Contemporary Classical Composer
Pianist
Matteo Ramon Arevalos is a virtuoso Italian pianist, contemporary composer, and multidisciplinary sound artist whose work bridges the gap between traditional classical refinement and radical avant-garde experimentation. Known for his profound mastery of the piano, both in its standard form and as a meticulously “prepared” instrument, Arevalos constructs evocative sonic landscapes that blend historical reverence with cinematic depth, minimalist restraint, and structural innovation.
Early Life & Classical Foundations
Born in Ravenna, Italy, Arevalos initially approached music at the age of six as a drummer before finding his true calling in the piano and composition. He studied under the foundational guidance of pianist Fiorenza Ferroni and later Flavio Meniconi at the Conservatory Bruno Maderna in Cesena, graduating in 1995 with full marks and highest honors. Shortly before graduating, his emerging genius was recognized on a national scale when he won First Prize at the prestigious National Piano Competition Agorà in Rome (1994).
Eager to expand his artistic boundaries, Arevalos underwent advanced piano instruction with legendary masters Rudolf Kehrer in Vienna and Oxana Yablonskaya in New York. Between 2000 and 2006, he formalised his composition training across Europe’s cultural capitals, studying under Francesco Telli in Rome, Paul Glass in Lugano, and Narcis Bonet in Paris.
The Avant-Garde, Theater, & Interdisciplinary Art
Arevalos’s career is defined by a refusal to stay confined to the traditional concert hall. He has consistently integrated his music into the worlds of contemporary theater, cinema, and visual arts.
From 2003 to 2006, he served as the primary pianist for the avant-garde theater company Fanny & Alexander on their monumental project Ada, a family chronicle, performing complex masterworks by Olivier Messiaen, György Ligeti, and Morton Feldman. His affinity for dense 20th-century textures led to long-term collaborations with French ondistes Bruno Perrault and Nadia Ratsimandresy, specializing in rare duos for piano and Ondes Martenot (culminating in critically acclaimed releases under the legendary UK experimental label ReR Megacorp).
His work stretches seamlessly across media:
Visual Arts: He participated in the 54th Venice Biennale and the 4th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, performing Mantra Gita 3—a piece written for soprano, percussionists, and a piano custom-prepared with mosaic tiles.
Cinema: Arevalos has composed and performed numerous original film soundtracks, collaborating closely with renowned director Elisabetta Sgarbi (Raffaello – La Stanza della Segnatura, Sono rimasto senza parole) and Swiss filmmaker Hanspeter Ammann (Late Penang Afternoon, Vintage Decision, Ravenna Glamour).
Theatrical Scores: He has scored landmark productions for theater companies such as Masque Teatro, Nerval Teatro, Drammatico Vegetale, and Claudia Castellucci’s Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio.
Artistic Philosophy & Prepared Piano
At the center of Arevalos’s contemporary work is an immersive exploration of the piano’s physical boundaries. Utilizing extended techniques, object insertions, and architectural acoustics, his projects transform the piano into a self-contained orchestra. Whether performing Fausto Razzi’s demanding compositions (Per Piano) or testing the limits of sensory perception by recording live in total obscurity (Concerto al Buio), Arevalos uses stillness, shadow, and silence as active musical notes. His aesthetic carries a cinematic, contemplative weight that sits comfortably alongside modern masters like Max Richter and Nils Frahm, while retaining a fierce, classical rigor.
Recent Projects on Tunitemusic
In recent years, Arevalos has found a home on Tunitemusic record lable from Estonia, releasing some of his most conceptual and historically daring work to date:
La Folia (2023): A stunning showcase of his compositions for solo and video-prepared piano, reimagining ancient musical themes through a contemporary lens.
TELEION – Fragments of Ancient Greek Music (2024): A mesmerizing collaborative album with singer-actress Camilla Lopez (forming the duo Lopez & Arevalos). The project serves as a breathtaking musical archeology, translating and reconstructing surviving papyri and tombstones from the Hellenistic era. Blending meticulously prepared piano, subtle ambient percussion, glass beads, and ancient modal contours, the album bridges antiquity and modern experimentalism.
- Satie: Gnossiennes: Continuing his profound exploration of minimalist origins and ancient mysteries, Arevalos’s latest release on Tunitemusic is a definitive, masterful recording of Erik Satie’s complete seven Gnossiennes. A project born from a lifelong fascination with Satie’s enigmatic soundworld, Arevalos navigates the inherent “Gnostic” and Minoan ambiguities of these works with unparalleled technical and emotional precision. To respect Satie’s revolutionary omission of bar lines, he maintains a strict, hypnotic rhythmic pulse in the left hand—acting as a steady sonic heartbeat—while granting the right hand the freedom of a measured, poetic rubato. The result is a translucent and gleaming landscape that balances ancient mysticism with a modern experimental edge, reminding listeners that in the hands of a master like Arevalos, the silence between the notes carries just as much weight as the melodies themselves.
Whether reconstructing a 3rd-century fragment in a historic gallery or pushing the thresholds of modern improvisation, Matteo Ramon Arevalos continues to stand as an indispensable voice in contemporary classical music, a virtuoso whose keys unlock the past just as easily as they invent the future.
