Francesco Rista is an Italian guitarist and composer based in Iceland, where he creates music that blends different styles and pushes the boundaries of modern crossover music. His passion for baroque repertoire inspired him to arrange and record Bach’s Second Partita for Violin BWV 1004 (Stradivarius), and then his second album, MAGNIFICAT (Con Fuoco Records). As a performer, Rista has premiered works written for him by contemporary composers including Nick Martin, Finnur Karlsson, Kevin Swierkosz-Lenart, Ingibjörg Ýr Skarphéðinsdóttir, and Evagoras Solias Apokidis, as well as a guitar concerto by English composer Oliver Davis. He also released a solo album on electric guitar, Candy Floss (Fresh Ribes), featuring important minimalistic works such as Electric Counterpoint by Steve Reich and Garcia Counterpoint by Bryce Dessner. Francesco’s recordings have been reviewed in international music magazines such as Salt Peanuts, Psychedelic Baby, Seismograph, and Fifteen Questions, and broadcast on major radio stations including BBC Radio 6 and RAI Radio 3. Rista studied with Carmelo Lacertosa, Christian Saggese, Davide Ficco, and Oscar Ghiglia at the Chigiana Academy. He earned his Master’s degree and Postgraduate diploma at the Royal Danish Academy of Music under Jesper Sivebæk and Per Pålsson, and completed a second Master’s degree at the Malmö Music Academy with Göran Söllscher and David Hansson. In 2024, he won music awards from De Sono Associazione per la Musica (Italy) and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music (Kungl. Musikaliska Akademien). He is also an official endorser of Aquila Corde Armoniche and serves as a Knobloch Strings ambassador. He is a guitar professor at Tónskólinn í Reykjavík.