Pino Donaggio (Burano, 24 November 1941) is a composer, singer-songwriter and violinist, among the most authoritative and versatile figures in Italian music. His education has its roots in classical music: he began studying the violin at just ten years old at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice and continued at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan. A very young talent, he performed as a soloist on Italian radio in a concert by Vivaldi and collaborated, even before graduating, with ensembles directed by Claudio Abbado and Claudio Scimone. At the end of the 1950s, fascinated by rock 'n' roll, he embarked on a new artistic path that led him to quickly establish himself as a singer-songwriter. In the 1960s he took part in the Sanremo Festival several times with songs such as “Come Sinfonia”, “Giovane Giovane” and “Io per amore”, achieving international success in 1965 with “Io che non vivo (senza te)”. Translated into English with the title “You Don't Have to Say You Love Me” and performed by artists such as Dusty Springfield and Elvis Presley, the song became one of the biggest hits of Italian music in the world.

In the 1970s he began a second extraordinary career as a composer for the cinema. His debut came with the soundtrack of “A Venezia... un dicembre rosso shocker” (“Don't Look Now”) by Nicolas Roeg, awarded in England as best soundtrack of the year. The film caught the attention of Brian De Palma, who chose it to compose the music for “Carrie”, starting a collaboration destined to mark the history of the cinematic thriller with titles such as “Dressed to Kill” (“Dressed to Kill”),” Blow Out”, “Murder by Red Light”, “Raising Cain”, “Passion” and “Domino”. Over the course of his career, Donaggio has composed over one hundred soundtracks for film and television, collaborating with directors such as Dario Argento, Joe Dante, Michele Placido, Liliana Cavani, Giuseppe Ferrara, Sergio Rubini and Terence Hill. Among his most famous works are “Non ci resta che piangere”, “Piranha”, “The Howling”, “Trauma”, “Un eroe borghese”, “Giovanni Falcone and Il caso Moro”, as well as music for highly successful television series such as “Don Matteo”, “Provaci ancora Prof!”, Augustus and Sissi.

Author of unforgettable melodies and soundtracks that have accompanied some of the most significant cinematic works of recent decades, Pino Donaggio has received numerous national and international awards, including the Golden Lion of the City of Venice for Music, the Golden Globe, and several nominations for the David di Donatello, Nastri d'Argento, and Golden Globes. In 2018 he won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score with “Dove non ho mai abitato” by Paolo Franchi. With a career that combined classical music, singer-songwriter music, and cinema, he is now recognized as one of Italy's most important composers internationally, still active and appreciated by new generations of directors and audiences.