Composers

He took his diploma in flute at the Conservatory of Parma and graduated at the DAMS of Bologna University. He attended the courses of analysis and composition held by Sylvano Bussotti at the Music School of Fiesole and Genazzano.
After 1980 he became interested in new musical languages, evolving his own world of sound-writing: Graffiti Sonori, exhibited and performed in Matera, Rome, Bologna, Venice, Montepulciano, Turin, Rouen, Paris, Madrid, Stuttgart, Heilbronn, Bucharest, Orléans and New York.

In 1993 his composition Awithlaknannai inaugurated the festival organized by the International Society of Contemporary Music (SIMC) in the archaeological zone of Teotihuacan, Mexico City. In 1997 and 1998 he was invited as composer in residence by Atéliers UPIC (Unité Polyagogique Informatique de Cemamu) of Iannis Xenakis in Paris.
His composition Le vie dei canti was given its first public performance in January 1999 at La Cité des Sciences de la Villette, Paris during the Festival Art et Sciences.
His studies and researches are published by authoritative periodicals (Alfabeta, Zeta, Les Cahiers of Cirem, Cidim, MusicAttuale, Konsequenz). He was also responsible, together with Pierre Albert Castanet, for the volume Giacinto Scelsi, Viaggio al Centro del Suono and, in summer 1997, organized at the Fano Festival - on the invitation of Franco Battiato - two days dedicated to the works of Scelsi with Arditti Quartet and the double bass player Stefano Scodanibbio.

Two monographic CDs with his compositions have been released by Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain (Musiques du XXème siècle, Université de la Haute Normandie of Rouen, 1994) and by Graffiti Sonori (Luna editions, 1997).
Artistic and sound director of Brake Drum Percussion, Cisternino conceived the project Sonopolis. Percorsi integrati nella musica d'oggi in Veneto which was realized by the Gran Teatro La Fenice and by the Sonopolis Association in collaboration with the Municipality and University of Venice.
During the academic year 1999-200, the University of Urbino included a monographic course on Graffiti Sonori and Cisternino's compositional work in the cycle of courses on the History of Music.