Born in Verona on 9 June 1927, Franco Donatoni began playing violin at the age of seven and, upon completing his secondary education, devoted himself entirely to music. He studied composition with Ettore Desderi at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, and with Lino Liviabella at the Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini in Bologna. He received a degree in choir conducting in 1950 and in composition in 1951. He continued his composition studies with Ildebrando Pizzetti at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, receiving his degree in 1953. He participated in the Darmstadt summer courses in 1954, 1956, 1958, and 1961.

Franco Donatoni’s early compositions were heavily inspired by the work of Bartók, Hindemith, and Stravinsky. Following an encounter with Bruno Maderna in 1953, he traveled to Darmstadt, where he embraced serialism and met Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage. Musica (1955), Composizione (1955), Tre improvvisazioni (1956), and Quartetto (1958) are all marked by the influence of Webern, Boulez, and Stockhausen.

In 1960-1961, Donatoni was still focusing his research on musical material, composing chamber music pieces such as For Grilly (1960) and symphonies such as Sezioni (1961) and Puppenspiel I (1961). In the years that followed, however, under the influence of John Cage and Franz Kafka, Donatoni’s work was characterized by a tendancy toward negativism and self-destruction. Fleeing and even seeking to break down the ego, Donatoni’s style took a stance of personal retreat from the internal logic of composing. Thus, in Quartetto IV - Zrcadlo (1963), Asar (1964), and Black and White (1964), this experimentation with the abnegation of composition led him to a complete desacralization of creativity. This reflection on the latent virtualities of musical substance, and its ability to withstand certain modifications, took form in Babai for harpsichord (1964) and Divertimento II for strings (1965) and led him to define “modifying principles” - Souvenir, 1967 – which were either accidental – Orts, 1969 – or arrived at through serialism - Etwas ruhiger im Ausdruck, 1967. Gli estratti (1969-1975), Solo for ten strings (1975) and Duo pour Bruno for orchestra (1974-1975) are both examples of these different approaches to manipulating musical material.

After a period of silence and clinical depression, the death of Maderna in 1973 rekindled Donatoni’s desire to compose. He evolved a witty, imaginative style, reconciling himself with expressiveness, lyricism, and the whims of invention. Spiri (1978) embodies this newfound serenity.

Donatoni’s last pieces signaled his progressive return to vocal composition – L’ultima sera, 1980; De près, 1981; In cauda; Atem (1985) – and new gestural work, which features above all in his chamber music of this period – Spiri (1980), The Heart’s Eye (1981), Arpège (1986) - as well as the influence of jazz – Hot, Blow (1989).

Franco Donatoni taught harmony and counterpoint notably in Bologna and Milan, and was a regular participant in the summer courses at Darmstadt. A professor of composition at the conservatories of Turin and Milan, as well as at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena and the Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome, he exerted tremendous influence among the younger generation of Italian composers. He also gave seminars in Switzerland, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Israel, and Australia (the Italian Institute of Culture in Melbourne) and in the United States (University of California, Berkeley).

A series of concerts was dedicated to him in 1990 at the Settembre Musica Festival, and in 1992 at the Milano Musica Festival.

In 1985, Franco Donatoni was appointed Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture; he was also a member of the Accademia Filarmonica Romana and the Accademia Santa Cecilia of Rome.

Donatoni’s work is published by Zanibon in Padua, Schott in London, Boosey & Hawkes in London, Suvini Zerboni in Milan (from 1958 to 1977) and Casa Ricordi in Milan (since 1977).

Franco Donatoni died on 17 August 2000 in Milan.

• Prix de Liège in 1951 for Quartetto
• Radio Luxemburg Prize in 1951 for Concertino and in 1953 for Sinfonia
• International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) Prize in 1961 for Puppenspiel
• Marzotto Prize in 1966 for Puppenspiel n°2
• Koussevitzky Prize in 1968 for Orts
• Psacaropoulo Prize in 1979 for Spiri