Antonio Buonomo

Antonio Buonomo (13 December 1932 – 23 November 2025) was an Italian composer, solo percussionist and music educator. A professor of percussion at the conservatories of "S.Pietro a Majella in Naples" of Naples and "S.Cecilia" of Rome, Buonomo's professional experience included performing as timpani soloist in various orchestras (such as the "San Carlo" of Naples and "La Fenice" of Venice), and director of one of Europe's first all-percussion instrument groups. His many compositions and transcriptions for percussion instruments have been published by the main houses of this sector and include teaching materials as well as music for plays and television documentaries. They have been performed for the occasion of prestigious avant-garde musical events, television and radio programs as well as in public concerts. Buonomo was born in Naples in December 1932. In the preface to his biography, he said that "Being born into a family of musicians doesn't give you much choice". The fifth of ten children, he began studying music before he even knew how to read or write. He was already performing at the age of 12 (as a conservatory student), playing the trumpet and drums with his father in many nightclubs in Naples in front of an audience of American soldiers from the Allied Forces. A career that was built on “coming up through the ranks” and playing just about any musical genre, from popular music and marching bands to jazz and contemporary music. "His career is immense and he has come a long way" as Il Centro (Abruzzo's newspaper) wrote. He was director of one of the first contemporary rhythmic music bands and professor at the conservatories N.Piccinni in Bari, S.Pietro a Majella in Naples, Luisa D'Annunzio in Pescara and Santa Cecilia in Rome. His didactic works were used as exams in national and international competitions and were adopted by high musical culture institutions in Italy and abroad. He held seminars and specialization courses on an international level, training an entire generation of musicians with his method that are now featured soloists in illustrious orchestras and conservatory professors. Buonomo is credited with being the first in Italy to prove that percussion instruments had a life of their own, since they include all parameters of the triple music root: rhythm, melody and harmony. So, these instruments were not (as many people used to think) a rhythm section to accompany other instruments or to simulate weather phenomena such as thunders or storms. He continued his cultural operation until percussion courses were established inside Italian conservatories. He carried it out by writing ad hoc compositions and participating in radio and TV programs, as well as by playing pieces for percussion, that had never been performed in Italy, during the concerts he conducted. Having achieved great success among young people through daily concerts that were even held in schools (from middle schools to universities), in 1975 he recorded the first classical, pop and contemporary all-percussion Italian music record in which he gathered the outcome of his studies and ideas. He became much more popular as his artistic commitment grew, of course. Italy's most influential newspaper, the Corriere della Sera, printed the following in November 1987: “He is a real authority on rhythm: as an internationally known percussionist and virtuoso, Antonio Buonomo is a versatile and passionate teacher who has published many works on his favorite subject, from pure percussion technique and rhythm perspectives.” The most significant steps of his career, during which he knew and collaborated with music legends like Stravinsky, Hindemith and others, can be summarized as follows: he participated in major European festivals, like the International Contemporary Music Festival at the Venice Biennial (1960/61) and the Edinburgh International Festival (1963); he participated in the Italy on Stage in New York City with Irene Papas (1986); solo performances of contemporary music premiered in Italy; tours outside of Europe. In 1983, the Minister of Public Education invited him to be part of the commission that drafted the program for percussion and solfège study for percussionists; he was called by the Opera Theatre in Rome during the Jubilee year to act as assistant conductor and music consultant, contributing to the creation of the Missa Solemnis pro Jubileo, by Franco Mannino, which had its world premiere at the Colosseum. His debut as author, together with his brother Aldo, dates back to 1965 with L’arte della percussione (The art of the percussion): the first European treatise, in three volumes (with guiding records) on classical, jazz and African-Latin-American percussion. It was a huge international success and probably the first time that an American publisher (Leeds Music Corporation in New York) showed an interest in Italian didactic books, requesting editor Suvini-Zerboni they be translated into English. Buonomo died on 23 November 2025. 1965 - Aldo and Antonio Buonomo - L’Arte della percussione (The art of the percussion) - three volumes Suvini-Zerboni editions SZ6361/a - 6361/b - 6361/c; 1967 - Aldo and Antonio Buonomo - 'Il batterista autodidatta (Self-taught drum playing) - Suvini-Zerboni editions SZ 661; 1969 - Aldo and Antonio Buonomo - La tecnica del vibrafono (The technique of the vibraphone) - Suvini-Zerboni editions SZ 6882; 1973 - Aldo and Antonio Buonomo - Studi d’orchestra from Beethoven to Stockhausen - Suvini-Zerboni editions SZ698; 1979 - Antonio Buonomo - Musica d’insieme per strumenti a percussione (Collective music) - Curci editions EC10314; 1982 - Antonio Buonomo - Il suono della percussione (The sound of percussion) - Curci editions EC 10503; 1989 - Antonio Buonomo Clara Perra - La musica tra ritmo e creatività (Music between rhythm and creativity) - 2 volumes Curci editions EC 10644 EC 10645; 1991 - Antonio Buonomo - Timpani* (study and application of fundamental techniques) - Curci editions EC 10894; 1996 - Antonio Buonomo - Sapere per suonare (Music theory) - Curci edition ISBN 88-485-0723-9; 1998 - Antonio Buonomo - The Marimba* (Grip, sound, technique) - Curci editions EC 11299; 2001 - Antonio Buonomo - Born for the drum set * (Instinctive study of the drum set for children and beginners) book with CD - BMG Ricordi Editions ISMN M-2151-0569-0; 2004 - Antonio Buonomo - Beyond the rudiments** When technique becomes music (book with CD) - Carisch Editions; ISBN 88-507-0592-1; 2009 - Antonio Buonomo - Nati per la musica (Born for the music) book with audio book - Curci editions. ISMN 979-0-2159-0114-8, ISMN 9790215 105690; 2012 - Buonomo - The vibraphone* technique - Italian melodies - jazz improvisation - Suvini-Zerboni editions; 2013 - Antonio Buonomo - The innate instinct of the drums (when to play becomes a spontaneous gesture - book with CD - Curci editions; 2014 - Aldo e Antonio Buonomo - Method for drum and drum-set - Simeoli editions. 2018 - Antonio Buonomo - Davide Summaria - I CLASSICI DELLA MUSICA ETNICA** (Classics of ethnic music) The rhythms of dance in piano teaching - MP3 download - Simeoli editions. 2019 - Antonio Buonomo - Davide Summaria - DANZE ETNICHE per ensemble di percussioni ** (Ethnic dances for percussion ensemble) - MP3 download - Simeoli editions. 2019 - Antonio Buonomo - Biancaneve e le note parlanti* (Snow White and the talking notes) Musical fairytale to read, tell and recite - Simeoli Kids Editions. 2019 - Antonio Buonomo - Le mani - Lo strumento naturale per suonare e accompagnare* (Hands The natural instrument for playing and accompanying ) - Simeoli Kids Editions. 2020 - Antonio Buonomo - Quando il jazz lo facevano i tamburi* (When jazz was played by drums) History, analysis and learning of rhythmic music and the rhythm of words - Simeoli Editions. 2021 - Antonio Buonomo - Battute e frasi celebri di musicisti * (Diary of phrases and mottos from Bach to Schömberg ) - Simeoli Editions. 2022 - Antonio Buonomo -