, which was performed in Brooklyn (USA) in 2021. His growing presence in the ballet world continued with the commission of "Mortar & Pestle" for the Hudson Ballet Theatre, premiering in 2024, with its expanded version set for performances in New York and London in 2025.