BIOGRAPHY
Born in 1984, Marco Gaggini is a pianist, harpsichordist and musicologist.
He graduated in piano with honours at the Conservatorio ‘G. Cantelli’ in Novara in the class of C. Mascheroni, and subsequently specialised with Gloria Gili and Pier Narciso Masi.
Active from a very young age in solo and chamber music, he has dedicated himself for over a decade to the piano duo with pianist Matteo Fossi. The duo's activity and research has particularly focused on transcriptions of the symphonic repertoire, contributing to the rediscovery of pages such as Johannes Brahms's Symphonies in versions for two pianos or Arnold Schönberg's first Chamber Symphony in the unpublished four-hand version by A. Berg. After their recording debut in 2009, which was met with unanimous acclaim from both critics and the Italian press, the duo recorded the world premiere of the complete Brahms Symphonies in two-piano versions for the Universal label, followed by the recording of the Sonata and Variations on a Theme by Haydn for DECCA. The complete works for two pianos by Bartók, Ligeti, Schoenberg and Poulenc have been published with Brilliant Classics. The duo has performed in important festivals and halls in Italy (including: Auditorium in Milan, I Concerti del Quirinale in Rome, W. Walton Foundation in Ischia, Accademia Chigiana in Siena), in South Korea, France, Poland and Austria.
Gaggini collaborates regularly with the ContempoartEnsemble of Florence, with whom he has made numerous premieres and recordings of contemporary composers (including A. Guarnieri, V. Montalti, F. Vacchi and A. Portera for the Festival del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino , Festival Nuova Consonanza in Rome, Centro Studi Musicali ‘Ferruccio Busoni’). He also plays in duo with violinist Matteo Cimatti.
In 2025-2026 the complete piano works by Gabriel Fauré will be published for Brilliant Classsics.
He also pursued his training in the world of early music, graduating in harpsichord with honours in the class of D. Costantini at the Conservatorio ‘G. Verdi’ in Milan. The meeting with the French harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset, with whom he studied in the following years, was fundamental for his artistic growth. In 2008 he won the First Prize (soloist section) at the 11th National Harpsichord Competition ‘Gianni Gambi’ in Pesaro, also winning the ‘Domenico da Pesaro’ prize for his performance of a Toccata by Frescobaldi; in 2009 he was awarded a special mention at the National Arts Prize and in 2013 he won Second Prize at the European Harpsichord Competition ‘Paola Bernardi’ in Bologna.
Still in this field, he set up a harpsichord duo project together with Gian Luca Rovelli, with the aiming to enhance the Baroque repertoire for two harpsichords. The duo’s discography had a flying start with the complete recording of François Couperin's Trios in the version for two harpsichords for Brilliant Classics. Both with this ensemble and as soloist he has been invited to important early music festivals such as the Associazione Clavicembalistica Bolognese, the Festival Cusiano di Musica Antica, Piedicavallo Festival, Museo San Colombano - Collezione Tagliavini, I luoghi dello spirito e del tempo, Associazione Musicale Karl Jenkins, Sagra Musicale Malatestiana.
He completed his musical training by graduating in Musicology at the Faculty of Cremona with a thesis on Johannes Brahms's Symphonies in the versions for two pianos. He then went on to complete his Master's Degree at the University of Florence with honours, with a study on the figure of the French pianist and composer Raoul Pugno. In 2021, he published the essay ‘L'opera per tastiera di Johann Sebastian Bach nel percorso di studi pianistici: riflessioni su prassi esecutiva e ruolo delle fonti’ (Johann Sebastian Bach's keyboard works in the course of piano studies: reflections on performance practice and the role of sources) as part of the series ‘Dalla Storia alla Musica: percorsi di didattica musicale con le fonti storiche’ (edited by G. Carugno, PM edizioni).
Passionate about didactic research, he devotes himself with special enthusiasm to teaching, seeking to synthesise and share with his students the different areas of music he has explored over the years. Many of his students are distinguishing themselves in national and international competitions.
Since 2009 he has been teaching piano at the Centro Studi Musica & Arte in Florence, where he also regularly holds courses and seminars recognised by the M.I.M. in history, aesthetics and performance practice.
In the a.y. 2020-2021 he held the course of ‘Bibliographical research’ for the Bachelor academic courses at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole.
He was Professor of Piano at the Conservatory of Siena ‘Rinaldo Franci’ from 2021 to 2024, also holding courses in ‘Basso continuo’ and ‘Improvisation and ornamentation’.
Since 2024, he has been a tenured piano teacher at the Conservatorio ‘Giuseppe Tartini’ in Trieste.