Lorenzo Ferrero

Biography

Lorenzo Ferrero (Italian pronunciation: [loˈrɛntso ferˈrɛːro]; born 1951) is an Italian composer, librettist, author, and book editor. He started composing at an early age and has written over a hundred compositions thus far, including twelve operas, three ballets, four piano concertos, and numerous orchestral, chamber music, solo instrumental, and vocal works. His musical idiom is characterized by eclecticism, stylistic versatility, and a neo-tonal language.

Biography

Born in Turin, he studied composition from 1969 to 1973 with Massimo Bruni and Enore Zaffiri at Turin Music Conservatory, and philosophy with Gianni Vattimo and Massimo Mila at the University of Turin, earning a degree in aesthetics with a thesis on John Cage in 1974.
His early interest in the psychology of perception and psychoacoustics led him to IMEB, the International Electroacoustic Music Institute of Bourges, where he did research on electronic music between 1972 and 1973, IRCAM in Paris, and to the Musik/Dia/Licht/Film Galerie in Munich in 1974.
Lorenzo Ferrero has received commissions from numerous festivals and institutions, his works being constantly performed throughout Europe and North America, particularly in Italy, Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, and the United States.

His most popular compositions include the operas Marilyn, La figlia del mago, Salvatore Giuliano, Charlotte Corday, La Conquista, and Risorgimento!, the first Piano Concerto, the Concerto for Violin, Cello, Piano and Orchestra, the set of six symphonic poems La Nueva España, the song cycle Canzoni d'amore, the Capriccio for Piano and String Orchestra, Parodia, Ostinato, Glamorama Spies, Tempi di quartetto for string quartet, and the ballet Franca Florio, regina di Palermo. In 1986, he participated in the Prix Italia with his work La fuga di Foscolo. His music is published by Casa Ricordi, Milan.
As an active manager of art events, he has served as artistic director of the Festival Puccini in Torre del Lago (1980–84), "Unione Musicale" in Turin (1983–87), Arena di Verona Festival (1991–94), and the "Musica 2000" fair. In 1999 he co-founded and coordinated the "Festa della Musica", a showcase of classical, jazz and world music held in Milan, and four years later, he managed the Ravello Festival.

In 2007, Lorenzo Ferrero was appointed to the board of directors and elected vice-president of SIAE, the Italian Authors and Publishers Association. That same year he published the Manuale di scrittura musicale, a manual which describes the basic rules of correct and elegant music writing from the orthographic as well as the graphic point of view, which is addressed to all composers, musicologists, teachers, students and copy-editors in need of practical advice. In 2008 he translated, edited and published Lo studio dell'orchestrazione, the Italian edition of Samuel Adler's The Study of Orchestration, a landmark orchestration manual.
Lorenzo Ferrero was professor of composition at Milan Conservatory from 1980 to 2016. His teaching appointments also include positions at St. Mary's College of Maryland and LUISS Business School, a division of LUISS Guido Carli University of Rome. Moreover, as a member of the Italian National Union of Composers, Librettists and Authors, he co-founded ECSA, the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance, and between 2011 and 2017, he was president of CIAM, the International Council of Music Authors. In 2017, he was appointed honorary president of CIAM.
Lorenzo Ferrero was described in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera as "the most successful opera composer of his generation in Italy" and in The New Penguin Opera Guide as "a principal exponent of the neo-tonal tendencies common to a number of Italian composers of his generation, who has championed a brand of narrative music-theatre that aims to capture a wider audience than that achieved by the heirs of the modernist tradition."

Opera

Rimbaud, ou Le Fils du soleil (1978), quasi un melodramma in three acts
Marilyn (1980), scenes from the '50s in two acts
La figlia del mago (1981), giocodramma melodioso in two acts
Mare nostro (1985), comic opera in two acts
Night (1985), opera in one act
Salvatore Giuliano (1986), opera in one act
Charlotte Corday (1989), opera in three acts
Le Bleu-blanc-rouge et le noir (1989), marionette opera
La nascita di Orfeo (1996), musical action in one act
La Conquista (2005), opera in two acts
Le piccole storie: Ai margini delle guerre (2007), chamber opera in one act
Risorgimento! (2011), opera in one act

Ballet

Invito a nozze (1978), ballet
Lotus Eaters (1985), ballet
Franca Florio, regina di Palermo (2007), ballet in two acts

Orchestral music

Ellipse IV (Waldmusik) (1977), for folk ensemble ad libitum
Romanza seconda (1977), for bassoon and strings
Arioso (1977), for orchestra and live electronics
Arioso II (1981), for large orchestra
Balletto (1981), for orchestra
My Blues (1982), for string orchestra
Thema 44 (ad honorem J. Haydn) (1982), for small orchestra
Ombres (1984), for orchestra and live electronics
The Miracle (1985), suite for orchestra
Intermezzo notturno from Mare nostro (1985), for small orchestra
Intermezzo "Portella della Ginestra" from Salvatore Giuliano (1986), for orchestra
Four Modern Dances (1990), for small orchestra
Zaubermarsch (1990), for small orchestra
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1991)
Paesaggio con figura (1994), for small orchestra
Concerto for Violin, Cello, Piano and Orchestra (1994–95)
Palm Beach Overture (1995), for orchestra
Capriccio for Piano and String Orchestra (1996)
Three Baroque Buildings (1997), for bassoon, trumpet, and strings
Championship Suite (1997), for large orchestra
Storie di neve (1997), music for the Alpine World Ski Championships opening ceremony
La Nueva España (1992–99), a set of six symphonic poems
La ruta de Cortés (1992)
La noche triste (1996)
Memoria del fuego (1998)
Presagios (1999)
El encuentro (1999)
La matanza del Templo Mayor (1999)
Rastrelli in Saint Petersburg (2000), for oboe and string orchestra
Two Cathedrals in the South (2001), for trumpet and string orchestra
Five Easy Pieces (2002), transcription for orchestra
Guarini, the Master (2004), for violin and strings
DEsCH (2006), for oboe, bassoon, piano, and orchestra
Quattro variazioni su un tema di Banchieri: 2 Agosto. Prima variazione (2008), for organ and orchestra
Piano Concerto No. 2 (2009)
Fantasy Suite No. 2 (2009), for violin and orchestra
Piano Concerto No. 3 (2022)
Stetched lines (2022), for chamber orchestra
Garden Streamers (2023), for trumpet and strings
Library Music Symphonies 1-2-3 (2024), for small orchestra
Fantasy Suite No.2 (2025), for orchestra
Festive Ouverture (2025), for orchestra
Piano Concerto No. 4 (2026)

Chamber and instrumental music

Primavera che non vi rincresca (1971), electronic tape piece
Ellipse III (1974), for any 4 players/ensembles
Siglied (1975), for chamber orchestra
Romanza senza parole (1976), for chamber ensemble
Adagio cantabile (1977), for chamber ensemble
Variazioni sulla notte (1980), for guitar
Respiri (1982), for flute and piano
Soleils (1982), for harp
Ellipse (1983), for flute
Onde (1983), for guitar
My Rock (1985), (versions for piano and for big band)
Empty Stage (1985), for 4 clarinets and piano
My Blues (1986), for flute and piano
Passacaglia (1986), for flute, clarinet, and string quartet
Ostinato (1987), for 6 violoncelli
Parodia (1990), for chamber ensemble
Discanto sulla musica sull'acqua di Handel (1990), for flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, French horn, and percussion
Cadenza (1990), for clarinet and marimba
Musica per un paesaggio (1990), for small orchestra
Movimento americano (1992), for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and string quartet
Ostinato (1993), for two violoncelli and strings
Portrait (1994), for string quartet
Seven Seconds (1995), for clarinet, violin, and piano
Shadow Lines (1995), for bass flute and live electronics
My Piece of Africa (1996), for violin, viola, violoncello, and contrabass
Five Easy Pieces (1997), for flute and piano (version of a piano work)
Tempi di quartetto (1996–98), for string quartet
Glamorama Spies (1999), for flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, and piano
Sonata (2000), for viola and piano
Moonlight Sonata (2001), for 5 percussion instruments
Three Baroque Buildings in a Frame (2002), for flute and string quartet
Macuilli Mexihcateteouch - Five Aztec Gods (2005), for string quartet
Haring at the Exhibition (2005), ambient piece
Fantasy Suite (2007), for flute, violoncello and piano
Freedom Variations (2008), for trumpet and chamber ensemble
Tourists and Oracles (2008), for eleven instruments and piano four-hands
Three Simple Songs (2009), for flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, and piano
Venice 1976 (A Parody) (2013), for flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, and piano
Country Life (2015) for saxophone and piano
A Night in Nashville (2015), for saxophone and piano
Sonata for clarinet and piano (2016)
Night Waves (2022), for quartet
Calm and Rough Seas (2025), for trumpet and piano
Sonata for cello and piano (2026)
Piano music

Aivlys (1977)
My Rag (1982)
My Blues (1982)
My Rock (1983)
Rock my Tango (1990)
Five Easy Pieces (1994)
Seven Portraits of the Same Person (1996)
Op.111 - Bagatella su Beethoven (2009)
Organ and harpsichord

Ellipse II (1975), for harpsichord/clavichord
A Red Wedding Dress (1998), for organ

Choral and vocal music

Fawn (1969/70), for voice and live synthesizer
Immigrati (1969/70), for voice and live synthesizer
Ellipse III (1974), for any 4 voices/choruses
Ghost Tantra (1975), for voice and synthesizer
Missa brevis (1975), for five voices and two synthesizers
Le Néant où l'on ne peut arriver (1976), for solo voices, mixed chorus, and orchestra
Non parto, non resto (1987), for mixed chorus
Introito, part of the Requiem per le vittime della mafia (1993), for chorus and orchestra
Night of the Nite (1979), aria from Marilyn for soprano and piano
Canzoni d'amore (1985), for voice and chamber ensemble
La fuga di Foscolo (1986), for 4 soloists, speaker, and small orchestra
Poi andro in America (1986), aria from Salvatore Giuliano for voice and orchestra
Ninna-nanna (1986), for tenor and piano
La Conquista (2006), symphonic-choral suite
Canti polacchi (2010), for female chorus and orchestra
Senza parole (2012), for mixed chorus
Missa Brevis Gentilium (2025), for soprano, tenor, choir and orchestra

Incidental and theatre music

Nebbia di latte (1987), for flutes and live electronics
La cena delle beffe (1988), stage music for Carmelo Bene
Maschere (1993), for Le Massere by Carlo Goldoni for string quartet
Lontano dagli occhi (1999), for one actor, 4 voices, and piano quartet
Mozart a Recanati (2006), for one actress, 1 voice, string trio, clarinet, and piano

Books and book contributions

Ferrero, Lorenzo (2007). Manuale di scrittura musicale. Torino: EDT Srl.
Ferrero, Lorenzo, ed. (2008). Lo studio dell'orchestrazione. Torino: EDT Srl.
Capellini, Lorenzo (1987). Nascita di un'opera: Salvatore Giuliano. Bologna: Nuova Alfa Editoriale.
Ostali, Piero, ed. (1990). Il Piccolo Marat: Storia e rivoluzione nel melodramma verista. Atti del terzo convegno di studi su Pietro Mascagni. Milan: Casa Musicale Sonzogno.
Harpner, S, ed. (1992). Über Musiktheater: Eine Festschrift. Munich: Ricordi.
Jacoviello, Marco (1998). Il suono e l'anima: Il paesaggio invisibile del melodramma. Udine: Campanotto.
Jacoviello, Marco (2015). Al favor della notte... Notturni nel teatro di Mozart. Perugia: Morlacchi Editore.
Pozzi, S, ed. (2002). La musica sacra nelle chiese cristiane. Bologna: Alfastudio.
Donati, P, and Pacetti, E, eds. (2002). C'erano una volta nove oscillatori... Lo studio di fonologia della Rai di Milano nello sviluppo della nuova musica in Italia. Teche. Rome: RAI Teche; Milano: Scuole civiche di Milano, Fondazione di partecipazione, Accademia internazionale della musica, Istituto di ricerca musicale; Rome: RAI-ERI.
Maurizi, P, ed. (2004). Quattordici interviste sul «nuovo teatro musicale» in Italia. Perugia: Morlacchi Editore.
Hugony, Fabrizio (2010). Galileo e il segreto dei Maya. Milan: NR.
No music book has ever succeeded in miraculously replacing the listening experience. ~ Lorenzo Ferrero