Cristian Carrara has been hailed as one of the most important composers of his generation. He mainly writes symphonic and chamber music, but also works for musical theater and television.
Critics recognize in his production a writing that is “very attentive to the balance and delicacy of the harmonic texture”, but “great in creative intent so that the whole context is very solid and terse”, capable of revealing, beyond the curtain of an apparently ‘simple’ music, the terrible question about the nefarious results of what is well proclaimed, that is, of what war, every war, entails.” (Claudio Strinati)
“His music is close to the heart, it is clear but not simple, it is direct but speaks a language full of mystery: that of poetry”. (Elena Formica)
“He is an author who has a great ease of writing” (Giorgio Battistelli) and the happy relationship with the public is well described by the American critic Rob Haskins: “I know that I would like to share his music with others and listen more and more. many times”.
“Unlike so much music today, his crypticism is not in the handwriting, but in the difficulty of organizing and making his compositional thought as clear as possible, a bit like what happens in Verdi’s music which has a minimal semiological charge, but a very violent semantic charge “(Flavio Emilio Scogna).

Cristian Carrara’s works have been commissioned, performed, and recorded by leading ensembles, and soloists throughout the world, including John Neschling, Omer Meir Wellber, Jan Latham Koenig, Nir Kabaretti, Lior Shambadal, Flavio Emilio Scogna, Roberto Prosseda, Francesca Dego, Danusha Waskiewicz, Robert De Maine, Sonia Prina, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Filarmonica Toscanini di Parma, Orchestra della Toscana, Filarmonica della Fenice, Orchestre Symphonique et Lyrique de Nancy, Qatar Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Symphoniker, Slovenian Philarmonic, Santa Barbara Symphony, Orchestra de la Unam of Mexico City, Orchestra del Teatro Municipal de Sao Paulo, Ra’anana Symphonet, Israel Symphonet.

Among his theatrical works we should mention the works “La piccola vedetta lombarda”, “Oliver Twist”, “Alto sui pedali” and “Il giocatore”. In the symphonic catalog “Magnificat. Meditation for pedal piano and orchestra” (commission from Emilia Romagna Festival), “Destinazione del sangue”, “Liber Mundi”, “Tales from the underground”, “Ondanomala” (commission from Teatro Lirico di Trieste), “Vivaldi. In memoriam” (commissioned by Maggio Musicale Fiorentino). As for chamber music, the most performed works include “Luce”, “Bianco”, “Ludus” and the collection of piano pieces “A piano diary”.

In August 2015 it is the premiere of “War Silence”, for piano and orchestra (commissioned by the Ravel-o Festival), with the Filarmonica de La Fenice di Venezia. In January 2016 Francesca Dego and Robert Demaine, with the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra, premieres “Machpela”, double concert for violin, cello and orchestra, which had a great reception in its Californian premiere. His viola concerto “The Waste Land” received his premiere in July 2016 with violist Danusha Waskiewicz with the Slovenian Philarmonic.
Mr. Carrara composed a violin concerto “Luci Danzanti nella notte” for Francesca Dego wich was premiered in January 2020 with the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini.
With over 18,000 spectators and 28 performances, in October 2016, it is the premiere of “Cenerentola”, a new opera commissioned by Fondazione Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari.

Mr. Carrara 2021 season included, moreover, the premieres of “4 emotions”, for flute and string orchestra (commissioned by Emilia Romagna Festival), “Flower in the desert”, for contralto and orchestra (commissioned by Israel Sinfonietta) and the the new Opera “Rapimenti d’amore”, commissioned by Teatro Coccia di Novara and based on the Dante Alighieri’s life.

The rich record production, published in monographic and collective CDs by Warner Classics, Tactus, Arts Records, Incipit, Stradivarius, reflects the attention to a compositional inspiration fed by multiple levels of cultural investigation, capable of exploring both the great themes of the journey of man (“Liber Mundi”) as well as the secret miniature of the gift of self (“A piano diary”) and the mixture of genres (“Ludus”). In October 2015, a new symphonic album (“Magnificat”) was released for Brilliant, recorded with the Orchestre Symphonique et Lyrique de Nancy. In the first months of 2017, however, “Faust in the Sky” was released for Warner Classics, recorded by I Solisti Aquilani and directed by Marco Attura.

Artistic Director of Fondazione Pergolesi Spontini and Artistic Coordinator of Orchestra della Toscana, he is Composition Professor at the Conservatorio di Musica di Sassari.