Composer, born in Palermo in 1947. With one of the most characteristic, influential styles of the last half century, his catalogue stretches over more than fifty years creating operas, orchestral pieces, chamber music, solos and theatre and television work.
A member of the Santa Cecilia academy of Rome, of the Bavarian academy of fine arts and the Berlin academy of arts, he won the Prince Pierre of Monaco prize and the Feltrinelli international prise in 2003, the Salzburg Music Prize in 2006, the Frontiers of Knowledge award by the BBVA foundation in 2011, La Fenice theatre prize in 2014 and the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2016.
His well-known operatic and theatrical work has been commissioned and performed by leading European venues, including La Scala, the Venice Biennale, La Fenice in the same city, the Paris National Opera and state theatres and opera houses in Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Mannheim and Wuppertal, among others. His concert music has also been widely commissioned and performed by top orchestras and ensembles. Contemporary music festivals in Europe and America have hosted his work as a central plank in their programmes.
He has taught at the conservatories of Milan, Perugia and Florence, and given courses at Città di Castello and Boston university. He has taught composition at the Accademia Chigiana of Siena. Holder of an honorary doctorate from the university of Palermo, he has published articles and books of musical thought and analysis. His work has been published in over a hundred and fifty recordings, making up one of the most extensive discographies of any composer of his time.
Image © Clarissa Lapolla
