Franco Ferrara
Illustration — Franco Ferrara is on the left. Franco Ferrara (Palermo, 4 July 1911Florence, 7 September 1985) was an Italian conductor and teacher. Among his many students are various prominent conductors, including Roberto Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Andrew Davis and Riccardo Muti.
Also recorded as Francesco Ferrara
Franco Ferrara

Rob Croes for Anefo · CC0
- Born
- 1911. · Palermo.
- Died
- 1985. · Florence.
- Nationality
- Italy and Kingdom of Italy.
- Occupation
- conductor, composer, music educator, musician and bandleader.
- Fields
- classical music.
- Education
- Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini.
- Languages
- Italian.
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Documentary summary
Illustration — Franco Ferrara is on the left. Franco Ferrara (Palermo, 4 July 1911Florence, 7 September 1985) was an Italian conductor and teacher. Among his many students are various prominent conductors, including Roberto Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Andrew Davis and Riccardo Muti.
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wikipedia incomplete · checked 25 September 2026
- Identity
- resolved
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Authority files
wikidata · Q1371884 · wikipedia · Franco Ferrara
In this article
Life and career
Life and career
Franco Ferrara studied at Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini. Claudio Scimone and Eliahu Inbal are recorded as having studied under Franco Ferrara. The recorded working language is Italian. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are classical music. Places of work recorded in the authority are Rome. Employment is recorded with Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Curtis Institute of Music and Juilliard School.
After obtaining diplomas in piano, violin, organ and musical composition at the Conservatory of Bologna, Ferrara began his career as violin player in Bologna, in Rome and in Florence, with the Orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (19331940). Encouraged to take on conducting, he debuted in 1938 in Florence, beginning a brilliant career. In 1948, he retired from conducting in public concerts owing to poor health, but he kept conducting for records, and he was engaged as a teacher at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome. Ferrara was also present on 14 occasions at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. Between 1964 and 1985, he lectured on conducting. His classes were attended by students from around the world, many of whom began brilliant careers that brought them onto the international music scene. Between 1974 and 1975, Ferrara also lectured on conducting at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Outside Italy, Franco Ferrara enjoyed a worldwide career. He held lectures at the Radio Netherlands Worldwide in Hilversum (1958 to 1973), at the Conservatoire de Paris, at the Swiss Radio in Lugano, at the "Tibor Varga" Festival in Sion. He also worked in Philippines, and in Japan where he was invited in 1976 by Seiji Ozawa at TOHO, the Academy of Tokyo, in honor of Hideo Saito, the great conductor who was also the teacher of Ozawa. In the United States Ferrara taught at the Curtis Institute of Music (Philadelphia), the Juilliard School (New York), and the Berkshire Music Center (Tanglewood) from 1975 onward. About 600 students took part in the courses that Ferrara held for more than thirty years. Among them may be included Jorma Panula, Myung-whun Chung, Sir Andrew Davis, Roberto Abbado, Maurizio Arena, Gürer Aykal, Riccardo Chailly, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Karen Gorden, Gilberto Serembe, Gian Luigi Zampieri, Massimo Carpegna, Donald Covert, Mario Lamberto, Riccardo Muti, Sir Gilbert Levine, Daniel Oren, Antoine Mitchell, Cal Stewart Kellogg, Kek-Tjiang Lim, Doron Salomon and Michael Bialoguski. Ferrara was also a well-known conductor of film scores. He conducted scores by Nino Rota for The Leopard, Mario Nascimbene for Barabbas, and Toshiro Mayuzumi for John Huston's film The Bible: In the Beginning, and others. His wife was Maritza (Maria Letizia) Carini (1934-2000).
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the heading Francesco Ferrara. His recorded language was Italian.
Career and activity
Career and activity
He was employed by Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Curtis Institute of Music and Juilliard School. He worked at Rome.

Roma 1965, con Franco Ferrara e il padre Carlo.
Fabio Cammarota
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1985
Franco Ferrara died at Florence.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Palermo.
Birth place
Florence.
Death place
References
Citations
References
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reference work
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Partially resolved
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Franco Ferrara studied at Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.
The recorded source classes are reference work. Every statement above restates one of those records; where they are silent, this article is silent.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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