Vittorio Montalti (Rome, 1984) studied composition with Alessandro Solbiati at the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan and piano with Aldo Tramma at the S. Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. He then continued his composition studies with Ivan Fedele at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and studied electronic music at IRCAM – Centre Pompidou in Paris.
He has received several major recognitions, including the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale and the Una Vita nella Musica award from the Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice.
His works have been performed at leading festivals and institutions such as the New York Philharmonic, Gran Teatro La Fenice, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, IRCAM – Centre Pompidou, La Biennale di Venezia, GRAME – Biennale de Lyon, Romaeuropa Festival, Radio France, Festival Le Viver, among others.
He has been composer-in-residence at the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris, the American Academy in Rome, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, Amici della Musica di Firenze, Divertimento Ensemble, and La Società dei Concerti di Milano. He also serves as an advisor to the American Academy in Rome and is curator of the MA/IN Festival.
Particularly drawn to music theatre, he has composed four operatic and music theatre works, which have been staged in various productions.
In recent years, he has also been active as a live electronic music performer, notably through three ongoing projects: The Smell of Blue Electricity, The Great Void, and Lascaux.
His collaborations with museums include a performance/installation commissioned by MAO – Museum of Asian Art in Turin, and a song cycle inspired by Giuseppe Penone’s Il giardino delle sculture fluide, commissioned by La Reggia di Venaria.
He recently presented a new electroacoustic performance commissioned by the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, based on Orlando di Lasso’s Lagrime di San Pietro, under the artistic direction of Damiano Michieletto. The work premiered in the evocative setting of the Basilica of Maxentius in June 2025.
He teaches composition at the “Alfredo Casella” Conservatory in L’Aquila. He has released five monographic recordings with labels such as Col Legno, Extended Place, Stradivarius, and Ema Vinci.
His works composed until 2017 are published by Edizioni Suvini Zerboni – SugarMusic S.p.A., and since 2018 his music has been published by Casa Ricordi – Universal Music Publishing.
« Vittorio Montalti is probably the most gifted Italian composer who has come into the forefront in recent years.»
Mario Messinis (2014)
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