ARTIST STATEMENT
As a European, I am rooted in the Western tradition – the ethics and aesthetics of Classical antiquity, Renaissance humanism, the Enlightenment, Neoclassicism. In both art and philosophy, virtually all great innovations have come about by one way only: Realising your era was at a dead end, rediscovering the craft of a more accomplished time period, then refining and applying it in order to break into previously uncharted territory.
I take the view that sometime in the 19th century, society went off track when it decided that any mediocre fragment could be claimed to be art, regardless of its craft or comprehensibility. This was such a pervasive notion that it also tainted music, literature, even philosophy; but it is a fallacy. The true artist differentiates himself from the mere fantasists and fraudsters by creating works that are both profound and intuitively comprehensible to other people. This is the one principle that unites all genuine artists throughout different ages and civilisations. One might benefit from study in order to better appreciate Mozart, Molière, or Raphael; but one needs absolutely no explanation to feel moved by their works. There is a sense of the eternal in these achievements that naturally resonates within the human soul, a continuous, unchanging spirit: this is also the reason why art consoles us.
My life's purpose is to try and anchor at least some instances of this immutable principle in the transient century that is ours.
“
To inquire about a music commission or collaboration, please refer to the Contact tab.
BIOGRAPHY
Rina Furano, known by the mononym Furano, is an Austrian classical composer working internationally, based in Paris, France.
After completing her studies in the UK, she returned to her native Vienna in 2011 to found the Neue Wiener Klassik movement, which pursued a double aim: to restore craftsmanship and beauty in contemporary composition, and to compose new serious music capable of sustaining itself in the free market.
​
In the eleven years that followed, she became Vienna's go-to neoclassical composer, creating more than 500 works, many commissioned, in virtually every setup from chamber music to symphonies. Other inventions included an innovative double-pedalling technique for the piano and the expansion of the traditional sonata form (more here).
​
Since 2017, she has also been active as a consultant for various record labels in Europe and in the US.
​
In 2023, Furano relocated to Paris and now splits her time between composing and writing. At present, she is writing two books: the first, a didactic method for visual composition, her idiosyncratic mental technique that allows for instant-yet-comprehensive representation of musical processes, principles and proportions; the second, a declaration of love to everyday European culture and its potential to create individual happiness in an increasingly uprooted world.
​​
She lives with a tame pet goldfinch and enjoys solitude, reading philosophy, elaborate cooking, and events requiring uncomfortable attire.