Francisco Coll is one of Spain's most prominent composers of his generation, having had his music performed widely in his home country, in Britain (where he was partly trained), in the U.S., and beyond; he is also active as a trombonist. His publisher, Faber, describes his music this way (on its website, May 6, 2021): "Surreal juxtapositions, febrile energy, and echoes of flamenco all abound in works of vivid, often unsettling, poetry."

Coll, in full Francisco Coll García, was born in 1985 in Valencia, Spain. He studied there at the Joaquín Rodrigo Conservatoire and went on to the Madrid Royal Conservatory, where he graduated with an honors prize. With the help of an Instituto Valenciano de la Música scholarship, Coll moved to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Richard Baker, also studying trombone with John Kenny, and graduating in 2010; during this period, he also took private lessons with composer Thomas Adès, and he remains to date the only private pupil Adès has taken on. Adès has been a strong backer of the career of Coll, who won several important prizes, including a place in the LSO Discovery Panufnik Young Composers Scheme (2008), the Mary Ryan Composition Award (2009), and the Ian Horsburgh Memorial Prize (2010).

Well before completing his education, Coll was already receiving major commissions. His ... Whose Name I Don't Want to Remember (2005) was performed at New York's Avery Fisher Hall by the Canadian Brass and members of the New York Philharmonic brass section. He conducted his own Óxido (2010), for soprano and ensemble, at London's Wigmore Hall. Beginning in 2018, Coll served terms as composer-in-residence with both the Orquesta de València and Camerata Bern; with the latter group, he conducted the premiere of his Les plaisirs illuminés, with violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and cellist Sol Gabetta as soloists. His works are published by the Faber house, and he designates them in the traditional way, with opus numbers.

Several of Coll's works have been recorded. In 2021, his Turia concerto for guitar and ensemble was played by guitarist Jacob Kellermann together with Rodrigo's Concerto de Aranjuez on a BIS recording, and his Les plaisirs illuminés: Double Concerto for violin, cello, and chamber orchestra was heard on a 2021 Alpha release also featuring music by Alberto Ginastera, Sándor Veress, Béla Bartók, and others. ~ James Manheim, Rovi