laurence who

laurence who

press kit

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definition

laurence who
noun /loˈrɛntso riˈtakko/

An identity born and built from the multitude of people who form the artist, from the records of thousands of ancestors to the stars of the present that illuminate the future. An eclectic artist and disciple of the hands, he sees Art as the expression of a single architecture of emotions. Consequently, he creates projects that contain multiple forms of art, conceived as different ways of expressing the same emotions.

cv

Laurence Who is an artist, author of Asombros (a concerto for magician and ensemble, created in collaboration with illusionists Diego Allegri and Nicolò Tosin) and of the saga The Great Silence (created in collaboration with more than fifty artists, including multimedia artist Andrew Quinn, architect Alfonso Firmani, sculptor Calogero Condello, and many others).

He has written music for Luca Trabucco, Stefano Sciascia, Duo LaRoi, Duo En Blanc Et Noir, Trio Ives, Duo Morpheus, and many others, including the short films Crisalide and Invisibili by Valentina Ercolini. He writes polytonal chamber music, post-minimalist operas, songs, hip-hop and lo-fi productions, electroacoustic music, improvisations, hybrid compositions, and conceptual art exercises. In the past, he wrote news reports and in-depth articles about professional wrestling.

He graduated with the highest marks, honours, and an honorary mention in both Piano and Chamber Music, and was recognised among the Young People of Distinction of the Municipality of Udine. He mainly performs “free” music (American music and niche repertoire), using in particular the sculpture Marilyn from the catalogue of sculptor Franco Maschio to perform Charles Ives’s Concord Sonata and his own trio piece Somewhere In My Heart, although his signature piece is George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

biography

Lorenzo Ritacco began studying piano in 2006 with Federica Repini at the Fondazione Bon. His right arm cannot fully extend and turns inward, a detail that would later matter. In 2011 he entered the Conservatorio di Udine, where he continued his studies with Fabiana Barbini from 2012 and with Massimiliano Ferrati from 2013. In 2015 he enrolled at the Liceo Artistico “G. Sello”, and the following year he began following professional wrestling, which he would soon cover in news reports and features. In 2017 he completed his core studies in Udine and began the triennio there with Luca Trabucco, while starting the Architettura e ambiente section of the liceo.

In 2018 he was named among the Giovani di Pregio of the Comune di Udine and wrote the first drafts of what would become The Great Silence; in 2019 he began writing what would become Asombros. In 2020 he finished high school with a final project titled T.O.E. Museum (Theory of Everything Museum) and, in the final year of the triennio, left Udine to follow Trabucco to the Conservatorio di Trieste, where he completed it in 2021 with top marks and a graduation programme devoted entirely to Gershwin, including two waltzes in C and Rhapsody in Blue.

In 2022 he enrolled in the Chamber Music degree at the Conservatorio di Trieste. In 2023 he wrote the first actual chapter of The Great Silence and, despite an injury to his right arm and hand, graduated from the Biennio in Pianoforte on 13 July with top marks and honourable mention; in the second half of the year he began a course in contemporary piano in Pinerolo with Emanuele Arciuli.

In 2024, with Duo En Blanc Et Noir, he won first prize and the critics’ prize at the Premio Argento, as well as the Premio Lilian Caraian. On 11 September he made his debut with his trio at the Auditorium Rai FVG in Trieste; the injury returned the next morning, and after a second concert with the trio on 14 September he stopped playing entirely and stepped away from the conservatory for about a year.

In 2025 he won the absolute platinum prize at the WTPA Finland competition with Duo En Blanc Et Noir, published his first book, Children of Silence, in August, and in the second half of the year conceived the Laurence Who identity. In March 2026 he graduated in Chamber Music with top marks and honourable mention, formally established Laurence Who, and brought together a wide group of long-developing projects (concert works, chamber collaborations, an art book and a live experimental film) into a single active body of work.

portfolio

  • Freelandart installation for violin, cello, piano, and paintingLaurence Who · Tijana Drinić · Emanuele F. Ruzzier
  • …a lapide ad astrafor piano, double bass, harp, dancer, and sculptureLaurence Who · Stefano Sciascia · Lorenzo Flori · Milica Horvat · Marta Chiusso · Andrew Quinn
  • Rapsodia in Violafor viola and flowersDuo Morpheus · Milena Petković · Laurence Who
  • Asombrosconcerto for magician and orchestraGabinete radiofónico de ilusiones · Isacco Lenhardt · Nicolò Tosin · Diego Allegri · Trio Ives · Duo Morpheus
  • Be Like Watershort film for illustrator, piano, baroque voice, and narratorLaurence Who · Simone Pinna · Evita Bertolini · Isacco Lenhardt
  • Modern Timesfor two pianosDuo En Blanc Et Noir · Matteo Di Bella · Laurence Who
  • The Planetsfor two pianos and videoDuo En Blanc Et Noir · Lorenzo Bosich · Andrew Quinn
  • Papatūānukuconceptual book and scoreLaurence Who
  • The Roadpiano recital across AmericaLaurence Who
  • Concord Sonataprogramme booklet · Charles Ives, Piano Sonata No. 2Laurence Who

photo & logo

Laurence Who in a hat, black and white download photo (992 × 992 jpg)
laurence who logo download logo (1024 × 1024 png)

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