Giovanni Verrando (Sanremo, 1965), composer and author of essays, began his studies in France at a young age, studying piano and classical guitar.
He later studied composition at the “G. Verdi” Conservatory in Milan with G. Manzoni, N. Castiglioni, and G. Zosi, while also studying philosophy at the University of Milan. He continued his education at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena with F. Donatoni, receiving the Siae prize and the Diploma di Merito in 1990.
In 1993, he moved to Paris where he attended the “Cursus annuel d’informatique musicale” at IRCAM and the courses of T. Murail. He lived there until 1997, developing his compositional research on computer music.
During the 1990s and 2000s, he was awarded in numerous international competitions, including IRCAM/Ensemble Intercontemporain Comitè de lecture (1st prize, 1995), Gaudeamus Music Week in Amsterdam (Special Mention, 1995), Festival International d’art lyrique in Aix-en-Provence (1st prize, 1999), ISCM World Music Days (2009), among others.
In 2011, together with RepertorioZero, he received the Silver Lion at the 55th Venice Music Biennale, as the founder of the group that carried out research into new lutherie. He quit RepertorioZero in 2018.
In 2015-16, he was appointed as a visiting professor at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.
Since 2016 he has been teaching the course on ‘Chamber music with new lutherie’ at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano.
His research on language, orchestration, and electronics has led to commissions from European institutions (French Ministry of Culture, Biennale di Venezia, IRCAM Paris, MaerzMusik Berlin, Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, etc.), and his works have been performed by internationally renowned orchestras, ensembles, and soloists (Arditti String Quartet, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Orchestra Sinfonica della Rai, Kroumata Percussion Ensemble of Stockholm, etc.).
His music has been featured in festivals and seasons worldwide: Wien Modern, Centre G. Pompidou in Paris, MaerzMusik – Berliner Festspiele, Festival Musica in Strasbourg, Opera Bastille in Paris, Biennale di Venezia, Tonhalle in Zürich, Milano Musica, Stockholm New Music, Roma Europa Festival, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Archipel de Genève, Ultima Festival in Oslo, Shanghai, Warsaw, Tokyo, Royaumont, Cologne, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, etc.
Three phases characterize his musical production.
An early phase includes works such as “Alex Brücke Langer”, “Sottile”, “Il ruvido dettaglio celebrato da Aby Warburg”, the first 3 string quartets, and many others.
Starting from 2005, his musical research focused on new lutherie (e.g., “Triptych”, “Dulle Griet”, “Keekee Bouba”).
Since 2017, he has been working on multimedia and works such as “Instrumental freak show” and the series “Camera Music”.
Among the CDs published on his music: “Orchestral works” – Stradivarius CD, with the National Symphony Orchestra of Rai and conducted by Pierre-André Valade, released in 2008, and “Dulle Griet” – ÆON CD, with Mdi Ensemble, RepertorioZero and P.A. Valade, released in 2013.
As an author of writings on music, his book “La nuova liuteria: orchestrazione, grammatica, estetica” was published in 2012 by Ed. Suvini Zerboni, the result of a research project developed at the research department of the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano.
He teaches orchestration and composition theory in the Master of Arts in Composition and Music Theory at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, composition at the Scuola Civica in Milan, and conducts seminars in Italy and abroad.
His music is published by SZ Sugar, Milan.