Biography
“He his a guitarist with myriad colours and bold sensitivity”
BBC Music Magazine
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“Among the most interesting names of today’s Guitar”
Amadeus
Giacomo Susani is an Italian / British composer, conductor and guitarist. His work in the field of both performance and composition enable him to play a versatile role professionally, which allowed him to develop a personal approach to interpretation and composition that is met with enthusiasm internationally.
His multifaceted activity allowed him to build collaborations with artists coming from a variety of disciplines: from working closely with the late guitarist Julian Bream, to collaborating with British film director Sally Potter and most recently with poet Chinwe D. John and USA’s PBS for the popular television show “Now Hear This”.
As a guitarist he conducts a busy performing career across Europe and the USA and, as a composer, his music is played and recorded all around the world, by some of the most important musicians of today’s international scene: among these are the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Orchestra, Takács Quartet, Quartetto Goldberg, Quartetto Indaco, Stefano Grondona, David Russell and Jason Vieaux. On May 30th 2024 he debuted at New York’s Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall), performing “Fantasia for Guitar and Small Orchestra” of his own composition, accompanied by the Chamber Orchestra of New York.
He has been active as a conductor since his debut in December 2024, when he conducted the world premiere of his Concerto for 10 string guitar and orchestra “Lungo il Po” in Boulder, Colorado (US). Since 2025 he is assistant of internationally acclaimed conductor Alessandro Cadario, who is also his conducting mentor. At his side, he actively assisted both symphonic and operatic productions.
His early career was supported by prestigious foundations, including The Julian Bream Trust, The Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Park Lane Group, The Worshipful Company of Musicians and the City Music Foundation. He was the winner of several international awards, among which the London International Guitar Competition (2016) and the New York Respighi Prize in Composition (2022) stand out.
To this date, he has released three solo albums with the Italian label Stradivarius: “Giacomo Susani plays Petrassi, Bach, Tansman, Weiss” (2013); “Gebeth. Romantic music for Guitar -Mertz, Regondi” (2018); “Intrecci. New compositions and arrangements for Guitar” (2025).
Giacomo was a guitar teacher at the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music (London) from 2019 to 2023, is currently artistic director of the musical production of Barco Teatro (Padova, Italy) and of the “Homenaje” International Guitar Festival.
In 2025 he was awarded the title of Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) by the London institution of the same name, an award intended for alumni who have distinguished themselves in their professional career. In 2022 and 2023 respectively he was awarded two Golden Guitars by the “Convegno Internazionale di Chitarra di Milano”. He is a D’Addario artist since 2018.
Plans for 2026 include his debut as a conductor with several professional orchestras, including the Italian Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, as well as the world premiere performance of his new piece “Nowruz” for large orchestra by the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland Pfalz conducted by Dirk Kaftan and the launch of the album “A Screenshot of Now” by Linn Records, entirely dedicated to a song cycle of his own composition for guitar and three singers based on the lyrics by Nigerian-American poet Chinwe D. John.