In the span of just a few weeks, Luca Francesconi received two major awards:
*   The Antonio Feltrinelli Prize for musical composition
*   The Prix Italiques for the opera Trompe-la-mort

Check out the description of the awards below, along with their respective motivations.

Antonio Feltrinelli Prize

November 9, Rome. At the opening ceremony for the 2018-2019 school year, Giorgio Parisi, President of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, presented the Antonio Feltrinelli Prize for Musical Composition to Luca Francesconi. The jury provided the following motivation for their decision:

“In his intense activity in every field of vocal and instrumental music, Luca Francesconi has succeeded in blending innovation and research with a living sense of the completed work. In theater music, his originality shines through; his instrumental works explore an endless array of combinations of chamber music and symphonic pieces. Proof of mastery in dealing with each instrument, and of an imagination and formal bearing that make him stand out among contemporary composers.”  



Since 1950, the Antonio Feltrinelli Prizes have been a major international recognition, promoted by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome.  The awards, for both Italian and international composers and musicians, were instituted by Antonio Feltrinelli, who in his will bequeathed perpetual funding. 

Prix Italiques

December 1, Rome. At the headquarters of Fondazione Primoli, Luca Francesconi received the Italiques Award for his opera Trompe-la-mort, which made its world premiere March 16, 2017, at Palais Garnier in Paris. The jury issued the following declaration:

“By articulating rigorous verbal faithfulness to the words of Balzac, and with musical exploration in terms of sounds and rhythms that goes beyond any and all avant-garde mannerism, Francesconi pays magnificent, fascinating tribute to what remains contemporary in the social and political analysis of Balzac in Comédie humaine, where he created a modern form of opera, which was staunchly innovative and strong.”



The Italiques Award was instituted by the French-Italian-Belgian association Italiques, which was founded in 1997 by Professor Paolo Carile along with a group of French and Italian intellectuals. Every year, the award is given – alternately – to an Italian author or creator of an opera that depicts French culture, and a French or Belgian author or creator of an opera that depicts Italian culture. To date, a score of high-profile personages, including authors, critics, historians, musicians, filmmakers, translators, and publishers have been recipients of the Italiques Awards.

 

Antonio Feltrinelli Prize: Giorgio Parisi, President and Roberto Antonelli, Vice President with the composer
(Photo, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei)

Prix Italiques: Jean Musitelli, President with the composer
(Photo by Riccardo Brizzi)