Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "a Glenn Gould for the 21st century," Marino Formenti has established himself as one of the foremost interpreters in the world of contemporary music.

Marino Formenti has performed at some of the most important festivals and institutions around the world, including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Salzburg Festival, the Lucerne Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival, the Ojai Festival in California, the Bregenz Festival, Gidon Kremer's Lockenhaus Festival, the AGORA Festival of the IRCAM in Paris, the Festival Musica Strasbourg, Ars Musica Bruxelles, the Berliner Festwochen, the Philharmonie and the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Philharmonie in Cologne, the Tonhalle in Zurich, Severance Hall in Cleveland, the Philharmonie in Budapest, Suntory Hall, Oji and Casals halls in Tokyo, Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow and with the Philharmonic in St. Petersburg.

In the summer of 2008, Marino Formenti performs Messiaen's "Vingt Regards sur L'enfant-Jésus" as part of the centenary celebrations of the composer's birth at the Ravinia and Aspen music festivals. He brings his celebrated "Kurtag's Ghosts" program to the Portland Piano International and hosts SCELSI - LA FESTA, an evening of wine, music and conversation at Riccardo and Cristina Muti's Ravenna Festival. Upcoming dates include Messiaen's "Des Canyons aux Etoiles" with Kent Nagano and the Munich Philharmonic; a piano project and world premiere with Olga Neuwirth at the Kunstfest Weimar; Wolfgang Rihm's "Sotto Voce - Notturno" with the RSO Vienna and Bertrand de Billy; and a performance of his renowned "Kurtag's Ghosts" program at the Vienna Konzerthaus.

In 2007/08, Mr. Formenti appeared in recital at the Lucerne Festival's At the Piano, where he performed "Kurtág's Ghosts" to great acclaim. He also won rave reviews for his performance of Messiaen's "Des Canyons aux Etoiles" with Esa Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, his debut with that orchestra. Mr. Formenti appeared as a conductor with Maurizio Pollini at the Pollini Prospettive in Rome, leading works by Luigi Nono. Other performances included Messiaen's "Visions de L'Amen" at the Mozartwoche in Salzburg; Stefano Gervasoni's "Irrene Stimme" with Lothar Zagrosek and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra; and Fabio Nieder's new piano concerto with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, as well as a return to New York City for masterclasses at the Manhattan School of Music.

In 2007 Mr. Formenti was presented by San Francisco Performances in the "San Francisco Piano Trips", a three concert series exploring the landscape of 20th century music, completed with two sold-out interactive family programs. Other recent highlights include a pair of Monday Evening Concerts in the final appearance of the series at it's long-time home, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; a recording of Michael Jarrell's "Abschied" with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and a portrait of J.M. Staud's music for KAIROS together with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic; and recitals of Helmut Lachenmann's works at the Konzerthaus in Berlin, at Ars Musica in Brussels and at Musicadhoy in Madrid and Barcelona, as well as 2 appearances at the Salzburg Mozarteum's Festival "Dialogue", both alternating and performing with Lars Vogt and Matthias Goerne.

Marino Formenti has collaborated with some of the most important living composers, including Helmut Lachenmann, György Kurtág, Salvatore Sciarrino, Olga Neuwirth and Beat Furrer.

In 2004 Formenti made his debut as a soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Franz Welser-Möst performing Olga Neuwirth's "locus...doublure...solus", followed by a series of three recitals within a single week for Lincoln Center's "Great Performers Series" in New York, featuring works by composers including Stockhausen, Messiaen, Barraqué, Lachenmann, Lucier, Berio, Cage and Sciarrino.

As a conductor, Marino Formenti has been an assistant to Kent Nagano and to Sylvain Cambreling, at the Wiener Staatsoper, the Opera de Paris, and the Los Angeles Opera. He has conducted works at the Wiener Konzerthaus and at the Accademia di S. Cecila in Rome, for the Festival Wien Modern and with the Klangforum Wien, the Ensemble Online, and the Webern Symphony Vienna. He also led the Austrian Premiere of Kurt Weill's first opera, "The Protagonist", as well as several other stage productions.

Born in Milan, Italy, Marino Formenti studied piano, composition and conducting in Milan, Stuttgart and Vienna, where he now makes his home. He has recorded for several labels including Kairos, Col Legno and BIS; these recordings have been enthusiastically reviewed by both the European and American press and won various awards.