Luca Turilli (born 5 March 1972) is an Italian composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the original guitarist and a founder of the

symphonic power metal Symphonic metal is a cross-genre style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars ...

band Rhapsody, later called

Rhapsody of Fire Rhapsody of Fire (formerly known as Rhapsody) is an Italian symphonic power metal band formed by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, widely seen as a pioneer of the symphonic power metal subgenre. Since forming in 1993 as Thundercross, the ban ...

, for which he composed and arranged all music with his colleague

Alex Staropoli Alessandro "Alex" Staropoli (born 9 January 1970) is a keyboard player, composer, leader and co-founder of the Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody of Fire. He does the orchestral arrangements in all the band's songs. Following the spli ...

from 1997 until 2011. In the early 2000s, Turilli released trilogy of solo albums and one album under the name of Luca Turilli's Dreamquest. After his split from Rhapsody of Fire, he released three albums under the name

Luca Turilli's Rhapsody Luca Turilli's Rhapsody (often simply referred by itself as Rhapsody, LT's Rhapsody or Turilli's Rhapsody) was an Italian metal band created and led by Luca Turilli after his split from Rhapsody of Fire, also including German, French and Finnish ...

. In 2019 Turilli released an album with other former Rhapsody of Fire members under the name Turilli / Lione Rhapsody. In 2020, he announced the release of his debut piano album.

Early life

Turilli was born in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

Venezia Giulia The Julian March ( Croatian and ), also called Julian Venetia (; ; ; ), is an area of southern Central Europe which is currently divided among Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia.

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. His father was a cello player who died when Turilli was only two years old. He inherited his passion for

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

, and at 16 years old, he started playing guitar. In 1993, Turilli survived cancer at age 21. At the age of 22, he started playing piano.

Career

In 1993, Turilli founded the band Thundercross, which was renamed Rhapsody after releasing the first demo, and renamed once again to Rhapsody of Fire for trademark reasons in 2006. In 2008, Turilli began an online guitar course titled ''Luca Turilli's Neoclassical Revelation''. In August 2011, Turilli split from Rhapsody of Fire, choosing to move forward with a new group,

. This band released their debut album entitled ''

Ascending to Infinity ''Ascending to Infinity'' is the debut studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Luca Turilli's Rhapsody, created by Luca Turilli after his departure from Rhapsody of Fire. It was released on June 22, 2012 via Nuclear Blast. Considere ...

'' in 2012''.'' Their second album '' Prometheus, Symphonia Ignis Divinus'' followed in 2015, One year later the same album was released under the title ''Prometheus, The Dolby Atmos Experience + Cinematic and Live''. The album, mixed by producer/mixing engineer Chris Heil was the first one in music history to be mixed in

Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels as well as free-moving sound objects, interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horiz ...

From November 2016 to March 2018, Turilli and his former bandmates

Fabio Lione Fabio Tordiglione (born 9 October 1973), known professionally as Fabio Lione, is an Italian singer who has worked with many bands in the heavy metal music, heavy metal genre. He was known for being the singer of Italian symphonic power metal ba ...

and

Alex Holzwarth Rhapsody of Fire (formerly known as Rhapsody) is an Italian symphonic power metal band formed by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, widely seen as a pioneer of the symphonic power metal subgenre. Since forming in 1993 as Thundercross, the band ...

who in the meantime had also left Rhapsody of Fire, toured as Rhapsody Reunion on a tour entitled "20th Anniversary Farewell Tour". After the tour's ending this same lineup formed a new band entitled Turilli / Lione Rhapsody. This band released their only album '' Zero Gravity (Rebirth and Evolution)'' in 2019. Turilli / Lione Rhapsody later disbanded in February 2023 following a final tour in Latin America, announcing that they would be "closing the chapter of their career for good".

Playing style

Early in his career, Turilli was influenced by guitarists such as

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...

Tony MacAlpine Tony MacAlpine (born August 29, 1960) is an American musician and composer. In a career spanning four decades, he has released twelve studio albums. MacAlpine is best known as an instrumental rock and heavy metal solo guitarist, although he has ...

Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist of thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until 1989, as well ...

and especially

Jason Becker Jason Eli Becker (born July 22, 1969) is an American composer and former guitarist. At the age of 16, he became part of the Shrapnel Records-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman, and they released two albums, '' Speed Metal Sy ...

who is considered by him today as the greatest guitarist ever. His lead playing often includes extensive use of sweep picked arpeggios, tremolo picking, classically influenced phrases, and scales such as aeolian,

harmonic minor The harmonic minor scale (or Aeolian ♮7 scale) is a musical scale derived from the natural minor scale, with the minor seventh degree raised by one semitone to a major seventh, creating an augmented second between the sixth and seventh degree ...

, phrygian, locrian, and

melodic minor In Classical_music, Western classical music theory, the minor scale refers to three Scale (music), scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending). ...

. In his latest albums, he introduced new ethnic elements such as Hirajoshi and

Pentatonic A pentatonic scale is a Scale (music), musical scale with five Musical note, notes per octave, in contrast to heptatonic scales, which have seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale). Pentatonic scales were developed inde ...

scales. As a pianist, his main influences are Romantic pianists like Chopin and contemporary composers such as

Ludovico Einaudi Ludovico Maria Enrico Einaudi OMRI (; born 23 November 1955) is an Italian pianist and composer. Trained at the Milan Conservatory, Conservatorio Verdi in Milan, Einaudi began his career as a classical composer, later incorporating other styles ...

Yann Tiersen Yann Pierre Tiersen (born 23 June 1970) is a French Breton musician and composer. His musical career is split between studio recordings, music collaborations, and film soundtracks songwriting. His music incorporates a large variety of classical ...

Yiruma Lee Ru-ma (; born 15 February 1978), better known by his stage name Yiruma (), is a South Korean pianist and composer. Early life Yiruma was born in Seoul. At five years old, he began learning the piano and moved to the United Kingdom, where he ...

and

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

Discography

Studio albums: * ''

King of the Nordic Twilight ''King of the Nordic Twilight'' is the debut studio album in a trilogy by Luca Turilli's eponymous band. It was released in 1999 through Limb Music Productions. The limited edition of this album comes in a digibook, with an expanded booklet. ...

'' (1999) * ''

Prophet of the Last Eclipse ''Prophet of the Last Eclipse'' is the second studio album in a trilogy by Luca Turilli's eponymous band. It was released on November 26, 2002, by Limb Music Productions. The ten tracks tell a story about the world Zaephyr and its destruction. Tu ...

'' (2002) * '' The Infinite Wonders of Creation'' (2006)

Rhapsody of Fire Rhapsody of Fire (formerly known as Rhapsody) is an Italian symphonic power metal band formed by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, widely seen as a pioneer of the symphonic power metal subgenre. Since forming in 1993 as Thundercross, the ban ...

Studio albums: * ''

Legendary Tales ''Legendary Tales'' is the debut studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody. It was released in 1997 on Limb Music. The album is the beginning of the Emerald Sword Saga. Track listing Personnel Band members *Fabio Lione - voca ...

'' (1997) * ''

Symphony of Enchanted Lands ''Symphony of Enchanted Lands'' is the second studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody, released in 1998. It is the second part of the Emerald Sword Saga. Track listing Personnel Band members *Fabio Lione - lead & backing v ...

'' (1998) * ''

Dawn of Victory ''Dawn of Victory'' is the third studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody, released in 2000. Like the previous albums, it centers on the story of Algalord and The Emerald Sword Saga. It was produced and engineered by Sascha Pae ...

'' (2000) * ''

Rain of a Thousand Flames ''Rain of a Thousand Flames'' is the fourth studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody, released in 2001. It tells a part of The Emerald Sword Saga, but it is a parallel episode that is not essential to the story, taking place s ...

'' (2001) * ''

Power of the Dragonflame ''Power of the Dragonflame'' is the fifth studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody. It is also the last chapter in the . The album was originally released by the german label Limb Music on 18 March 2002 in Europe and a month ...

'' (2002) * ''

Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret ''Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret'' is the sixth studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody, released in 2004. A concept album like all previous albums of the band, it is not a sequel to ''Symphony of Enchant ...

'' (2004) * ''

Triumph or Agony ''Triumph or Agony'' is the seventh studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody of Fire, released in Europe on 25 September 2006. It is the first album that the band released after their name change. ''Triumph or Agony'' featu ...

'' (2006) * ''

The Frozen Tears of Angels ''The Frozen Tears of Angels'' is the eighth studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody of Fire. It was released on April 30, 2010 via Nuclear Blast. It is the first album to be released after a long hiatus, caused by a legal disp ...

'' (2010) * ''

From Chaos to Eternity ''From Chaos to Eternity'' is the ninth studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody of Fire. It was released on June 17, 2011 via Nuclear Blast. This is the last album to feature long-time guitarist/songwriter Luca Turilli, bas ...

'' (2011) EPs and live albums: * ''The Dark Secret'' (2004) * '' Live in Canada 2005: The Dark Secret'' (2006) * ''

The Cold Embrace of Fear – A Dark Romantic Symphony ''The Cold Embrace of Fear – A Dark Romantic Symphony'' is the second EP by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody of Fire. It is essentially one long, orchestral song divided into seven acts The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apo ...

'' (2010)

Luca Turilli's Dreamquest

Studio albums: * ''Lost Horizons'' (2006)

Luca Turilli's Rhapsody Luca Turilli's Rhapsody (often simply referred by itself as Rhapsody, LT's Rhapsody or Turilli's Rhapsody) was an Italian metal band created and led by Luca Turilli after his split from Rhapsody of Fire, also including German, French and Finnish ...

Studio albums: * ''

'' (2012) * '' Prometheus, Symphonia Ignis Divinus'' (2015) Live albums: * ''Prometheus, The Dolby Atmos Experience + Cinematic and Live'' (2016)

Turilli / Lione Rhapsody

Studio albums: *'' Zero Gravity (Rebirth and Evolution)'' (2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turilli, Luca 1972 births Rhapsody of Fire members Living people Musicians from Trieste Italian male guitarists Luca Turilli (band) members Luca Turilli's Rhapsody members Luca Turilli's Dreamquest members English-language singers from Italy