Name Giovanni Marradi | Role Composer | |
 | ||
Albums Lover's Rendezvous, Quietude Forever, Winter Moods Similar People Ernesto Cortazar II, Giovanni Zarrella, Omar Akram, Ross Antony, Chris Spheeris | ||
Giovanni marradi selection
Giovanni Marradi (born 1952) is a composer, pianist, arranger and television presenter. He is the son of Italian trumpeter and conductor Alfredo Marradi; his great-grandfather, also named Giovanni Marradi, was a poet and composer.
Contents
Marradi began playing piano at age five, and three years later was sent to study composition and technique with Michael Cheskinov at the Russian Conservatory. As a young adult, he played throughout Europe and the Middle East, but his dream was to come to the U.S. to pursue his music career. After arriving in California as an Italian immigrant, Marradi played small concerts in Southern California and was asked to perform at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. While performing on stage, an entertainer took notice of this young talent and a long lasting friendship developed. That entertainer was Frank Sinatra. The two became close friends and Sinatra mentored Marradi throughout the years.
Marradi became one of the most successful expressionist pianists of our time, as well as a composer, arranger, recording artist, inventor and illustrator. Among his accomplishments, he sold 120,000 CDs in one two-hour segment on the QVC shopping channel. Another record that still stands as one of his outstanding achievements in the music industry is selling over four million CDs during his appearances on QVC and the Home Shopping Network.
Marradi produced, directed and hosted Giovanni's World of Music, a 28-episode television music series broadcast on stations around the world and distributed by Warner Brothers Television. Both the series and Marradi himself have been nominated for and received several awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Telly Awards, EMA and the New York Festivals. His concert specials on PBS are still being aired. Marradi has recorded over 130 CDs and two DVDs from his televised specials.
In 1995, he formed his own label, NewCastle Records. He released over 60 titles with NewCastle before signing with Atlantic Records in 1998, making his label debut, Destiny.
Marradi's album Because I Love You won Best New Age CD of the year in Spain for 2010. In November 2015, he performed a sold-out concert in Beijing, China at the Great Hall of the People to rave reviews. Today he continues to compose, teach, record and perform for audiences around the world.