Edmundo Villani-Côrtes was born in Juiz De Fora (Minas Gescis, Brasil) on 08/11/1930.  His first introduction to music was through his father who played flute and his mother who played piano. As a young twelve year old boy, he played a small guitar, and guitar all from intuition.  At seventeen he started his theoretical music studies, including the piano at the Conservatôrio Brasileiro de Mûsica in Rio de Janeiro, and completed them in 1954.  By then he had already composed many compositions including a piano concerto, which he first performed with the Juiz de Fora Philharmonic Orchestra" directed by Maestro Max Gefter (1956). 

His professional career since then has been full of activity and diversification. As a pianist and arranger, he has amassed more than 1000 musical works for television and recordings during 1970's to the 1990's and has composed over 200 works that he wrote for solo instruments, duets, trios, quartets, wind ensembles as well as symphonic orchestra.  Mr. Villani Côrtes has won many Competition awards for various compositions such as: Noneto de Munich (1978), Free Fair of Brasilian Music (1981), Music Culture Prize (1984), Mario de Andrade Contest (1993).  In 1990 he was awarded The Best Vocal Piece by the Musical Critics Sâo Paulo Association in 1995, the Best Choral - Symphonic Work In 1998, The Best Experimental Work.  Mr. Villani Côrtes earned his Master of Music at the Rio de Janeiro's Federal University.  He also earned a Doctor of Music at the Musical Institute of Arts, Sâo Paulo State University.
Mr.Villani Côrtes has a discography of over 30 CD's with recordings made in Japan, USA, France, Italy, England, Switzerland as well as Brasil.