Giorgio Pressburger

(Budapest, 1937 - 5 October 2017)

At the age of 19, Giorgio Pressburger fled to Italy with his brother. He settled in Rome where he received a grant to study at the National Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating as a theatre director. He later joined the Experimental Cinema Centre. After qualifying, the writer Andrea Camilleri introduced him to working on culture programmes on the radio, marking the start of his lengthy research into sound. At the Phonology Studio in Milan, he worked with foremost music researchers Bruno Maderna and Luciano Berio.

He started Biology studies at Rome University. His work for the theatre began in Naples, Bologna, Rome and Trieste, mainly directing 19th- and 20th-century classics, and in musical theatre he has contributed to the programmes of leading Italian and European venues, staging works by contemporary composers such as György Ligeti, Franco Donatoni and Giacomo Manzoni. His own works of prose theatre have also been performed.

He works on Italian television (RAI), producing films and versions for television of works by authors such as Strindberg, Büchner and Pasolini, and has made various industrial films.

Since 1986, he has written 13 novels and books of short stories, published by Marietti, Rizzoli, Einaudi and Bompiani. Several of his books have been translated into English. He has won many of the most coveted literary prizes (Viareggio, Campiello, etc.). His books have been translated into 15 languages.