(Zagarolo, July 16th, 1904 – Rome, March 3rd, 2003)
Having begun his musical studies relatively late, he studied with Bustini and Germani at S. Cecilia in Rome, where he taught since 1939. From 1937 to 1940, he was superintendent of the Fenice in Venice and, from 1947 to 1950, artistic director of the Accademia Filarmonica Romana, while from 1954 to '56, he presided over the International Society of Contemporary Music. He carried out an intense teaching activity (since 1958, he was the holder of the specialization course for composers at the Accademia di S. Cecilia in Rome) and presented himself publicly as director of his own compositions.
Petrassi's musical journey was marked by a unique blend of influences and a distinct personal style. Initially drawn to the neoclassical style, he soon developed a language of his own. His compositions were characterized by a rich sense of vocality and an airy polyphony, setting him apart as one of the leading figures of Italian 'neo-madrigalism' alongside Dallapiccola. After the Second World War, his focus shifted to instrumental forms, showcasing his versatility and adaptability.
Alien - at least initially - from any twelve-tone influence, his spirit soon led him to follow with interest the developments of the new serial techniques, and without ever openly assuming Schoenberg's method, he has absorbed its spirit in an exemplary manner in his most recent production. The acquisitions of "serial music," defined in Darmstadt, found an attentive observer in Petrassi, who adopted a freely chromatic and atonal language, at times even approaching the principle of "hazard," inaugurated by Boulez and Stockhausen.
Petrassi's musical journey was a testament to his refusal to conform to trends. Instead, he chose to elaborate and mature elements of language already present in his early compositions, evaluating them in the context of the evolving European musical consciousness. This approach led him to a unique musical identity, and he remains a dynamic figure in the music world, constantly seeking new avenues of exploration and research.
As has been said, vocal music played a leading role in Petrassi: in addition to the works Il Cardavano (1949) and Morte dell'aria (1950), we remember Psalm IX for choir, orchestra, and two pianos (1936), Coro of deaths (1941) and Noche obscure (1950), as well as some lyrics and hymns for voice and instruments or voice and piano. In the field of chamber music, he is the author of a quartet (1956), the Serenade for Five Instruments (1958), a Trio (1959), and various pieces for piano. He also composed 2 ballets, stage music, and film music.
Partita (1932)
Similarly to Dallapiccola and Ghedini, Petrassi begins his orchestral production with a Partita, which means a direct and intentional connection to ancient Italian instrumental music (typical of the second half of the 1600s), in the aspiration to renew and restore modern meaning to a classical form favored by the ancient masters. Furthermore, the musician relives the spirit of Italian baroque music in an entirely wholly modern and personal way: and what is typically Italian in the Partita is the luminous and relaxed melodic discourse, the vigorous rhythm, the energetic and straightforward instrumental, a fundamentally diatonic language with clearly tonal bases. Furthermore, the influences of significant contemporary musicians are also clear, from Bartòk to Stravinski (about the latter, note the veiled quotation from the Firebird, entrusted to the saxophone in the first movement), so that the Partita is the testimony of a musician engaged in an operation of linguistic renewal who on the other hand does not want to deny his own tradition.
The succession of the three movements is that of the classical concerto: "Gagliarda" ('Mosso ed energico' in 3/4), "Ciaccona" ('Molto moderato' in 3/2, perhaps the best piece of the composition), and "Giga" ('Gaio e luce' in 12/8-4/4), the most brilliant piece of the entire Partita.
