Riccardo Formosa (born 1 September 1954) is an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
-born Australian musician and composer. He was the lead guitarist of the pop band
Little River Band
Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums rea ...
from 1975 to 1976 and recorded their first two albums, ''
Little River Band
Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums rea ...
'' and ''
After Hours''.
Early life
Formosa was born in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy, but grew up in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada. He migrated to Australia in 1974 and worked as a music arranger and studio musician.
He joined the Little River Band shortly after arriving in Australia.
Little River Band
The original Little River Band (LRB) lead guitarist,
Graham Davidge
Graham Davidge is an Australian musician. He has played with Little River Band (1975), Tidewater (1976), Goanna (1982–83) and numerous other Australian bands.
Davidge was chosen as the original lead guitarist for Little River Band. He played ...
, played only on LRB's first recording session, a cover of
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...
' song ''
When Will I Be Loved''. Formosa replaced Davidge shortly after.
Formosa played on the first two LRB albums, ''
Little River Band
Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums rea ...
'' and ''
After Hours'', including the long guitar solo on ''
It's a Long Way There'' on the former. For the latter, he wrote the song "Bourbon Street" and co-wrote "Another Runaway" with fellow member
Beeb Birtles
Beeb Birtles (born Gerard Bertelkamp, 28 November 1948) is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has been a member of various Australian groups including Zoot (1967–71), Mississippi (1972–74), Little River Band (1975 ...
.
Formosa toured Australia with LRB, playing 311 shows in 1975–1976. He was replaced by
David Briggs in August 1976.
On 19 August 1980, Formosa joined an ensemble of pop artists in a memorial concert for
Andrew Durant, the former
Stars' guitarist-songwriter who had died earlier that year. Formosa played
slide guitar
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...
, guitar and piano. A live double-
LP, ''The Andrew Durant Memorial Concert'', was released on
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...
in 1980.
Composer
Formosa was awarded an
Australia Council
The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...
fellowship in 1983 and studied with
Franco Donatoni
Franco Donatoni (9 June 1927 – 17 August 2000) was an Italian composer.
Biography
Born in Verona, Donatoni started studying violin at the age of seven, and frequented the local music academy. Later, he studied at the Milan Conservatory ...
at the
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prom ...
in Rome and at the
Accademia Musicale Chigiana
The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Classe ...
in
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
. He also attended masterclasses in conducting with
Franco Ferrara
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.
Life and ...
.
On returning to Australia, Formosa worked for
Victorian College of the Arts
The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...
, the Victorian Arts Studio and
Musica Viva
Musica Viva was founded in 1945 by Romanian-born violinist Richard Goldner, with the aim of bringing chamber music to Australia. The co-founder was a German-born musicologist, Walter Dullo. At its inception, Musica Viva was a string ensemble per ...
. Formosa works as an arranger, conductor and studio musician for recordings, radio and television.
He also has an extensive catalogue of compositions.
Awards
Formosa has won awards and commendations during his career, including:
Family
Formosa's daughter Antonella is a successful singer who performs and records as
A-Love
A-Love is a female Australian-based MC from Melbourne. Her debut album, ''Ace of Hearts'' was nominated 'Best Urban Release' in the ARIA Music Awards of 2008.
Biography
A-Love was born Antonella Formosa in Rome, Italy on 21 March 1983. Formosa ...
.
References
Further reading
*
Barkl, Michael. 2010. ''Vertigo: Riccardo Formosa’s Composition Technique''. Saarbrücken.
*
Barkl, Michael. 1997. Riccardo Formosa. ''The Oxford Companion to Australian Music'' (ed.
Warren Bebbington
Warren Arthur Bebbington (born 25 April 1952) was the 20th Vice Chancellor of the University of Adelaide. He was previously the Deputy Vice Chancellor (University Affairs) at the University of Melbourne. He commenced his position at the University ...
). Melbourne: OUP.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Formosa, Ric
1954 births
Living people
APRA Award winners
Australian film score composers
Male film score composers
Little River Band members
Musicians from Rome
Australian music arrangers
Italian emigrants to Australia
Australian record producers
Australian rock guitarists
Italian emigrants to Canada
Lead guitarists
Australian conductors (music)
21st-century conductors (music)
Australian male guitarists