Biography

Born in Cassino, Italy,  Emanuele Torrente graduated with honors from the Conservatory L. Cherubini in Florence (Andrès Segovia's school). 

Torrente has formed many musical collaborations in Europe, America and Asia throughout the years:

In 2003, his “Elegia Notturna” for string trio makes its world premiere at the Scuola di Musica in Fiesole, while “Archiemia”, for string quartet, premieres in the French Embassy in Florence.

In 2004 Torrente writes the “Jazz Suite”, chamber music in seven movements for violin, guitar and cello, which he later describes musicologically and analytically in a dossier about the historical attempts at blending jazz and classical music. “Jazz Suite” was greeted by the jazz composer Giorgio Gaslini as "an excellent work - both for the originality of its musical ideas and its accomplished and refined composition - that can be easily included among the most significant and creative works exploring new formal extensions of the language of jazz”.

In 2005, after recording of “Jazz Suite" with virtuoso concert players and arranging some of its movements for piano, Torrente completes the “Invenzione Continua a due strumenti” for violin duo, a fifteen minutes compendium of counterpoint technique conducted by the voices of the violins, focusing on a traditional yet innovative exploration of the form. “Invenzione" has been performed live in many occasions and recorded by the first violins of the renowned Italian orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

Between 2006 and 2007, curates and organizes musical events at prestigious cultural centers in Florence, including Palazzo Pitti, S. Giovanni Battista Society, the Istituto Francese and the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana.

In 2008 he completes the “Invenzione continua a tre strumenti”, a piece whose impeccable weaving of polyphony and counterpoint earns the enthusiasm of critics and audience alike at its premiere, again in Florence.

Torrente has written numerous pieces, mostly oriented to the repertoire for camber music -. He’s been involved in the recording of his music with many talented musicians and has developed a treatise on the contemporary knowledge of music called “Gnoseologia della Musica”, whose key points are expressed in his “Manifesto Teoretico Musicale” solo instrument - violin and piano - and chamber ensembles - duos, trios

Involved in the teaching of music, music theoretics and guitar, he has created and directed a children course in composition for the Centro Studi Musica e Arte di Firenze, a pioneering success in this cultural field. He’s also active as performing classical guitarist in solo concerts.

In the winter of 2009 he writes “Fantasia Onirica” for Carlotta Nobile, the late young virtuoso violinist, which she successfully premieres during an Italian tour.

In the summer of 2009 he performs a program of music by Bach and Paganini during the first classical guitar concert ever to take place in the island of Marettimo.

During a temporary relocation to the United States in 2010, he writes and performs the "Sonata Trascendentale", in three movements for solo guitar, at the New York City Classical Guitar Society, The New York Trinity Church, and private venues in Manhattan.

Beginning in 2011 he focuses on world premiere performances, including that of “Epicedio”, in Poland.

In 2012 he boosts his musical activity in the United States: in Sierra Nevada, California, with “Toccata”, for solo guitar, and in New York City with “A dream within a dream”, for guitar and soprano, on lyrics by E.A.Poe.

In 2013, he composed a cycle of six ‘English Songs’, on words by famous Anglo-American poets:

Shakespeare, Blake, Thomas, Pound, Bukowski.

In December 2014 he releases “Recordings 2004-2014”, a collection crowning ten years of composing activity.

In September of 2015 is invited by the Città di Gesualdo to celebrate the reopening of the castle of Prince Carlo Gesualdo di Venosa to the public, four hundred years after his death. On this occasion, he delivers an inaugural address to the town about the future of the polyphonic music of Italian tradition and he composes a madrigal in five voices on the words of a poem by Herman Hesse.

In April 2016, “If music and sweet poetry agree” for solo flute and inspired by the poetry of William Shakespeare, is performed at the Coningsby Gallery in London.

In August 2016, he performs the world premiere of a transcription of the "English Songs" for flute and guitar in Poppi, Tuscany.

In September 2017 he publishes the updated edition of the "Jazz Suite" with Da Vinci Records in Osaka, Japan.

In 2018 Signed contracts with the German Laurentius-Musikverlag, Frankfurt.

in 2019 earns a professorship from the Scuola di Musica di Campi Bisenzio (Florence).

During 2020 Covid time He is preparing new Projects such as the English Songs Duo and The MadriX, Contemporary Polyphonic Group.

In 2021 he is involved in a massive release of partenered recordings with Routenote as Composer and Player including: " Electric Bach Project Vol, I" , "English Songs Album", "The Siren Song", "Sestina Altaforte", "Trascendental Sonata", "Gran Sonata per Chitarra di Niccolò Paganini".

In 2022 compose d"Counterpoints on a James Douglas Morrison's Theme" for classic guitar solo. In november publish the complete partiture of the Jazz Suite by Gesualdo Edizioni.

In 2023 he officially became Gregorian cantor of the cathedral 'Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. In june 2023 he presents at the "biblioteca delle Oblate" in florence a performance with dance, guests from the US and live performance of some movements from the jazz suite as a presentation of the book of the same name.

In September, he spoke for the column 'Mozart incontra' in a long interview on Radio Mozart Italia. In October 2023, he was appointed Director of the Accademia Musicale Caruso in Lastra a Signa, Florence.

​In February 2024, he composed the 'New 120 Arpeggios for Guitars' as a homage to and renewal of Mauro Giuliani's didactic work for the guitarist's right hand.

​In June 2024, a six-part programme was broadcast on Radio Mozart Italia: ‘The English Songs of Emanuele Torrente’, which he conceived and commented together with soprano Rachael Jane Stellacci and artist Eleonora Vittorini Orgeas.