Born in Cuneo in 1959, Fantini graduated in 1979 and perfected his studies with C.Romano, M.Skampa, G.Kurtág and P.Farulli. A founding member of the "Quartetto d’Archi di Torino", he has won numerous national and international competitions and played in major concert seasons in Italy and abroad. With the Quartetto d’Archi he has received numerous recognitions, including: a scholarship from the "DeSono” Association for Music of Turin; the position of Quartet in Residence at the European University Institute, and an honorary degree from the Accademia Musicale Chigiana of Siena; Second prize in the 4th International String Quartet Competition in Cremona; special prize for the best-placed Quartet and audience prize in the international competition “Premio Vittorio Gui” in Florence; Special Mention from the Jury of the “XIXème Concours International de Quatuor à cordes d'Evian”; the award for artistic merit from the city of Torino. Together with the Quartetto d’Archi di Torino, Maestro Fantini performs in important concert seasons and festivals in Italy and abroad (Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Croatia, Cuba, France, Germany, England, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia).  

The Quartetto d’Archi were guest perfomers in 1996 at the Spring Festival in Prague; in 1999 at the International Oleg Kagan Music Festival in Kreuth, Germany and in 1999 and 2002 at the Orlando Festival in Kerkrade, Netherlands. In autumn 2003 they made a tour of 6 concerts in Belgium and northern France for Europalia in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In spring 2005, they performed the complete quartets of G.Scelsi live on radio as part of the 23rd Music Biennale Zagreb; the performance was broadcast in Italy and abroad - Radio Tre, Rai Tre, Tele + 3, R.T.B.F, Radio 3 Brussels, France Musique, B.B.C. and Radio Classica (Spain), Radio Slovenija, Radio Zagreb. 

Among the recordings are a CD dedicated to the music of Central Europe (Webern, Berg, Janacek) and a CD dedicated to G. Verdi featuring the Quartet in E minor and the transcription of "Un ballo in maschera "; both CDs were produced by De Sono. In December 2002 he recorded for BMG the soundtrack composed by E.Bosso for the film "I'm Not Scared" directed by G.Salvatores.Out of this work grew a theatrical performance with the participation of Salvatores. The collaboration with Bosso continued with a second recording in 2004 of “La via di mille e una cometa”.Fantini has collaborated in string quintets with O.Arzilli, V.Berlinsky, L. Castellani and A.Ciccolini (with whom he recorded for Phoenix Classics a CD dedicated to G.A. Fano) S.Delmastro, P.Farulli, G.Garbarino, R.Gottardi, A.Nannoni, T.Mealli, M.Monetti, LW van den Oudenweyer, and F.Zigante. In string octets he has collaborated with the Skampa Quartet. Since 1999 he has taught courses for strings in orchestra and chamber music at the Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento in Saluzzo.

 Umberto Fantini teaches violin at the Conservatory “Giuseppe Verdi” of Turin.