Alessandro Baricco (; born 25 January 1958) is an Italian writer, director and performer. His novels have been translated into a wide number of languages. Early life, family and education Baricco was born in Turin, Italy. He has earned degrees in philosophy (under Gianni Vattimo) and in piano. Career Baricco published essays on music criticism: Il genio in fuga (1988) on Gioachino Rossini, and L'anima di Hegel e le mucche del Wisconsin ("Hegel's Soul and the Cows of Wisconsin", 1992) on the relation between music and modernity. He subsequently worked as music critic for La Repubblica and La Stampa, and hosted talk shows on Rai Tre. Baricco debuted as a novelist with Castelli di rabbia (translated as Lands of Glass) in 1991. In 1993 he co-founded a creative writing school in Turin, naming it Scuola Holden after J. D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield. The Scuola Holden hosts a variety of courses on narrative techniques including screenwriting, journalism, novels and short stories. In the following years, his fame grew throughout Europe, with his works topping the Italian and French best-seller lists. Larger recognition followed the adaptation of his theatrical monologue Novecento into the movie The Legend of 1900, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. He has also worked with the French band Air, releasing "City Reading", a mix of the band's music with Baricco's reading of his novel City. Baricco directed the critically acclaimed film Lezione 21 on Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Personal life Baricco resides in his hometown, Turin. He has two sons. He and his girlfriend Gloria Campaner live together. In January 2022 Baricco announced he had been diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. Bibliography Novels Castelli di rabbia, Rizzoli 1991, Tascabili Bompiani 1994; Lands of Glass, Penguin 1992. Awarded with Prix Médicis étranger – France Oceano Mare, Rizzoli 1993; Ocean Sea, , 1993. Awarded with 'Palazzo al Bosco' — Italy Novecento. Un monologo, Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore, Milan, 1994; Novecento: pianist, 1994. Seta, Rizzoli 1996; Silk, , 1996 (See Silk for the film adaptation.) City (original title), (edition in English), Rizzoli 1999 Constellations (original title), 1999 Senza sangue, Rizzoli 2002; Without Blood , 2002 (Also published in revised form in The New Yorker) Questa storia, Fandango 2005 Emmaus, Feltrinelli 2009 Mr Gwyn, Feltrinelli 2011 Tre volte all'alba, Feltrinelli 2012 Smith & Wesson, Feltrinelli 2014 La Sposa giovane, Feltrinelli 2015; The Young Bride , Europa Editions 2016 Theatre Totem, a literary and musical happening staged