“To do all the good one can,
To love liberty above everything,
And even if it be for a kingdom,
Never to betray truth.”
— L. van Beethoven (Album-leaf, 1792)

  • "I am very glad I was able to work with him for his internship. He is an excellent performer and a deep and interested researcher. A perfect collaborator!  He has highest academic knowledge to contribute to a piano department abroad."
    Prof. Filippo Gamba

    Musik-Akademie Basel - Hauptfach Klavier

  • “It is my pleasure to write for the outstanding pianist Paolo Munaò.

    I attended his concerts in Vienna with interpretations of the unknown piano music of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, the founder of modern rhythmic studies. However Dalcroze also studied composition with Gabriel Faurè, Leo Delibes, Anton Bruckner. I was deeply impressed by the beauty of his piano work and by the interpretation by Paolo and I am convinced that this piano music should be published and made accessible to a broader audience”.  

    Prof. Dr. med. E. Altenmüller, MD, MA

    MDW University of Music, Vienna

  • Dohnányi’s Day 2017

    December 7 - Institute for Musicology, Bartók Hall

    Archives for 20th-21st Century Hungarian Music of Institute for Musicology

    "Thanks Mr Munaò, your left hand truly recalls the flowing playing of Dohnányi" - Prof. Richard Taruskin

“about me”
— last references

Paolo Munaò (1971) is a sicilian pianist, pedagogue and explorer of cultural phenomena.

His modernist lecture-recitals devoted to Gisella Selden-Goth, Ernő Dohnányi and János Tamás received the attention of recognized music and cultural institutions. The world premiere of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze’s integrale "Caprices and Rhythmic Studies for piano" has gained widespread acclaim by the British Toccata Classics label; as well as, the discovery of remarkable “Bizzarrie Fiorentine” composed by Vincenzo Panerai for an unusual cimbalo a piano-forte (1786), not least his ongoing research towards rare music and hystorical praxis.

Latest performances: UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND, CZECH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES PRAGUE, CANTIERE INTERNAZIONALE D'ARTE MONTEPULCIANO, ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC MANCHESTER (Marie Wieck piano works), "RIMSKY-KORSAKOV” ST. PETERSBURG CONSERVATORY (Stylistic influences on the young Stravinskij), AKA HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES BUDAPEST (Bösendorfer of B. Bartòk), UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL QUEBEC, PAUL SACHER STIFTUNG BASEL, SAN COLOMBANO MUSEUM AND TAGLIAVINI COLLECTION BOLOGNA (Il pianoforte in Italia), RTS SWITZERLAND AND RADIO3 CLASSICA, BERGEN INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL (Grieg's Songs on Steinway 1861), VICTORIA HALL GENÉVE (HEM Baroque Orchestre with Jordi Savall), FESTIVAL MAGGIO FIORENTINO (Britten and Strauss), MUSEUM FÜR KUNST UND GEWERBE HAMBURG (manuscripts of Frescobaldi’ school on historical Italian instruments).

Under the guidance of Sergio Fiorentino he developed his artistic perspectives.       

He completed with honors his teaching AEC Assistantship at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel (Hauptfach-Klavier). He received the Artist Diploma in Fortepiano (KC Den Haag), Lauréat de la Fondation Royaumont (Schumann Atelier) and grant holder of Fondazione Cini Venezia (Workshop: The Beethoven Sonatas op. 31: Genesis, Analysis and Performance).

He pursued his 3rd level specialization (University of Bologna & State Archives of Florence) around the Cultural Heritage and the music repertoires fallen into oblivion. In Paris, the UNESCO Commission and Maria João Pires awarded him the Aschberg-Prize for Artists 2004; as Lied-pianist results winner of the prestigious Premio delle Arti AFAM "Claudio Abbado" 2015.

Today Paolo Munaò works as full permanent piano professor in Arezzo, holding annual piano courses at the Conservatorio di Musica “F. Venezze” Rovigo. He lives in Marradi, a pictoresque village near Florence and birthplace to the beloved Italian poet Dino Campana.

  • ‘An example recently brought to light, involving reception history in a differente sphere, is that of Gisella Selden-Goth, subject of the paper given by Paolo Munaò” (Brepols 2023).

  • 38° Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte Montepulciano

    "Linie-Raum-Erinnerung" 2009 - Studie Nr. 1 fur Klavier

    Walter Zimmermann zum 60. Geburtstag

    first performance 22.08.2013
    Paolo Munaò (Klavier)


    It's nice to hear, that this short version was well received from public and musicians. I really appreciate the expressivo and singing quality of your playing, your musicality and the way you intonate intervals".
    Prof. Manolis Vlitakis

    UDK and HfM "H.Eisler" Berlin

  • DescriziI would like to recommend Paolo Munaò to you.

    As a pianist, researcher and curator, he made a sterling contribution to the 2nd lnternational Conference of Dalcroze Studies (Vienna, 2015), whose scientific committee I chair. Mr Munaò showed enterprise creativity and flexibility. Of particular interest to Mr Munaò is the repertoire of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, such as Impromptu-Capriccio op.44 no.3; Nocturne op.45 no.3; Caprices et Etudes Rythmiques, and the lmpressions Fugitives: 40 petites pièces pour piano. 
    This repertoire is rarely heard and yet has beauty and charm. With the recent 150th anniversary of Jaques-Dalcroze's birth, there is renewed interest in Dalcroze's music and his influence on education, performance and therapy of various kinds makes this an opportune moment to support further explorations of his output.

    I have no hesitation in recommending Mr Munaò to you. 

    Prof. John Habron

    Head of Music Education, Royal Northern College of Music, UK
    Chair of the Scientific Committee of the International Conferences of Dalcroze Studies

  • Messina - Filarmonica Laudamo 

    "Dear Mr. Paolo Munaò, I scoped out your live performance of the Chopin Concerto N°1 in E minor and the playing is magnificent".

    Dr. Arthut Houle

    Director of Keyboard Studies at Colorado Mesa University

  • Che Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950)  fosse un prolifico compositore oltre che un didatta è cosa quasi sconosciuta. Che le sue composizioni pianistiche vadano ben oltre i confini di un solido accademismo è cosa del tutto inaspettata. 
    A restituire alla storia della musica il suo corpus pianistico sta provvedendo un laborioso pianista siciliano. 

    Paolo Munaò da sempre interessato a repertori poco battuti, come rivela l'attenzione per la musica dell'ungherese Dohnànyi. Questo CD di prime registrazioni mondiali rappresenta il secondo volume dedicato da TOCCATA CLASSICS (TC 0532) a Jaques-Dalcroze ed offre all'ascoltatore il ciclo più importante del compositore svizzero, quello dei 20 Caprices and Rhytmic Studies, pubblicato a Londra nel 1920. 

    A fare da contorno ci sono due piccole pagine di grande interesse, l'ipnotica Cascades composta intorno al 1910 come musica da balletto e la più asciutta Esquisse pur un exercise de cordes, databile intorno al 1930.

    Basterebbero le interpretazioni di questi due brani a farci capire che Paolo Munaò oltre ad essere un serio professionista e un appassionato esploratore di rarità musicali è pianista di talento, sensibile alle sottigliezze di una scrittura elusiva e sfuggente sa cogliere le complessità di una scrittura come quella dei Caprices, in apparenza ariosi e leggeri in realtà complessi nel ritmo e nella tecnica, impeccabili le sue interpretazioni mantengono un sottile equilibrio tra un controllo emotivo richiesto da Dalcroze e suggestioni liriche continuamente affioranti nel corso della raccolta. 


    Luca Segalla

    musician and journalist MUSICA n°309 - September 2020