Born: 1956, Milan, Italy

"It is very important to find clear ideas, after all the complexity of the avant-garde, without giving up the fantastic power of everything in this century that just passed. It is important now, more and more, to use simple elements."

A student of Karlheinz Stockhausen and Luciano Berio, LUCA FRANCESCONI has composed widely in all media and has won a series of distinguished prizes in international competitions. He has composed several works specifically for radio broadcast, in which he has attempted to realize his ideal of a "theater of the imagination." His music synthesizes the styles and resources of various traditions, including electro-acoustic music, jazz, African percussion, and Italian folksong. He frequently conducts new music and has taught at the conservatories of Rotterdam, Strasbourg, and Milan.