Luciano Berio (Oneglia, 1925 - Rome, 2003) was an Italian avant-garde composer, who received his first musical lessons from his father and grandfather. He studied composition and conducting in Milan. Word and voice occupy an important place in Berio's oeuvre: he composed a number of important works for his first wife and muse, the soprano Cathy Berberian. With leading composer Bruno Maderna, Berio founded the Studio di Fonologia Musicale, which became one of the most important studios for electronic music in Europe. Berio taught at the Juilliard School in New York and at Harvard University. Berio was a frequent guest at the Holland Festival in the 1970s.