He studied piano and harmony at Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. In
1957 he started playing light music, being the pianist of important
singers such as Rita Pavone. In USA he studied jazz with Dave Brubeck.
In 1966 he was called by Cam to compose his first soundtrack: The
Bounty Killer, a film directed by Tomas Milian. After the good success,
he was asked to compose other soundtracks, among which was A Man, A
Horse And A Gun in 1967, which was recorded in the same year by Henry
Mancini. Worldwide fame, however, came in 1970, when he composed the
score for Anonymous Venetian. This score was a hit all over the world,
receiving all the major awards, and is still considered one of the most
famous Italian soundtracks. Another very important soundtrack is
Tentacles, an American film interpreted by John Huston, Shelley Winters
and Henry Fonda. Stelvio Cipriani has composed over 200 film scores,
still continuing his activity.
His occasional pseudonym "Viostel" was an anagram of his first name.
He was an Italian composer, mostly of motion picture soundtracks.
At the age of 14, he played in cruise ship bands, enabling him to meet Dave Brubeck.
Cipriani attended the Santa Cecilia Conservatory starting at the age of 14.
Though not raised with a strong musical upbringing, as a child Cipriani was fascinated by his church's organ. His priest gave Cipriani his first music lessons and encouraged the boy and his family.