He was born in Milan on 02/06/1921. He studied at Milan Academy of Music, graduating with diplomas in composition, orchestral and choir conducting. He also attended piano and organ lessons. The conductors that served as models for him were Antonino Votto and Ernest Ansermet. In 1937 he was awarded at the Bologna National Piano Competition and in 1940 he was appointed conductor of the Milan University Orchestra. He took part in the Second World War (1943-45). During 1946-1953 he worked at La Scala Milan as ballet conductor. Between 1951 and 1989 he conducted operas and concerts all around the world, while collaborating with state radio stations. From 1957 to 1981 he worked on a regular basis with the Lausanne Orchestra and the Geneva Suisse Romande Orchestra. From 1964 he was a resident artistic director with the Gulbenkian Foundation Chamber Orchestra. He conducted the opera The Coronation of Poppaea [L’incoronazione di Poppea] (Festival Aix-en-Provence, 1964), The barber of Seville [Il barbiere di Siviglia] (Paris, 1972), The Pirate [Il pirata] (Carnegie Hall Festival), Andrea Chénier (Bilbao Festival, 1977), The Turk in Italy [Il Turco in Italia] (Festival Bordeaux), Pearl fishers [Les pêcheurs de perles] (1981). He also conducted and recorded works of contemporary composers such as Alban Berg, Benjamin Britten, Riccardo Malipiero, Luigi Dallapiccola etc. He collaborated with major singers such as Piero Cappuccilli, Alfredo Kraus and Plácido Domingo. In 1970 he was appointed Musical Director of the Teatro Regio Turin. He died in Citta di Castello (Peruggia, Italy), on 18/10/2005. He appeared at the NGO once, conducting a production of La Bohème during the 1979/80 season.