Antonio Fresa, born in Naples on June 19, 1973, is a pianist, composer, and conductor, among the most refined interpreters of the contemporary music scene applied to images. Author of numerous soundtracks for cinema and television, he has composed the music for films such as “Oi vita mia” (2025, Ourfilms) by Pio and Amedeo, “Un'altra me” (2025) by L. Brignone with Margot Sikabony, “Zeffirelli – conformista ribelle” (2022, presented at the Cannes Film Festival and broadcast on Rai 3) by Anselma Dell'Olio, “Come Prima” (2021, Rome Film Festival) by T. Weber, “Fellini degli Spiriti” (2020, Rai 3), “Cinderella the Cat” (2018, Horizons – Venice Film Festival), “Burnt Earth” (2018, History Channel), “The Hairdresser” (2017) and “The Art of Happiness” (2014, Critics' Week – Venice), in addition to other productions presented at major international festivals such as Venice and Locarno.
For television he has composed music for important Rai productions, including “Life of a Man” (2026), “Women of Campania” (2025), “The Art of Happiness” (2024), “The Hunters of the Sky” (2023, Rai 1), 4 Days for Freedom (2023), “Arnoldo Mondadori”(2022) and “Maria's Choice” (2021), as well as “Relivingat Pompeii” (2021), dedicated to Pink Floyd.
His work has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the 2024 SIAE Music Award for Best Soundtrack for a TV Movie (“The Sky Hunters”) and the Cinearti International Award “Coma di Berenice” in 2018 for “Cinderella the Cat”, which also earned him nominations for the David di Donatello and Nastri d'Argento Awards for Best Musician.
A musician deeply rooted in Italy's artistic and cultural heritage, Fresa has completed numerous projects for major institutions: in 2023, he composed and conducted the music for the Pantheon's new audio guide, performed by the Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice, with whom he performed inside the monument in 2024 as conductor and pianist. He also composed the music for Pompeii's official audio guide, which has been listened to by millions of visitors for over twenty years. He also composed for the Pavilion of the Holy See at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2018 (Vatican Chapels), for the Borges Labyrinth (2021), for the Royal Chapel of the Treasury of San Gennaro (2022, with the narration of Toni Servillo and the participation of Eugenio Bennato, Raiz and Pietra Montecorvino) and for the Cini Foundation (2024). For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he composed the music for the international exhibition dedicated to the 500th anniversary of Raffaello 's birth.
In 2025 he published the book “The Art of Happiness – 6 Emotions for Piano” for Chipiùneart Edizioni, based on the concert/talk show of the same name, of which he is the author and performer. He teaches Musical Composition Applied to Images at the Conservatory of Vibo Valentia.
Throughout his career, he conducted the orchestra at the 2018 Sanremo Festival for Ornella Vanoni with the song “Imparare ad amarsi”, which he co-wrote, and has collaborated with international artists such as Stacey Kent, Omara Portuondo, Carl Anderson, Richard Galliano and Peter Erskine, as well as with important Italian singer-songwriters such as Bungaro, Nino Buonocore, Joe Barbieri and Tosca.
He is currently involved in the live and recording project “Chiangi Maria” together with the artist Maria Mazzotta, a work that reinterprets the Salento musical tradition through a dialogue between the voice and the essential, contemporary sounds of the piano and synthesizers.