Composer and pianist born in Milan on December 28, 1959, he graduated in composition under the guidance of Bruno Bettinelli at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of his city, where he also studied electronic music and orchestral conducting. He works at the Rai Phonology studio and collaborates with the CNR (National Research Council) of Pisa, studying computer applications in the field of music. A protagonist of the most innovative international music scene, his music explores all genres, blending classical and avant-garde, tradition and contemporaneity.
In 1975, with the German label Ohr, he created "Sonanze," the first quadraphonic LP published in Italy. He came into contact with German musical groups such as Popol Vuh and Tangerine Dream.
In the following years, he published and performed operas, concerts, and ballet music, including "Sei note in Logica" for voices, orchestra, and computer; "Generazioni del Cielo," an opera in two acts; and "Lamentazioni di Geremia," five elegies on a Hebrew text. In the same year, he performed in concert "In C" with Terry Riley, a manifesto of minimalism in music, and the unreleased "Transarmonica"; "Aurea Carmina" on a text by Pythagoras; "Il segreto dell'Alba" a ballet-pantomime; "Un Giorno X" his second opera; "Le Mille e una Notte" a musical fairy tale.
From the long artistic partnership undertaken with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, his works "Quarto Tempo," "Canone degli Spazi," and "Ten Directions" came to life.
In 2013 he composed "Antartica", which accompanied the European Concordia expedition to the Antarctic.
In 2015, he created "Tree of Life," the soundtrack for the Tree of Life icon at EXPO 2015 in Milan. It is a work that collects a series of orchestral compositions with some intrusions into electronics.
The album features a series of songs that hark back to the musical universe of the soundtrack and, despite the homonymy, have nothing to do with Terrence Malick's cinematic masterpiece. The first six were created to be proposed cyclically inside the Italian pavilion of EXPO 2015. Other themes are part of Cacciapaglia's previous repertoire, including compositions for both piano and orchestra, as well as electronics, taken from the quadraphonic experience of "Sonanze." All the material was reworked and explicitly rearranged for this recording edition to give the songs greater affinity and a more homogeneous sound thread.
In 2018, with the "Celebration Tour," he brought his music from Moscow to all of Russia, Siberia, Europe, America, China, and Turkey.
In the same year, he recorded "Diapason" with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London, which he presents in concert all over the world as part of the "Diapason Worldwide Tour."
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2021 Kitakyushu Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, the Farfalle Azzurre, the Italian national rhythmic gymnastics team, won the gold medal with the song "Tree of Life Suite."
On February 24, 2023, she released her new album, "Invisible Rainbows" (Ingrooves).
This year, she set to music INCIPIT / Moz-Art K.488 ReComposed.