Lorenzo Ferrero (born 1951 in Turin) is a contemporary Italian composer of orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal music, with a predilection for opera. He studied composition with Massimo Bruni and Enore Zaffiri at the Turin Music Conservatory, earning in 1974 a degree in aesthetics from the University of Turin with a thesis on John Cage. Between 1972 and 1974 he did research on electronic music in France and Germany, at IMEB Bourges, IRCAM Paris, and at the Musik/Dia/Licht/Film-Galerie in Munich. He 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. In 1986 he was awarded the "Premio Italia" for his work "La fuga di Foscolo." His most popular compositions include the operas "Marilyn," "La figlia del mago," and "Salvatore Giuliano," the "Piano Concerto," the "Triple Concerto," the "Capriccio," the set of six symphonic poems "La nueva Espana," "Canzoni d'amore," "Parodia," "Ostinato," "Glamorama Spies," "Tempi di quartetto," and the ballet "Franca Florio." In addition to a large number of original works, he completed the orchestration of the third version of the opera "La rondine" by Giacomo  Puccini,  composed the anthem for the Sestriere Ski World Championship opening ceremony of 1997, wrote a part of the "Requiem per le vittime della mafia," incidental music for stage productions, film scores, and books. Lorenzo Ferrero is an active opera conductor and manager of art events, who has served as artistic director of the "Festival Puccini," "Unione Musicale," "Arena di Verona," "Musica 2000," "Festa della Musica," and "Ravello Festival." In 2007 he was appointed vice-president of SIAE, the Italian Authors and Publishers Association, and published the "Manuale di scrittura musicale." He features in "The New Grove Dictionary of Opera," "Italian Opera since 1945," and "The New Penguin Opera Guide" as a "principal exponent of the neotonal tendencies." Currently, Lorenzo Ferrero is professor of composition at the Milan Conservatory and his Second Piano Concerto is on the way to its world premiere in Florence in February, 2009.