Emanuele Stracchi and his award winning work “Little Jazz Symphony”

Personal Introduction

Born in 1990, Emanuele Stracchi is an Italian versatile musician. He graduated with honors in Piano, Composition, Film Scoring, and Conducting. He studied at the S. Cecilia Conservatory in Rome and the Briccialdi Conservatory in Terni. Stracchi further honed his skills at the Chigiana Academy in Siena, specializing in piano and harpsichord. He also holds a degree with honors in Philosophy and Philosophical Sciences from Roma Tre University.

As a Concert Pianist, Stracchi has won international awards, particularly as a performer of contemporary music. His compositions have received numerous accolades, including the 1st prize in composition at the NY Global Music Competition for his piece "Long Island," performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. 

His works have been featured in prestigious Italian institutions such as IUC, ICBSA, and Rai Radio 3, as well as abroad (USA, UK, Sweden, Croatia, Switzerland). In 2023, he won the Call for Scores organized by In.Nova Fert in Bologna with "Prolegomeni per una drammaturgia”; in 2024, he secured the World Melodia Championship for "Laudes Creaturarum”, a composition for soprano and string orchestra based on the text by Saint Francis of Assisi. Stracchi is also active as an arranger and composer for film and

theater. He has published numerous scores and educational materials on Music Theory, including a text on tonal Harmony and a monograph on Ligeti's "Musica ricercata”. Currently, he serves as a theory professor at the Conservatory of Benevento.

The award winning work - “Little Jazz Symphony”

The “Little Jazz Symphony” is a brief composition for a small orchestra. Formally, it consists of two movements (following the structure of Moderato - Lento/Fast), with two thematic elements that are developed, fragmented, and reassembled throughout the Symphony.

The title itself hints at the underlying intentions that fueled the creation of this piece. It seeks to reconcile two seemingly distant worlds, connected by a subtle thread: the historical 20th century, where jazz and the avant-garde emerged from the ashes of tonality. As a symbolic representation of tonal crisis, the Tristan chord from Wagner's work is deconstructed and structurally employed, resulting in sounds that blend seamlessly with the swing environment and even touch on the sophisticated developments of 1960s bebop. The harmonic "quotations" used include not only the Wagnerian chord but also elements from A. Schönberg, H. Hancock, M. Davis, and B. Evans.

Ideally, this composition is intended for a small symphonic orchestra and a jazz trio (piano, bass, and drums). During performance, there are sections where the piano and double bass can improvise on the themes. To provide a framework, an indicative grid is proposed. “Little Jazz Symphony” premiered in Rome in February 2024 at the Teatro Palladium, performed by the Roma Tre Orchestra.

Feelings about winning the World Grand Prix International Music Contest

Winning the competition with my Little Jazz Symphony feels like a harmonious collision of worlds—the syncopated rhythms of jazz intertwining with the avant-garde’s dissonant chords. The title itself betrays my intentions: bridging distant realms, from the historical 20th century to the swing era and bebop. The prize—an engraved trophy, a nod from the musical elite—felt weightier than gold. But more than that, it was validation. A recognition that my fusion of jazz and avant-garde had struck a resonant chord. I realized: “this wasn't just a win; it was a bridge”. A bridge between past and future, between the ivory keys and the syncopated beat. And in that moment, I knew—I'd composed not just a symphony, but a conversation across time, a dialogue that would echo long after the applause faded.