His repertoire spans from Bach to Ligeti and encompasses his own experimental works and innovative jazz arrangements, alongside sophisticated music composed by non-musicians and amateur musicians through Brainarm Full Compositional Coaching—his principal achievement in musical research and what some composers and pianists have termed “the future of music.”

Professional Appointments

Since 2016, Mallardi has served as an appointed juror of the WPTA International Piano Competition (a member of the Alink-Argerich Foundation) and since 2022 as part of the Excellence Piano Awards jury. He was President of WPTA UK from 2018 to 2020 and President of WPTA UK-Brainarm from 2020 to 2021.

Education

Mallardi studied at the Conservatoire of Fermo, where he was awarded a scholarship in 2000. His training also included the Conservatoire of Milan, Incontri col Maestro Academy of Imola, and École de Musique Mozart in Brussels. He received his degrees from Fermo Conservatoire in 2006: a first-level degree in Composition and a second-level degree in Piano (awarded cum laude).

He studied composition with Marco Di Bari, harmony, analysis, and counterpoint with Fulvio Delli Pizzi, and analysis with Michele Ignelzi. His piano teachers included Piero Rattalino, Enrico Belli, Fausto Bongelli, and Donella Sabatini. He also attended piano masterclasses with prominent masters including Alexander Lonquich, Boris Petrushansky, Jörg Demus, Franco Scala, Massimiliano Damerini, François-Joël Thiollier, Pierluigi Camicia, and Giovanni Valentini, as well as Pier Narciso Masi and Alain Meunier for chamber music.

Performance Career

Mallardi’s performances have distinguished him as an inspirational and charismatic musician. Passionate about contemporary music, improvisation, and experimentation, he has worked across genres ranging from contemporary classical music to modern jazz and experimental forms. In 1998, he was amongst the first pianists to perform György Ligeti’s works for two pianos in Italy.

These diverse experiences led him to develop his distinctive compositional style—a fractal, intimist impressionism characterised by minimal diatonic constructivism. His work “Dentro,” sacred-inspired, delicate, and suspended in character, has been included in the repertoire catalogue of Orléans Concours International de musique XX siècle. His collection “Prophandances” is vibrant, rhythmical, and iconoclastic, incorporating acid-jazz elements into large-form compositions. The most significant example of this approach is “A Sweet Call” (available at www.guidomallardi.com).

Amongst his works are various pieces for solo piano and ensembles. The most significant is “Purple Triangle” for two pianos and two telegraph keys, where the sinusoidal sounds of live electronics aremirrorred in the harmonics of the pianos, played both on keyboards and directly on strings. This music reflects the influences of Ravel, Scelsi, Crumb, and Ligeti whilst merging and transcending these diverse styles (available at www.guidomallardi.com).

Mallardi’s music is distributed on all major online platforms, and selected scores are available for complimentary download at www.guidomallardi.com.

Collaborative Projects

From 2002 to 2004, Mallardi participated in Alexander Lonquich’s and Marco Di Stefano’s theatre companies, working as pianist, improviser, composer, and actor. In 2004, he wrote and performed arrangements of early 20th-century songs for the theatre Piccolo Re di Roma. Later, in 2018, he commenced a collaboration with the acclaimed German sculptor Matthias Leeck.

Pedagogical Innovation

A complete musician with an eclectic artistic personality and a researcher of original teaching methods and compositional systems, Mallardi’s formation encompasses experiences with various disciplines and philosophies, culminating in his engagement with first-century Christianity.

He has taught piano, theory, composition, harmony, arrangement, counterpoint, and improvisation privately and in numerous music schools in Italy and London for over twenty years. During this period, he developed the Analogic Method, a technique focused on developing consciousness through music by describing musical phenomena through symbols and archetypes, applicable to composition, analysis, and performance (moving “from inner world to outward expression”). This approach also led him to create the Piano Technique Stenography (PTS), a system of symbols designed to assist pianists and students of any level and age in approaching and learning repertoire without technical errors. Further information about both methodologies is available at www.guidomallardi.com.

Brainarm Full Compositional Coaching

In 2012, Mallardi founded the Accademia Professionale di Musica in Fermo, Italy, and began public demonstrations of the Brainarm technique, which enables non-musicians to compose sophisticated music immediately, without requiring prior musical background, theoretical knowledge, or technical training. Music composed by beginners and non-musicians through this method is available on the Audio & Sheet Music page of the Brainarm website.

Challenging the prevailing belief that high-quality musical composition requires extensive theoretical knowledge and advanced pianistic ability, the Brainarm technique empowers anyone who wishes to create music, regardless of their level of musical knowledge. Notably, whilst utilising the coach’s technical skills and musical experience, the method ensures no influence on the participant’s compositional process.

After initial scepticism, Brainarm Full Compositional Coaching has gained credibility amongst pianists and composers. In 2021, it won the London & South-East Prestige Award. Since 2019, it has been made accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Additional Information

Mallardi’s LinkedIn profile provides extensive information about his current and previous teaching positions and career trajectory. Further details about his music, teaching methods, and Brainarm are available at www.guidomallardi.com and www.brainarm.com.