Bio english

Massimiliano Viel pursued academic studies in piano, electronic music, conducting and composition, graduating under the guidance of A.Corghi at the “G. Verdi” Conservatory in Milan. He earned a PhD for his research on listening at the Planetary Collegium, University of Plymouth, UK.

He furthered his education through masterclasses in composition, computer music, ethnomusicology and performance—both in Italy and abroad—attending courses at institutions such as Fondation Royaumont in France and the Mozarteum in Vienna, and studying with teachers including M.Stroppa, K.Huber, B.Ferneyhough, K.Stockhausen, F.Donatoni and T.Murail.

In 1989, he left his career as a pianist to devote himself to research on the production of new sounds and on innovative performance techniques for electronic keyboards.

As a keyboardist, he has collaborated over the years with ensembles such as Nuove Sincronie in Milan, the Arditti Quartet, the Caput Ensemble in Reykjavík, MusikFabrik in Düsseldorf, and with orchestras including the Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne and the Orchestre de Paris. He has performed in renowned venues including Teatro alla Scala, Théâtre du Châtelet and Cité de la Musique in Paris, the Muziek Theater in Amsterdam, the Philharmonie in Cologne, the Leipzig Opera House, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon and many others.

He has worked as performer and sound designer with composers such as K.Stockhausen, L.Berio, L.Francesconi, F.Romitelli and F.Guerrero. Among the many premieres of works by Stockhausen in which he took part: the Canadian premiere of Klavierstück XV at the Mercure Theatre in Montréal in 1997; Dienstag and Freitag aus Licht in Leipzig in 1993 and 1995; and, in 2013, the Italian premiere of Luzifers Zorn for singer, actor and electronic keyboard.

Alongside his performance activity, he has developed his own technical and aesthetic research in composition, producing more than 90 scores for acoustic and electronic instruments—from solo pieces to full orchestra—which have been performed in over 20 countries across five continents. He has also conceived and performed numerous live works for acoustic and electronic instruments, including Cluster (for Demetrio Stratos), the opening event of the Milano Musica Festival 2017, and Recombinant.

His interest in the relationship between music and other forms of expression has led him to create performances closely connected with theatre, video art, dance and visual arts. Among many projects: EVE, a one-hour work for an actor, piano, electronic music, and video, premiered at the Triennale in Milan in 1997; ID, a dance project premiered in 2007 at the Tribeca Dance Festival in New York; and Ordo Coelestis, an audiovisual public-art installation presented in 2015 at the Expo Gate in Milan and visited by more than 7,000 people.

Since 2001 he has been part of Otolab, a collective laboratory for audiovisual practices, with which he has produced performances and installations presented at festivals such as the Zagreb Biennial (2003), NetMage in Bologna, Expérience de Vol in Brussels, the Festival de las Culturas Universales in Monterrey (Mexico), and the MUTEK Festival in Montréal.

His works have been released by ElliRecords, RaiTrade, Miraloop, Radical Matters and others.

He has written books and articles on topics related to music theory, sound studies and music pedagogy, including Ascoltare. Tra musica, percezione e cognizione (Shake 2022) and La fabbrica dei suoni (Carocci 2002). He is editorial director of the series “Classici della Nuova Musica” published by Shake. He teaches Theories of Perception at IED in Milan and is a tenured professor at the “G. Verdi” Conservatory in Milan, where he offers courses in composition and musical analysis.