Biography

Daniele Venturi was born in Porretta Terme (Bologna – Italy) in 1971.
As composer and choir director he is among the most well-known of his generation.
He studied composition with Gérard Grisey, Giacomo Manzoni, Fabio Vacchi and Ivan Fedele and orchestral conducting with Piero Bellugi.
He attended seminars on composition and musical analysis with Jean-Jacques Nattiez, Franco Donatoni, Adriano Guarnieri, Fausto Razzi and Luis de Pablo.
He obtained the Diploma in Choral Music and Choir Direction at the Giovanni Battista Martini Conservatory in Bologna (2000) and in Composition at the Girolamo Frescobaldi Conservatory in Ferrara (2004).

He is the founder and director of Coro Gaudium (1992) (Italian folk songs), Arsarmonica Ensemble (2006) and Voices 20/21 (2020).
Since 1987 he has done ethnomusicological research in Bologna and Modena areas, finding interesting ideas for original compositions.
In 2000 he became the assistant director of Pier Paolo Scattolin’s Choir Voices of Europe, Bologna (European City of Culture). He has to his credit numerous international composition prizes including: Gino Contilli, Messina 2003 (second prize ex-aequo, and honourable mention), IAMIC, Toronto 2009, (prize shared between the two Italian composers who participated), JSCM, Tokyo, 2010, (the only European finalist), ISCM, Belgium 2012, (only Italian composer selected), ISCM-WMD, Slovenia, 2015, (Italian selection SIMC), Soundscape, Maccagno, 2015, (composer in residence), ISCM-WMD, South Korea, 2016, (Italian selection SIMC), San Diego New Music, 2016, USA, (Italian composer selected), San Diego New Music, 2017, USA, (Italian composer selected).

His works have been performed in Italy and abroad, and broadcast by several radio and television channels (Rai Radio Tre, Radio Cemat, Concertzender Radio, Radio Klara, Radio France, Vatican Radio, RAI Italian Television, RTVE Radio Clásica).

He has received commissions from major organizations and concert promoters and his music has been performed in prestigious concert halls, such as: Italy: Milan, Royal Palace, Teatro Dal Verme, Museum of the twentieth century, Aula Magna of the Università Bocconi, Palazzina Liberty, Tadini Space, Auditorium Amici del Loggione of Teatro alla Scala, Como, Social Theater, Turin, Gam, Lingotto Auditorium, Genova, Tursi Palace, Padua, Auditorium Altinate/San Gaetano, Rome, Theater in Scatola, Roman Museum – Terme di Diocleziano, Pescara, Pescara Music Academy Auditorium, Messina, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Elsewhere: Slovakia: Church of St. Michael Archangel, Bratislava-Cunovo. France, Luc Ferrari Halle, Césaré Centre National de Création Musicale, Reims. Belgium: STUK Labozaal, Leuven. Austria: Kaisersaal, Vienna. Germany: Italian Cultural Institute, Berlin. England: St Andrew’s Church, Oxford. Japan: Bunka Kaikan Hall, Tokyo Opera City, Tokyo. China: Nie Er Concert Hall, Chengdu. Thailand: Chiang Mai Auditorium. Canada: Canadian Music Centre, Placebo Space, Toronto, McGill University, Tana Schulich Hall, Montreal. USA: Columbia University, Auditorium of the Italian Academy, New York, St Botolph Building, Room 01 – New England Conservatory, Boston, EDT Concert Hall at the Haven, Charlottesville, Virginia, Concert Hall, The Arts at UMBC, Baltimora, The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, San Diego. Estonia: Peetri Kogudus, Tartu. Argentina: Sala La Vidriera the Direcion General de Ensenanza Art, Buenos Aires, Institute Superior de Música, Santa Fe, Argentina J.Alvarez Library, Rosario. Uruguay: Escuela Universitaria de Música, Universidad de la República, Montevideo. Azerbaijan: Fund Zibal Az, Baku, etc.

He has collaborated with international artists, performers and ensembles, such as: Carlos Aguilar, Alfonso Alberti, William Anderson, Takashi Aoyama, Irvine Arditti, Ilaria Baldaccini, Maurizio Barbetti, Jeremy Bass, Pascale Berthelot, Antonella Bini, James Burch, Giusy Caruso, Lisa Cella, Fabiana Ciampi, Francesco Cuoghi, Vincenzo De Filpo, Arne Deforce, Elizabeth Farnum, Miriam Garagnani, Liu Kai, Tadayuki Kawahara, Garth Knox, Stefano Ligoratti, Dan Lippel, Dacia Maraini, Laurent Mariusse, Mark Menzies, Solomiya Moroz, Pier Damiano Peretti, Paola Perrucci, Daniele Ruggieri, Germano Sartelli, Orazio Sciortino, Luisa Sello, Andrea Toschi, Dissonance Duo, Cygnus Ensemble – New York, Eclectica choir – Bologna, Istvan Horkay – Budapest, Interensemble – Padova, Le Centre Henri Pousseur – Brussels, Maria Felix Korporal – Amsterdam, New Made Ensemble – Milan, Noise Ensemble – San Diego, Indaco Quartet, Pomus Ensemble from I Pomeriggi Musicali – Milan, UT Vocal Ensemble, Italian Youth Choir, etc..

In September 2009, he issued his first Compact-Disc by Bongiovanni (Bologna) entitled Quattro lembi di cielo (Four sky pieces) consisting of 12 chamber works, with a preface by the well-known Italian composer and teacher Giacomo Manzoni, and programme notes by Sandro Cappelletto.

In March 2021, more than ten years later, he issued his second monographic CD entitled Lumen, consisting of 9 chamber compositions with his music for and with the flute, Stradivarius Label, Milan, 2021.
A few months after the release of the CD, in July 2021, several very positive reviews were published about this sought-after and special recording project.
In the PAN magazine of July 2021, page 56, for example, there was an excellent review by the English flutist and musicologist Carla Rees.
In the magazine Blow UP of July-August 2021, pages 136-137 n. 278-279, the musicologist Piercarlo Poggio, in his pregnant review, has captured the essence of the artistic path present in the musical project, granting the CD Lumen (7/8).
In the music magazine Suonare News of July-August 2021, page 55, Year 27, no. 284, the well-known musicologist Angelo Foletto, in his attentive and heartfelt review, highlighted several and very important characteristics present in the CD, belonging to Venturi’s poetic and stylistic style, awarding the CD Lumen four stars.

The composition Mintaka (2015) for organ by Daniele Venturi has been included in the CD Le Nuove Musiche (20th & 21st Century Organ Music), that the organist Luca Scandali has recorded on the organ Dell’Orto & Lanzini (2011) of Pinerolo (TO) for Brilliant Classics.

His music is recorded also by EMA Vinci and Tactus.

Some of his publications: Cantando un mondo perduto… (M.A.P. Editions, Milano, 2012), New Practical Method of functional exercises for choir, (Isuku Verlag, Munich, 2015), New Practical Method for the making of the modern musician, (Isuku Verlag, Munich, 2016), Sacred Choral Works, (Isuku Verlag, Munich, 2016), Puer natus, (CD, Da Vinci Classics, Osaka, 2018), Memorie Corali, (Isuku Verlag, Monaco, 2018), Raccolta di Bassi (Isuku Verlag, Monaco, 2020), Lumen, (CD, Stradivarius Label, Milan, 2021).

In July 2013 he was commissioned by the Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music of Washington and the ISCM Mid-Atlantic the composition Alla luna for soprano, mandolin and guitar on text by Giacomo Leopardi.
In the summer of 2013, the Association Musica/Realtà – Milan has commissioned the piece NOGI for three pianos, a tribute to Luigi Nono and dedicated to Venturi’s friend Luigi Pestalozza.
In January 2020 he was commissioned by the Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music of Washington and the ISCM Mid-Atlantic the composition Admar (2020) for mezzo-soprano and guitar on a poetic text by Matsuo Bashō, for the Bowers Fader Duo.

Between 2013 and 2015 Venturi has composed L’alba di un nuovo giorno (2013) for voice, soprano, violin I, violin II, viola and cello,  Alla luna (2013) for soprano, mandolin and guitar,  Dabkah (2013) for solo cello, Omkara (2013) for solo harp,  Herzlich thut mich verlangen (2013-2014) for choir and organ, Achernar (2014) for piano and orchestra, written at the request of the Venezuelan pianist and composer Marianela Arocha and dedicated to Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar (Venezuela), Aden (2015) for strings chamber orchestra, written for the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish-Radio directed by Agnieszka Duczmal and Nibiru (2015) for marimba and electronics, a piece written at the request of the French percussionist Laurent Mariusse, played in March 2017 in Reims, France.

Among the main compositions written between 2016 and 2018 it is worth mentioning, Circus sounds (2016) for solo flute, dedicated to American flutist Lisa Cella, Studio sulla lontananza (2011-2016) for piano, 11 Haiku (2016) for coloratura soprano and piano, dedicated to French pianist Pascale Berthelot, Geda (2017) for solo violin, dedicated to American violinist Mark Menzies, Lhasa bell (2017) for mezzosoprano an piano, dedicated to Greek mezzosoprano Angelica Cathariou,  Dedica (2017) for bass clarinet, homage to Ennio Morricone, Four by Four (2018) for three bassoon and contrabassoon, dedicated to Alessio Pisani and LowBb bassoon cluster, Mafr (2018) for viola and guitar, written at the request of Maurizio Barbetti and Francesco Cuoghi Duo, In monte oliveti (2018) for solo voices and mixed choir a cappella, Trilo (2018) for mixed choir a cappella and Dona Lux (2018-2019) for mixed choir a cappella for twelve voices.

Between 2019 and 2021 Venturi has composed Voci (2019) for saxophone quartet, Nan (2019) for piano dedicated to Giusy Caruso, Metamorfosi 12 (2019) written at the request of New Made Ensemble and O Oriens (2019) for mixed choir a cappella for six voices, Admar (2020) for mezzo-soprano and guitar on a poetic text by Matsuo Bashō, a work commissioned by the Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music in Washington for the Bowers Fader Duo, Vento 19 (2020) for virtual a cappella mixed choir with eight voices on a poetic text by Attilio Bertolucci, Ara (2020) for soprano solo, on a poetic text by Matsuo Bashō, dedicated to Alda Caiello, Tempo 19 (2020), a piece of acousmatic music composed for the Special Project – Simc Italia, Studio 19 (2020) for viola solo, dedicated to Maurizio Barbetti, D22 (2020) for string quartet, dedicated to the Indaco String Quartet, written for the Project Dante 2021 – Sconfinarte, Mirrors (2020) for bass flute, dedicated to Carla Rees, Traum (2020) for piano, dedicated to Serbian pianist Marina Popadić, Lunghi pomeriggi (2021) for mixed choir a cappella for six voices, Ninna nanna pija sonno (2021) for mixed choir a cappella for four voices, Donne che avete intelletto d’amore (2021) for mixed choir a cappella for eight voices, piece commissioned by Feniarco for the Dante 2021 project, Angel flight (2021) for soprano saxophone, dedicated to Mario Marzi, Nonsense 21 (2021) for soprano, marimba and electronics on sixteen old French popular proverbs dedicated to Marion Tassou and Laurent Mariusse and Eco II (2021) for mezzo-soprano, dedicated to Angelica Cathariou.

Among the main recent pieces he wrote (it is worth mentioning): Ave Maris Stella (2022) for mixed choir a cappella for eight voices, dedicated to Coro Giovanile Italiano, Hanami (2022) for mezzo-soprano, dedicated to Virginia Guidi,  Tempo 22 (2022) for cello dedicated to Marco Maria Rossi, Studio 22 (2022) for piano, dedicated to Miriam Garagnani, FREGI (2022) for two trumpets in sib, soprano flugelhorn in sib, trombone and organ, homage to Girolamo Frescobaldi, Round moon (2022-2023) for mixed choir a cappella for eight voices, of poetic text by William Shakespeare, composed for the Deutscher Chor London conducted by Barbara Höfling, Tempo 23 (2023) for prepared electronics, piece composed for the 100th anniversary of SIMC, Frail (2023) for solo soprano flute, dedicated to Laura Bersani, Madrigale 23 (2023) for women’s choir a cappella to three voices, Modulation (2023) for tenor sax and electronics dedicated to Federico Mondelci and Vision 23 (2023) for organ dedicated to Andrea Toschi.

During the Covid-19 pandemic he created a version for virtual choir, saxophone quartet and electronics of his youthful piece La Rosa Bianca, a project developed in collaboration with AERCO, with the participation of the American choir conductor Tim Sharp.

Venturi combines his activity as a composer with that of a teacher.

In 2010 he taught Choral Conducting and Choral Composition at the Francesco Venezze Conservatoire – Rovigo, Italy. In March 2013 he has been invited by the Electronic Music department of the SCCM Conservatory (Chengdu, China) to give a series of lectures on his music. Since April 2020 he has been teaching Elements of Composition for Didactics of Music at the Antonio Vivaldi Conservatory – Alessandria, Italy. Since October 2022 he has been teaching Harmony and Analysis at the Jacopo Tomadini Conservatory – Udine, Italy. Since October 2023 he has been teaching Harmony and Analysis at the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory – Firenze, Italy. At the moment he is teaching Harmony and Analysis at the Antonio Vivaldi Conservatory – Alessandria, Italy.

From May 2016 to July 2018, Daniele Venturi was Director responsible of Artistic Committee AERCO (Emilia-Romagna Choirs Association) which is part of Feniarco (National Federation of Italian Regional Choral Associations).

In November 2017 IFCM (International Federation for Choral Music) and ICB (International Choral Bulletin) issued a positive review of his book New Practical Method of functional Exercises for Choir (November 2017, no. 4) by American choral conductor and teacher Tobin Sparfeld. From January 2017 to January 2020, he was member of the Council of Italian Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM Italy).

From April 2017 to March 2023, Daniele Venturi was part of the Artistic Committee of the Feniarco (Italian Federation of Choral Regional Association). 

In November 2021 for Zecchini publisher came out the publication Il respiro del suono, Reflections on Daniele Venturi’s compositional writing and musical poetics edited by Renzo Cresti.

His artistic activities they are managed by Brennecke-Art Management in Vienna (2013, Europe, Principal Manager), Alanna Maharajh Stone Management in New York (2016, USA and Canada Manager), and Francesco Leonardi (2018, Project Manager and Choral Music Promoter).

Since May 2021 Daniele Venturi has published his compositions with Composers Edition.

Photo by Riccardo Franchetti