Francesco Pennisi

Francesco Pennisi
(b Acireale, 11 Feb 1934). Italian composer. He was born into a cultured Sicilian family, whose independent resources permitted him to develop his singular gifts in both the visual arts and music without the constraints imposed by a search for early recognition.

In 1953 he moved to Rome, to study within the university faculty of arts (1954–5), and to pursue private composition lessons with Robert W. Mann (1954–9). Thereafter he taught himself, maintaining an oblique but canny view over the wilder reaches of the avant garde. In 1960 he became one of the founder-members (along with Evangelisti, Clementi and others) of the Roman new music association Nuova Consonanza. Another major source of new discoveries was the annual Palermo International New Music Week, founded in 1960, the third edition of which included the first public performance of his music (L'anima e i prestigi of 1962).