Francesco Marzano (b. 1992, Bari, Italy) is a freelance flautist, performer and author. He studied music and literature in Milan (Italy) and flute, music pedagogy, contemporary music, and performance art in Cologne and Essen (Germany).
His projects are characterized by a strong interdisciplinary approach that combines sound, performance, text, video, and installation.
He has worked with artists such as Marina Abramović, Christina Kubisch, Salvatore Sciarrino and Doris Uhlich and has performed at several international festivals, museums and theatres, including MiTo (Milan 2015), Museo Teatro alla Scala (Milan 2016), Cantiere internazionale d’arte (Montepulciano 2022), Acht Brücken (Cologne 2023-25), Warsaw Autumn (2023), Splendor (Amsterdam 2023), Monheim Triennale II (2023), Museum Folkwang (Essen 2023), Lisinski Concert Hall (Zagreb 2023), Neumarkt Theater (Zürich 2025), KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen (Hannover 2025) and Museum Schloss Moyland (Bedburg-Hau 2025).
As a flautist, he has received artistic inspiration in masterclasses with Sir James Galway, Raffaele Trevisani, Jennifer Seubel, and Helen Bledsoe and has won first prizes at the international competitions Nuovo Premio Contea (2016) and Premio Monterosa-Kawai (2015).
As a performance artist, he has collaborated with the Marina Abramović Institute since 2023, through which he has realized several long-durational performances.
He has received funding and scholarships for various interdisciplinary projects from Live Music Now Köln – Yehudi Menuhin (2019-22), DAAD (2021), the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (2020-22), Deutsche Orchesterstiftung (2023), Musikfonds (2023, 2024) and Initiative Freie Musik e.V. Köln (2025).
In addition to music, he pursues his passion for communication and languages as a radio journalist (WDR Cosmo) and as an author in the fields of philology, performative theatre, and music.