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A composer in various genres, including vocal, instrumental, electroacoustic, live electronic, and acousmatic, Lucio Garau also performs keyboard and acousmatic music. Born 1959 in Cagliari, Italy, Lucio Garau graduated in1979 from the Cagliari Conservatory in piano and 1990 from the Cagliari Conservatory in composition.

As a scholar, his main research fields are ethnomusicology, aesthetics, and the history of music. He is also active as a conceiver, organizer and promoter of concerts, festivals, and multimedia events.

His ongoing research deals with the historic and aesthetic dimensions of the concepts “improvisation”, “performance”, and “environment”. Both social and technical issues of sound production are a major focus in Garau’s work, which covers Renaissance and Baroque music as well as organology. His work in ethnomusicology on Sardinia’s rich folk heritage has resulted in field recordings and the production of several CDs of traditional Sardinian music.

Garau’s interest in electroacoustic composition has been stimulated by his ethnomusicological field work. Folk practices taught him how to use improvisation as a channel for redefining his own personal needs for expression within the framework of up-to-date musical techniques. Since starting to compose, he has devoted much attention to multimedia communication, which he regards as a spectrum of expressive tools enabling today’s composers to combine gesture and movement with sound proper, not unlike as has occurred in previous historic and ethnic environments.

In 1998, by commissioning new works from living composers and personally revisiting the output of past masters as both a composer and a performer, Garau launched a multi-year project aimed at performance and circulation of acousmatic music. This research involves equally classical music, avant-garde music of the 20th century, and current trends.

Garau’s compositional output is no less diverse, both in his materials and in his instrumental resources. His works include traditionally scored, electronic, and acousmatic pieces, as well as dialectical combinations of these media.

His works was performed by very important player such as: Steven Schick, Fernando Grillo, Kees Boeke, Daniel Kientzy, Andrea Padova, Antonio Politano, Roberto Pellegrini, Claudio Jacomucci, Francesco Libetta, Francoise Rivalland, Ulrich Krieger, Mieko Kanno, Marco Pavin, James Clappertone, Jorge Isaac, Paul Leenhouts.

As a pianist and harpsichordist, he toured extensively in Europe and Latin America (1990-94), while also delivering lectures about his research.

In 2001, the Venice Biennale commissioned a piece for solo piano, which was premièred in September 2002.

In 2002 in Milano there was 2 monographic concerts dedicated to his works.

In may 2003 composer in residence at Steim in Amsterdam.

In april 2004 first performance of the accordion concerto committed by Teatro Lirico di Cagliari.

Acousmatic music, by now 50 years old, has delved deep into the imagery of the 20th century; nevertheless, it hardly enjoys any presence in the Italian concert scene. Nevertheless, Garau believes in presenting it in concert situations directly to the standard classical music audience. This is now possible due to widely available high-quality sound output, which makes possible Garau’s own concert repertoire.