Flavio Emilio Scogna was born in Savona (August 16, 1956). His musical training took place at various times in Genoa, Bologna and Rome in the form of studies in composition and orchestral conducting and a degree in Music Studies (the latter in Bologna). In particular, between 1982 and 1983 he studied orchestral conducting under Franco Ferrara and between 1984 and 1988 he installed a highly fruitful working relationship with Luciano Berio, the most significant outcome of which was his transcription of Paul Hindemith’s
Wir bauen eine stadt.
The theatres, concert halls and festivals that have hosted performances of his music include the Accademia Nazionale di S.Cecilia, the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, the Teatro Comunale in Florence, the Venice Biennale, the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Konzerthaus in Vienna and the Auditorium Nacional in Madrid. His works have been recorded by RCA and BMG Ariola and broadcast on the major European broadcasting networks including RAI, the BBC, RNE, BRT and Radio France. In 1998 he represented RAI at the Prix Italia with the radio opera
L’Arpa magica, on a text by Edoardo Sanguineti. Awareness of his work both in performance terms and in terms of music theory has been widely promoted in Europe and the United States by way of conferences and seminars in which Scogna himself has regularly been invited to present his works personally.
In October 2002 a hugely successful performance of La memoria perduta with stage direction by Pier’Alli took place. The opera was commissioned by the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome.
Since 1990 Scogna has also developed a career as a conductor, interpreting both traditional music and opera (he has rediscovered a number of important works by Pergolesi, Boccherini and Rossini) and 20th century and contemporary works. With particular reference to his interpretation of 20th century works, of significant note is his predilection for the music of Eric Satie as well as his recording - the first ever - of Nino Rota’s opera I due timidi. Among the orchestras he has conducted are the Orchestra Sinfonica della RAI, the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony; the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di S. Cecilia, the Orchestra del Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, the Hungarian National Orchestra, the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra from Israel, the Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra dei Pomeriggi Musicali from Milan, the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana and the Orchestra A.Toscanini. He has also conducted a range of prestigious ensembles such as Alternance from Paris, the Accademia Bizantina and the Ensemble Scaligero. In 1995 he conducted the inaugural concert for the celebrations commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Venice Biennale.
His many recordings include recordings for BMG (RCA Red Seal), FonitCetra, Dynamic and Tactus. His music has been published by Bongiovanni, Curci and Ricordi. In 2000 his CD with works by Schnittke (Dymanic S 2030) was awarded a grading of 10 by the prestigious music magazine Répertoire. From 2006 to 2009 he acted as the director of the Ensemble Contemporaneo at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, realising numerous productions as well as the concert cycle Nuova Musica Convergenze.
Flavio Emilio Scogna