Photo credit Shirley Suarez
Raphael Fusco
Italian-American composer, keyboardist, and conductor Raphael Fusco has been hailed by the international press as "one of the most outstanding composers of his generation" (El Mundo) and "a leader in the opera world today" (Operawire).
Fusco's genre-crossing compositions have been commissioned by ensembles such as the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Cecilia Chorus of New York, I Porporini, Opera Lucca, and members of the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera Orchestras. His works have premiered in renowned venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Verizon Hall, and Gaudí’s Casa Milà.
In 2024, his oratorio An American Requiem won 2nd place in the American Prize for Music. In 2023, his choral work It’s a Long Way won 1st prize in the Phoenix Boys Choir New Works Rising Competition, and his song cycle Quarantine Camp won 2nd prize in the NATS Art Song Composition Competition. He has conducted world premieres of his works, including Le parole dei mesi and La contesa canora in Italy (2023), and the operas Der Telefonist and inSOMNIA in Germany (2021). His debut album, REMIXED, released in 2019, features original compositions for solo piano praised for their "stunning sonic ideas" (Jazz Corner).
As a pianist and harpsichordist, Fusco has performed with the New York Philharmonic, GRAMMY Award winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis, Simply Three, and American Ballet Theatre. In 2013 and 2015 he was awarded two artist residencies at the Piccola Academia di Montisi where he had the rare opportunity to compose on one of Europe’s finest collections of antique keyboard instruments.
Raphael studied at Mannes College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Conservatory G. Verdi of Turin, and Paris Schola Cantorum. Since 2019, he has served as Senior Artist at the University for Performing Arts in Graz, Austria, where he is pursuing a doctoral degree in artistic research. His thesis explores empathy and expressive agency in the composition of vocal music.
Fusco's works are published by Universal Edition Vienna and Verlag Ries & Erler Berlin.
Sonata for baroque violin and harpsichord
​
The timeless sounds of historical instruments have always captivated me. Their expressive palette of colors and articulations, somehow both ancient and novel, stirs the listener's emotions as vividly today as in centuries past. My Sonata for Baroque Violin and Harpsichord looks back to music of the 18th century through a modern lens. Catchy dance rhythms like the hornpipe, chaconne, and gigue fuse with lyric melodies and contemporary harmonies to usher the listener into a unique sound-world where the past merges with the present.