Maurizio Cazzati

 

He was born in Luzzara, Reggio Emilia, to Francesco and Flaminia and was baptized there on March 1, 1616. We know nothing about his musical education, nor is it known where he completed his seminary studies to obtain his ordination as a priest. In 1641, when he published his first work, he declared himself organist and choirmaster of the Basilica of S. Andrea in Mantua; shortly after, in 1647-48, he was listed as master of chamber music for the Duke of Sabbioneta and Bozzolo. At the end of 1648, he was appointed choirmaster of the Accademia della Morte in Ferrara, where he remained until 1652, to take up the same position at S. Maria Maggiore in Bergamo; he remained there until April 25, 1657, to return to Ferrara for only a few months, since on August 31, 1657, he was elected choirmaster at S. Petronio in Bologna.

During this last assignment, the longest of his career (lasting fourteen years), he carried out an intense creative activity, publishing numerous compositions (from op. XIX to LVIII) and profoundly influencing the structure and activity of the Petronian chapel; shortly after his election he obtained to take upon himself the choice of the vice-master and at the same time had all the members of the chapel dismissed (except for the two organists); seven days later he had it established that the palace musicians should no longer be borrowed, due to their bad habit of abandoning the functions in the basilica early. At the beginning of the following year, the chapters to be observed having been established, on January 16, 1658, the musicians were gradually rehired, evidently according to a selection and a program desired by Cazzati, to arrive on September 6. 1658, to the definitive reorganization of the chapel, whose staff was set at four sopranos, six contraltos, six tenors, six basses, two violins, two alto-violas, two tenor-violas, two trombones, a violoncello, a contrabasso violone grosso, a theorbo, two organists.

Particularly significant of the impetus brought by Cazzati to the activity of the chapel is the exceptional increase undergone by the musical preparation for the annual patronal feast of S. Petronio (October 4): before his arrival, the participation of foreign or extraordinary musicians ranged in number from ten to twenty with an expense usually less than fifty lire; already in 1657, therefore a few months after the appointment, these temporary performers amount to twenty-four for the cost of 109 lire, but in 1658 they become sixty-eight (for 756.15 lire), while in the two following years the expense grows out of all proportion, motivated in large part by the engagement of soloists and related travel, food and lodging expenses. From 1661 and until the end of his mandate, the cost will remain approximately within the limits reached in 1658.

Having requested and obtained permission on June 27, 1671, from the vestries of the Bolognese basilica, Cazzati returned to Mantua to assume the direction of the chapel and chamber music of Duchess Anna Isabella; in this office, he ended his existence at the end of September 1678 (as is evident from the letter of his executor, Giovanni Furlani, to the vestries of S. Petronio dated January 20, 1679, in which he communicated the legacy to the same basilica of "twelve large leather books to Palestrina").

It cannot be said that the figure of Cazzati has so far met with much favor among scholars of the Baroque era's musical history. The main difficulty in achieving a sufficient overall vision of his work undoubtedly lies, on the one hand, in the truly unusual quantity and, on the other, in the great variety of genres, forms, and sound structures. And if the great quantity usually predisposes unfavorably for a qualitative judgment, on the work of Cazzati, the echo of the unfortunate polemic raised against him by Giulio Cesare Arresti seems to weigh even more. It would, however, be desirable to see an accurate study undertaken soon on this musician, whose undoubted historical importance - especially about the Bolognese school - has already been intuited by more than one historian.

Alessandro Chiantoni

  

Alessandro Chiantoni is 27 years old, lives in Bergamo, and began studying piano at the age of 6. Since then, music has always been a part of his life, and he has never abandoned it. He, therefore, owes a great deal to the piano and to his first conservatory teacher, Tiziana Moneta, who provided him with a solid foundation that he still relies on today. Alessandro himself says that he will never be able to thank her enough for believing in him from the start.

He began playing the organ at about 12 years old on his own; now, he has graduated from the three-year course in Organ and Organ Composition and completed the two-year course under the guidance of Simone Vebber, an excellent Organ teacher at the Bergamo Conservatory.

In 2020, he was appointed titular organist of the church of Sant'Anna in Bergamo, and to gain experience in the organ world outside of Italy, he has attended many courses with important foreign organists; this is fundamental because there is nothing like having direct experience of things to understand them and draw a lesson from them. He considers himself fortunate to be a musician and to play for others, but at the same time, he is passionate about composition, as it is one of the ways he expresses himself. He has developed a passion for designing new instruments, including an organ that can be used for both study and concerts, a unique and innovative instrument with a completely different concept compared to the instruments currently present in our territory.

He was named the best student of the 2020 Masterclass. It was a fantastic course during which he met excellent organists, of whom he says: "I was thrilled to be the best, but the others were certainly no less. It was a wonderful experience that enriched me from both a musical and human perspective, where Art was at the center of everything. I am delighted to have been invited to Costa Valle Imagna this year and to have the opportunity to be able to express myself on such a beautiful organ."

To achieve these results, he says, "You have to be serious, with yourself and with others, be constant in studying, and never spare yourself to overcome your limits finally. When studying music, you must have discipline; otherwise, you will waste many hours without achieving results. It is not easy, but it is necessary; it is something you learn in the conservatory because, without seriousness and method, it is impossible to complete your studies. With the organ in particular, you always have to question yourself; each instrument is different in many characteristics, and each time, the organist has to adapt to the instrument itself, which becomes the most important teacher; for this reason, when you study, you always have to listen to yourself with a critical ear and adapt what you are doing to the instrument you are playing and the acoustics where it is located." He studied with Jean-Baptiste Monnot, thanks to whom he developed self-awareness and the ability to express his ideas with strength, even in music. Always from his words, "This becomes the key to overcoming the technical and expressive difficulties of the songs. Music never comes from outside but is born from within the human soul, and we must find the right way to express it. We live in a world where we call "art" anything that generates an immediate sensation in us; in reality, authentic Art is the fruit of a conflict that a sensitive soul translates, not without effort, into an interior artistic act. Awareness is the engine that drives the artist to find a way to express their interiority, and this arises from a personal need. Not all musicians are artists because playing notes all in a row does not constitute Art if those notes come from nothing and do not communicate anything."

I propose a video that illustrates the difficulty of playing this type of organ to be broadcast live in streaming on August 27, 2020. Bergamo was the Italian city most affected by the Coronavirus, so Alessandro Chiantoni organized a live concert in the church of Sant'Anna, entirely dedicated to improvisational Art. Alessandro proposes some improvisations in different styles to the wonderful organ built by the Serassi brothers.

Elinor Remick Warren

   

Elinor Remick Warren (February 23, 1900 – April 27, 1991) was an American contemporary classical composer and pianist. Her mother had been a student of a student of Franz Liszt and introduced her daughter to art music. Her father was considered a good amateur singer who had once considered pursuing a professional singing career. Warren trained as a pianist with Kathryn Cocke during high school and began taking composition lessons from Gertrude Ross in her sophomore year. She sent an early composition to the Schirmer music publishing company and received her first publishing contract with them before graduating from high school. Between high school and college, she studied piano with Harold Bauer and Leopold Godowsky. After attending Mills College for a year, she moved to New York, where she studied privately with composers Frank La Forge and Clarence Dickinson, both of whom were known for their art songs. Elinor supported herself as a singer's accompanist and toured with contralto Margaret Matzenauer.

She composed in a predominantly neo-Romantic style. In demand as both a pianist and a composer, she was a two-time soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and made several recordings as a collaborator with various singers. In the 1930s, she began to work on large-scale compositions, including her piece "The Harp Weaver," a work for female chorus, orchestra, and baritone soloist, and the symphonic "The Passing of King Arthur" (later retitled "The Legend of King Arthur"). In 1940, with the success of King Arthur, she stopped performing to concentrate on composing.

She actively composed on themes of nature, especially as seen in the American West, and on mysticism. She spent much of her composing career in Los Angeles, an unusual choice at the time, as New York was considered the center of new American music. Nonetheless, her works were widely performed during her lifetime.

On June 17, 1925, she married Dr. Raymond Huntsberger in Los Angeles; they divorced four years later. In 1936, she married film producer Zachary Wayne Griffin (1907–1981), with whom she had two daughters and a son. She died at her home at the age of 91.

Another composition without Live, Suite for Orchestra (1954; rev. 1960)

The musical language of the Suite for Orchestra is neo-romantic, and in this case, finds inspiration in the vast mountain panorama that can be seen from the Corona del Valle Ranch, owned by Warren.

"At our mountain ranch," writes Miss Warren, "we look out across wide stretches of desert to the rugged, snow-capped ranges of the High Sierra. The ever-changing images of the sky have particularly moved me at all hours and in different seasons. Although My Suite has no story or program behind it, the tones of the pomp of the sky and the long shadows of the mighty mountains are undoubtedly in the structure of the work. The mood of each movement is indicated by a few lines chosen from the writings of John Gould Fletcher. These poems are included on the flyleaf of the complete score of the Suite."

Ildebrando Pizzetti

 

(Parma 20-IX-1880 - Rome 13-II-1968)

The son of a musician, he was very precocious as a composer, completing his studies at the Conservatory of his hometown under the guidance of G. Tebaldini. After 1901, he worked as a substitute teacher at the Regio in Parma, quickly gaining recognition with some of his compositions. From 1908, he taught at the Conservatory of Florence, which he directed from 1917 to '23, coming into contact with the Florentine circle of the "Voce." In 1924, he succeeded Gallignani as director of the Conservatory of Milan, and in 1936, he moved to S. Cecilia in Rome to teach composition in the advanced class. From 1948 to '51, he was president of the Accademia di S. Cecilia. He also worked as a music critic and as a conductor of his works.

At the beginning of the century, Pizzetti turned his attention to the problem of musical theatre, opposing melodrama and giving life to a form of "opera" based on a dynamic dramatic recitative that valorizes the data of the word by making use of forms and modules often taken from Gregorian chant and the ancient Italian polyphonic tradition. At the same time, he opposed the use of elements of language derived from recent European experiences, soon adopting conservative positions and continuing to produce on a personal path, isolated from the most vibrant part of modern Italian music. His work is marked by a profound severity of movement and a thoughtful, collected lyricism, which does not disdain elements taken from certain Italian popular music, as seen in some instrumental pieces. Pizzetti's production remains interesting above all in the theatrical field, for the novelty of the criteria that informed it (among his numerous works, we recall Fedra from 1915, Dèbora e Jaéle from 1922, and Assassinio nella Cattedrale from 1958) and in the vocal and choral field. However, he is also the author of several pieces of symphonic and concert music, including a valuable quartet and other chamber music. He has published books on the music of the Greeks, on Paganini, and various collections of essays and critical studies.

Concerto dell'estate, for orchestra (1928)

The name "concerto" is perhaps more valid for the structure of the second and third movements than for that of the first, which seems more like a formally free symphonic fresco. Here, Pizzetti even makes some concessions to orchestral colorism. Still, the material he uses remains the one for which he is known: vaguely modal lines and severe harmonies without a hint of chromatism.

The first movement, "Mattutino ('Vivace e arioso'), is the most dazzling and effective page of the Concerto; it is followed by a "Notturno" ('Largo'), where the concertante element becomes more evident in the relationship between the individual instruments and instrumental groups of the orchestra; the third movement is "Gagliarda e Finale" ('Allegro vigoroso-Largamente'), with an evident connection to the ancient Italian folk dance, which Pizzetti resolves in fidelity to the harmonic and melodic spirit of the time.

Gianni Nocenzi

 

(Marino, December 27, 1952)

Gianni Nocenzi, born Giovanni Nocenzi, together with his brother Vittorio, was the founder of Banco del Mutuo Soccorso.

There is no need for me to tell you about this legendary Italian progressive rock group that became very popular in the seventies and that gave us exceptional albums. I had the pleasure of listening to them live several times in those years, and I assure you that the sound of the piano as you hear it live has nothing to do with listening to it from an LP. Each instrument lives, managing to carve out its own space. Gianni Nocenzi, when he placed his fingers on the keyboard, gave magical moments. And the music he gives to those who listen to it can easily be classified as classical music.

He left the group in 1980, embarking on a solo career that led him to release the albums EMPUSA in 1988 and SOFT SONGS in 1993. 23 years of silence followed: in 2016, MINIATURE was released, and it was the first in which Nocenzi played exclusively the acoustic piano. Nocenzi left Banco to embark on a new path, researching the technological aspects of music, particularly in audio production and sound creation.

Giovanni Allevi

 

(Ascoli Piceno, 9 April 1969)

An internationally renowned composer and pianist, he is responsible for a profound renewal of classical music, bringing the art of composition back to the attention of new generations. He graduated in Piano and Composition and holds a degree in Philosophy, with a thesis titled "The Void in Contemporary Physics." He has performed on the stages of the world's most prestigious concert halls, from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and the Forbidden City Auditorium in Beijing. Thanks to his intellectual commitment, he is a philosophical point of reference for concepts of innovation and the analysis of change. His latest book is entitled "Revoluzione". Numerous theses are dedicated to him.

Knight of the Italian Republic for his artistic and cultural merits, he is a recipient of the Gold Star for Mozartian Valor, the Falcone and Borsellino Award, and an Ambassador of Save the Children, at the forefront of defending the rights of children. He has received praise from Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, and Nobel Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev. The American Space Agency NASA named an asteroid after him: giovanniallevi111561. He was recently the author and host of an innovative docu-series broadcast on Rai Play titled "Allevi in the Jungle." "Kiss Me Again" is the song with which he returns to the piano solo after the success of his productions with the symphonic orchestra for piano and orchestra and choir and orchestra.

"13 Dita" (1997)

This album marks Allevi's recording debut, and already in this work, we can glimpse the seeds of his musical revolution. "13 Dita" is a work that explores the expressive potential of the piano, with Allevi experimenting with compositions that oscillate between classical music, jazz, and more daring experiments. Although it did not immediately achieve great commercial success, the album established Allevi as an artist to watch, showcasing his talent and ability to think outside the box.

Sofija Asgatovna Gubajdulina

  

(Chistopol, October 24, 1931 – Appen, March 13, 2025)

She was born in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, then part of the Soviet Union.

She studied piano and composition at the Kazan Conservatory, graduating in 1954. In Moscow, she undertook further studies at the Conservatory, first with Nikolai Peiko from 1959 to 1963 and then with Shebalin.

During her studies in the USSR, her music was labeled "irresponsible" for its alternative explorations. She was supported by Dmitri Shostakovich, who, upon evaluating her final exam, encouraged her to continue on her "bad path."

Then, despite everything, she was allowed to express her modernism in several scores composed for documentaries, including the 1968 production "On Submarine Scooters," a 70mm film.

In the mid-1970s, Gubaidulina founded Astreya, a folk instrumental improvisation group, together with composers Viktor Suslin and Vyacheslav Artemov.

In 1979, she was blacklisted as a member of the Khrennikov Seven at the 6th Congress of Composers of the Union of Soviet Republics due to her participation in festivals disapproved by the regime.

In the early 1980s, she gained fame abroad thanks to violinist Gidon Kremer, who performed her violin concerto Offertorium. Later, she composed a Homage to T. S. Eliot, using the text of the poet's spiritual masterpiece Four Quartets.

In 2000, together with Tan Dun, Osvaldo Golijov, and Wolfgang Rihm, the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart commissioned her to write a Passion, each composer using texts from one of the four Gospels, in commemoration of Johann Sebastian Bach.

The use of unusual instrumental combinations characterizes her music. In the piece "In Erwartung," she combines percussion instruments with a saxophone quartet. She has also written pieces for koto and orchestra, as well as three collections for domra and piano, all based on Tatar folk themes.

In the early 1980s, Gubaidulina began to use the Fibonacci sequence to structure the form of her works. For example, in the Symphony "Stimmen... Verstummen...", in Perception, in the percussion piece In the Beginning Was the Rhythm, in the Chorus Homage to Marina Tsvetaeva, in the Trio Quasi hoquetus, in the Sonata Et exspecto, and others. The composer has employed the Fibonacci series as a guideline to organize both the general and particular rhythms of her works.

In 2004, she was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2013, she was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale.

'Fachwerk' is dedicated to Geir Draugsvoll, who holds a chair in accordion at the Copenhagen Academy of Music and who presented the world premiere of the work on 13 November 2009 together with Anders Loguin (percussion) and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw in Ghent (Belgium).

For Sofia Gubaidulina, the term Fachwerk, whose sound fascinates her immensely, contains two components. On the one hand, the term refers to the craftsmanship required to transform a composition into a performable musical work, encompassing structure, form, architecture, and timing. On the other hand, the term also has an aesthetic component. After all, the half-timbered construction of houses in the late Middle Ages and early modern period not only serves structural purposes but also gives the buildings a particularly attractive and picturesque appearance. In the composer's eyes, the 'half-timbered' principle is also perfectly manifested in the bayan instrument due to its construction and its specific sound possibilities. In Sofia Gubaidulina's last instrumental concerto, as in her previous works, beauty and construction merge to form an artistic whole. (Helmut Peters)

Yevhn Stankovich

  

Yevhen Fedorovyč Stankovyč was born in Szolyva on September 19, 1942, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary.

In 1962-63, he studied composition with Adam Soltys at the Lviv Conservatory, and from 1965 to 1970, with Borys Ljatošyns'kyj and Myroslav Skoryk at the Kyiv Conservatory. He worked as a music publisher, was the president of the Union of Ukrainian Composers, and has been a professor of composition at the Kyiv Conservatory, now the National Academy of Music of Ukraine, since 1998.

In 2017, he served as the head of the organizing committee for the Ukrainian Olympiad "The Voice of the Country."

Yevhen Stankovych is a central figure in contemporary Ukrainian music. A prolific composer, since 1966, he has written  six symphonies, operas "When the Fern Blooms" and Rustici, six ballets, a large number of works in the genres of oratorio, chamber vocal music, and chamber instrumental music, as well as incidental music for up to 6 musical theatre performances and over 100 films.

From his earliest compositions, Stankovych declared himself a composer of dramatic temperament, not averse to emotional risk. The composer's elaborate polyphonic textures and meditative lyricism are reminiscent of the rigorous instrumental style of Baroque music. At the same time, the full-bodied effects, with their obvious post-Romantic coloring, give the music warmth and expressiveness. His music is remarkable in many respects, showing his emotional freedom, consummate technical mastery, and flexibility of form.

Yevhen Stankovych has received numerous major awards. The UNESCO World Tribune selected his Chamber Symphony No. 3 as one of the 10 best works of 1985. He has been awarded multiple prizes in Ukraine, including the country's highest award for artistic creativity, the Taras Shevchenko State Prize.

The composer's works have been performed in Canada, the United States, Germany, France, Switzerland, Finland, Spain, China, the Philippines, and Yugoslavia, as well as performances in the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. In January 1992, he served as a senior juror for the first Canadian Contemporary Music Competition held in Winnipeg and appeared at contemporary music festivals in Germany and Poland. In 1996, he was a composer-in-residence in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland.

Yevhen Stankovych is an academician of the National Academy of Arts, chairman of the Faculty of Composition of the Kyiv National Academy of Music, and a member of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize Committee. He is the former chairman of the Union of Ukrainian Composers, a People's Artist of Ukraine, and a Hero of Ukraine.

Stankovych's Symphony No. 4, "Lyrical Symphony," composed two years after "The Heroic," in 1977, returns to the string world of the "Large Symphony." This work, scored for sixteen solo strings in one extended movement, was, by Stankovych's admission, a turn towards neo-romanticism and a deliberate abandonment of the use of "templates" (harmonic or rhythmic). The construction of the work is ingenious in the distribution of melodies on the strings: each musician has a melody of a different character that he must often reproduce without reference to the rest of the ensemble - sometimes, the conductor is instructed to conduct only one or two instruments, leaving the others to play independently. But this careful layering of simultaneous (horizontal) musical lines produces a beautiful and rich (vertical) harmonic texture.

The primary thematic material of the Symphony evokes the gentle lyricism of Scriabin; however, this is far from pastiche, and Stankovych employs a variety of formal and stylistic approaches to create the work. The structure, for example, is a synthesis of elements of sonata form, variation form, and rondo – yet the result, which increases in intensity and decreases again, is cyclical. This intricate approach paradoxically allows him to create music with a feeling of extreme freedom and an improvisatory quality. As the title suggests, it is a piece in which the primary force seems to be a beautiful, long-breathed lyricism.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

 

Salzburg 27-I-1756 - Vienna 5-XII-1791

Son of Leopold, an excellent violinist and vice-chapel master at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg, as well as a composer and author of a valuable treatise for violin, his father himself valued the prodigious musical talents of the boy, who at the age of six already held concerts as a harpsichordist at the courts of Munich and Vienna. In 1763, a new tour took him through numerous German centers to the courts of Paris and London. This trip, which brought the young Wolfgang into contact with the greatest names in the musical world of the time, was to be decisive for his education. In 1966, he returned to Salzburg, and from then on, his trips to Vienna were commonplace, where he became acquainted with the music of Gluck, Haydn, and others.

In 1769, he left with his father for Italy, giving concerts in all the major cities: Verona, Milan, Bologna (where he met Padre Martini), Rome, and Naples. In 1771, he returned to Salzburg, where the new archbishop, Geronimo di Colloredo, hired him in 1772 to join the orchestra with a regular salary. In the same year, he was allowed a new trip to Milan, where he performed a new opera and met Paisiello. From 1773 to 1777, he lived in Salzburg. However, in that year, he broke with the archbishop and embarked on a tour with his mother to Munich, Mannheim (where contacts with the local school were of considerable importance to him), and Paris. He remained here until the end of 1778 (the year his mother died), much sought after and appreciated as a composer and concert performer. In 1779, he returned to his hometown, where he was appointed court organist. In 1781, he finally freed himself from the yoke of the archbishop and settled in Vienna, where he married Constanze Weber in 1782, despite his father's opposition. In Vienna, he formed friendships with the most outstanding musicians and writers, joined the Freemasonry, and won over the Viennese with his German works. From 1784 to 1787, he experienced his most serene years, during which his production was sought after and appreciated. On two occasions, he traveled to Prague, where he found an environment particularly favorable to his music. In 1787, he was appointed "chamber musician" to the emperor, and in 1789, he went to Berlin and Dresden, where he was applauded as a concert pianist. After the death of Joseph II, his successor, Leopold II, proved much more lukewarm towards music, so much so that Mozart lost all support from the court. He once again staged La Clemenza di Tito in Prague, composed for the coronation of the new emperor. However, in 1791, he died in poverty for unspecified reasons and was buried in a common grave.

Requiem in D minor for soloists, choir, and orchestra, K 626

Requiem - soprano and choir - Adagio (D minor)

Kyrie - choir - Allegro (D minor)

Dies irae - choir - Allegro assai (D minor) sketch

Tuba mirum - soli - Andante (B flat major) sketch

Rex tremendae - choir - Grave (G minor) sketch

Recordare - choir - Andante (D minor) sketch

Confutatis - choir - Andante (A minor) sketch

Lacrimosa - choir - Larghetto (D minor) sketch

Domine Jesu - soli and choir - Andante con moto (G minor) sketch

Hostias - choir - Andante (E flat major). Andante con moto (G minor) sketch

Sanctus - chorus - Adagio (D major) added

Osanna - chorus - Allegro (D major) added

Benedictus - soli - Andante (B flat major) added

Osanna - chorus - Allegro (B flat major) added

Agnus Dei - chorus - ... (D minor) added

Lux aeterna - soprano and chorus - ... (D minor). Allegro. Adagio

When Count Franz von Walsegg zu Stuppach, an aspiring composer, decided to celebrate the anniversary of his wife's death on 14 February 1791, he chose to commission a Requiem from Mozart that he would later pass off as his own. The financial proposal was good, and the composer, who at that time needed money to finance his substantial expenditure, accepted. However, 1791 was a year full of commitments for Mozart that he had to face quickly. Thus, the Requiem was completed up to the second piece, broadly sketched out, and then left among the papers inherited by Constanze after her husband's death in December 1791. Among those papers was found evidence that the composer knew the person who commissioned it. Likely, Mozart did not inform his wife about that unusual commission. It was good that no one in Vienna should have heard of it, but that he, whose secret had been bought, did not know about it and that he was being commissioned for a work by a mysterious man is frankly improbable. Returning to the Requiem, the reason for such carelessness in completing it must therefore be attributed to pressing commitments, but we must not overlook the annoyance that Mozart, a man who was rightly proud and with a great sense of personal dignity, felt for Walsegg's gesture and for the Requiem itself. And yet, this work, thanks also to Constanze's excellent propaganda efforts, has become one of the major vehicles of Mozart's fame immediately after his death. In the last years of the eighteenth century, it had numerous performances in various cities, first in Germany and then throughout Europe, and was often chosen to commemorate the deaths of notable personalities.

In this sacred composition, Romanticism immediately found its voice again, and the Requiem, which fueled the anecdotes, also entirely Romantic, of the tragic death and its soundtrack, has become one of Mozart's most famous and performed creations to our times. The work was completed by Franz Xaver Süssmayr, a pupil of the composer and a family friend, with the help of others and on commission from Constanze, who delivered the score to the count's representative about two months after her husband's death, passing it off as authentic. In any case, Constanze, who had sensed the deal in terms of image and money, kept a copy for herself and initially tried to convince people that the Requiem was indeed authentic. Mozart, on the other hand, had completed only the first two pieces (Introitus, Kyrie, and part of the Dies Irae) and had left notes, more or less substantial up to the Hostias, with which to develop the following parts. 

Walsegg conducted the score at his disposal on 14 December 1793, then conducted it again, using it for the purpose for which he had commissioned it, on 14 February 1794, in the church of Neukloster in Wiener Neustadt, a town where he was count. However, when he learned that Constanze had already had his score performed for her benefit on 2 January 1793 in Vienna, he decided to let it go for the future. However, a few years later, when he learned that the Requiem was about to be published, he attempted to request a large refund for the fraud that had been perpetrated against him. He had done the same thing with money, but in a more subtle way.

Vasilij Sergeevič Kalinnikov

   

He was born on January 13, 1866, in Voyny, near Mtsensk, now in Oryol Oblast. He studied at the Oryol Seminary, where he conducted the choir from the age of fourteen. He later moved to Moscow to attend the conservatory but could not afford the tuition. He received a scholarship to attend the Moscow Philharmonic School, where he studied composition and bassoon. He played timpani, bassoon, and violin in theater orchestras and worked as a copyist to supplement his income.

In 1892, Tchaikovsky recommended Kalinnikov to the directors of the Maly Theater and the Italian Theater in Moscow. However, suffering from tuberculosis, Kalinnikov had to leave these posts and move to Crimea. He lived in Yalta for the rest of his life, and it was there that he wrote most of his musical compositions, including two symphonies and the incidental music for Tsar Boris by the playwright Alexei Tolstoy (Leo Tolstoy's cousin).

His Symphony No. 1 in G minor, written between 1894 and 1895, which employs the cyclical form, brought him success. It was performed in Kyiv on February 20, 1897, and then in Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, and Paris during the composer's lifetime. However, it was not published until after his death. The royalties contributed to the support of Kalinnikov's widow. It was with the help of Sergei Rachmaninoff that Kalinnikov managed to sell three of his songs to Jurgenson, who also published Tchaikovsky, for 120 rubles. Jurgenson later also published Symphony No. 2 in A major.

He died of tuberculosis on January 11, 1901, a few days before his thirty-fifth birthday.

The symphony is in four movements:

Allegro moderato (G minor)

Andante comodo (E flat major)

Scherzo: Allegro non troppo (C major)

Finale: Allegro moderato (G major)

The first movement is in sonata form and opens with the central theme played in unison by the strings. The second theme is also presented by the strings, with woodwinds in the background. The development section is contrapuntal in nature, reminiscent of the fugues composed by Kalinnikov in the 1880s. The second movement opens with an ostinato by the harp and the first violins that flow into a solo by the English horn with violas. Then, the central theme of the movement is played by the oboe on plucked strings. The third movement, a scherzo, incorporates influences and melodies from Russian folk music and features a trio played by the winds. The finale opens with the main theme of the first movement before revisiting and transforming the themes of all the previous movements, as well as incorporating new themes derived from the old ones. The symphony concludes with a triumphal finale played by the full orchestra. A typical performance lasts about 40 minutes.

Salvatore Di Vittorio

  

Salvatore Di Vittorio, born in Palermo on October 22, 1967, is an Italian composer and conductor. He is the music director and conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of New York. He was recognized by Luigi Verdi (Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna) as "a lyrical, musical spirit, respectful of the ancient Italian tradition... a leading emerging interpreter of the music of Ottorino Respighi."

He began his musical studies with his father, Giuseppe, in Italy. He then studied composition with Ludmila Ulehla and Giampaolo Bracali at the Manhattan School of Music in the United States. He conducted with Giampaolo Bracali, Francesco Carotenuto, and the late Piero Bellugi in Italy.

He is the author of 15 orchestral works, 7 transcriptions and revisions of orchestral music by Ottorino Respighi, 2 Operas, 4 choral/vocal works, and some chamber compositions. Hector Berlioz and Richard Strauss influenced his symphonic music and followed in the footsteps of Ottorino Respighi. He has worked and written works for orchestras around the world. He has taught at Loyola School in New York City and Adelphi University.

In 2007, he gained considerable attention with the Chamber Orchestra of New York when he was invited by Elsa and Gloria Pizzoli (Respighi's great-grandchildren) and Potito Pedarra (curator and cataloguer of the Respighi archive) to edit, orchestrate and complete several of Respighi's early works including the first Violin Concerto (from 1903), for publication by Edizioni Panastudio and Casa Ricordi in Italy. He premiered and subsequently recorded three of these critical editions, along with his own Overture Respighiana and the first two symphonies, in 2010, with the New York Chamber Orchestra for Naxos Records. These early recordings were released in 2011.

Other notable restorations of historical interest include Respighi's 1908 orchestration of Claudio Monteverdi's Lamento di Arianna (from the lost opera Arianna, 1608), revised in 2012, and Di Vittorio's completion of Respighi's orchestration of Tre Liriche (Tre canti d'arte, 1913) edited for his centenary in 2013. In 2019 Di Vittorio completed the first printed edition of Respighi's Second Violin Concerto "all'Antica". With the Chamber Orchestra of New York, he went on to record the Violin Concerto "all'Antica" in 2019, along with Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances Suites and the Mezzo-soprano Songs in 2021, also for Naxos Records.

In November 2012, he performed the world premiere of his Symphony No. 3, "Templi di Sicilia," in his debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana at the Teatro Politeama in Palermo. RAI interviewed him on the evening news. He was soon thereafter awarded the Palermo Medal by Mayor Leoluca Orlando, who recognized the great importance of Di Vittorio's work as a promoter of the city of Palermo in the world.

He conducted the world premiere of "Fanfara del Mare: Su un Tema di Monteverdi" with the San Diego Symphony, commissioned for the centennial of Balboa Park and its Organ Pavilion at Copley Symphony Hall in 2015, and "Venere e Adone" for the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia in 2016. During that summer, he achieved a significant milestone when he became the first native Italian composer to be invited to donate an autographed manuscript of his opera to the music archive of the Morgan Library & Museum. Villa d'Este, a Tivoli for small orchestra, was composed in 2015 for Morgan as part of its exhibition, "City of the Soul: Rome and the Romantics," in June 2016.

In late 2018, he completed his Symphony No. 4, "Metamorphoses," based on Ovid's Metamorphoses and three Italian paintings related to the story. In June 2021, he released a second album for Naxos, which includes several world premiere recordings, including his new Fourth Symphony. The London Philharmonic released a recording of Nebbie from Tre Liriche under Renato Balsadonna and tenor Freddie de Tommaso, and the Orchestra dell'Opera del Teatro Alla Scala recorded Aria for strings under Riccardo Chailly.

Between the 2021/2022 and 2024/2025 seasons, Di Vittorio will premiere his direction of Sinfonia Metamorfosi and Viaggi di Enea with the Orchestra dell'Opera del Teatro Massimo in Palermo.

Di Vittorio resides with his family in New York and Palermo.

Roberto Cacciapaglia

  

Composer and pianist born in Milan on December 28, 1959, he graduated in composition under the guidance of Bruno Bettinelli at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of his city, where he also studied electronic music and orchestral conducting. He works at the Rai Phonology studio and collaborates with the CNR (National Research Council) of Pisa, studying computer applications in the field of music. A protagonist of the most innovative international music scene, his music explores all genres, blending classical and avant-garde, tradition and contemporaneity.

In 1975, with the German label Ohr, he created "Sonanze," the first quadraphonic LP published in Italy. He came into contact with German musical groups such as Popol Vuh and Tangerine Dream.

In the following years, he published and performed operas, concerts, and ballet music, including "Sei note in Logica" for voices, orchestra, and computer; "Generazioni del Cielo," an opera in two acts; and "Lamentazioni di Geremia," five elegies on a Hebrew text. In the same year, he performed in concert "In C" with Terry Riley, a manifesto of minimalism in music, and the unreleased "Transarmonica"; "Aurea Carmina" on a text by Pythagoras; "Il segreto dell'Alba" a ballet-pantomime; "Un Giorno X" his second opera; "Le Mille e una Notte" a musical fairy tale.

From the long artistic partnership undertaken with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, his works "Quarto Tempo," "Canone degli Spazi," and "Ten Directions" came to life.

In 2013 he composed "Antartica", which accompanied the European Concordia expedition to the Antarctic.

In 2015, he created "Tree of Life," the soundtrack for the Tree of Life icon at EXPO 2015 in Milan. It is a work that collects a series of orchestral compositions with some intrusions into electronics.

The album features a series of songs that hark back to the musical universe of the soundtrack and, despite the homonymy, have nothing to do with Terrence Malick's cinematic masterpiece. The first six were created to be proposed cyclically inside the Italian pavilion of EXPO 2015. Other themes are part of Cacciapaglia's previous repertoire, including compositions for both piano and orchestra, as well as electronics, taken from the quadraphonic experience of "Sonanze." All the material was reworked and explicitly rearranged for this recording edition to give the songs greater affinity and a more homogeneous sound thread.

In 2018, with the "Celebration Tour," he brought his music from Moscow to all of Russia, Siberia, Europe, America, China, and Turkey.

In the same year, he recorded "Diapason" with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London, which he presents in concert all over the world as part of the "Diapason Worldwide Tour."

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2021 Kitakyushu Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, the Farfalle Azzurre, the Italian national rhythmic gymnastics team, won the gold medal with the song "Tree of Life Suite."

On February 24, 2023, she released her new album, "Invisible Rainbows" (Ingrooves).

This year, she set to music INCIPIT / Moz-Art K.488 ReComposed.

Darius Milhaud

  

(Marseille, 4 September 1892 – Geneva, 22 June 1974)

Having abandoned his violin studies for composition, he came into close contact with Paris's cultural environment from a young age. He spent some time in Brazil as an embassy attaché (hence his predilection for the popular music of that country), and in 1918, he came into contact with Cocteau and Satie, becoming part of the "Groupe des Six." After 1920, we find him touring Europe and attending numerous contemporary music festivals. However, at the beginning of the Second World War, he moved to the United States to teach in Oakland, California. In 1947, he returned to Paris, where he taught at the Conservatory, and from 1948, he directed the music section of that radio station.

Highly prominent from a young age among the advanced groups of European contemporary music, he was soon considered an enfant terrible of music, comparable to Honegger, Antheil, and Hindemith. His production, born under the banner of the "Groupe des Six," was soon influenced by a wide range of diverse influences, including neoclassicism, jazz, and polytonalism. Still, he managed, at least during the happiest period of his compositional activity, to blend them into a coherent and personal style, which saw him for several years among the leading figures of contemporary musical events.

In his youth, he preferred complex rhythms, bitonal and polytonal harmonic superimpositions, a very dense counterpoint combined with a free sense of form and an ironic and pungent attitude, where, however, the melodic need always prevailed, a sense of lyricism typically.

Mediterranean and "French." Lately, Milhaud has abandoned the aggressiveness of the first period, following an evolution comparable to that of Hindemith.

Milhaud's production is immense: he is the author of numerous theatrical works, over fifteen ballets, stage and choral music, pieces for voices and instruments, and a substantial body of chamber music, including approximately twenty quartets and many pieces for piano.

Symphonie n.1 op.210 (1939)

Like other contemporary musicians, Milhaud approached the classical form of the Symphony only in full maturity. This also applies to Honegger and Hindemith, who, like Milhaud, threw themselves into the search for new forms and modes of expression in their youth, only feeling the call of classicism later. Milhaud himself states that this Symphony is conceived following the example of Mozart, in the sense of the clarity of the formal structure and, above all of the tireless melodic research, which remains - here as in almost all of the French composer's production - one of the fundamental elements of his style. There is. Therefore, there is a lack of dramatic contrasts, and the expressive climate of the work is relatively naturalistic, at times almost rustic, only occasionally strengthened by some vigorous episodes, such as the fugato of the second movement.

Here is the order of succession of the four movements: "Pastorale" ('Moderatamente animato'), "Molto vivo," "Molto moderato" (with a chorale character) and "Finale" ('Animato').

Zygmunt Noskowski

   

(Warsaw 1846 - Wiesbaden 1909)

Zygmunt Noskowski's father, Józef Lada Noskowski, was a wealthy notary who supported eleven of his children and five of Andrzej Towiański, a Polish theosophist and philosopher, with whom Noskowski's mother, Amelia de Salisch-Noskowska, was an enthusiast. The Noskowski family home in Warsaw was one of the leading centers of Towianism in Poland, and they supported Towiański's activities in exile for many years. The Noskowski family ignored the work of Fryderyk Chopin, who spoke of Towiański and his teachings with irritation and contempt. Zygmunt Noskowski, despite the aversion to Chopin acquired in his homeland, became one of his most active propagators in Poland as an adult. Over time, he completely abandoned Towianism.

Noskowski began studying music at the Warsaw Real Secondary School in 1851. In addition to playing the piano, he also studied violin under the supervision of the famous teacher, Jan Hornziel. His musical talent was discovered by Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński, whose figure, due to his unawareness of Chopin's achievements, remained for Noskowski, an example of a Polish composer. His first teacher was Stanisław Moniuszko, whose songs and some of his works he learned around 1860. Young Noskowski witnessed the pogrom of a patriotic demonstration of Russian troops in Warsaw on February 27, 1861. In the summer of that year, he took part in a trip to Kraków and the Tatra Mountains. All these events had a substantial impact on Noskowski's personality and were reflected in his subsequent creative, organizational, and journalistic activities.

After his father's death on June 23, 1863, he likely participated in the January Uprising.

In 1864–1867, he studied violin with Apolinary Kątski and counterpoint with Stanisław Moniuszko at the Warsaw Music Institute; he completed his studies with second prize. From 1867, he played in the orchestra of the Warsaw Grand Theatre, and from 1871 to 1872, he taught music at the Institute for the Deaf and Blind. From 1870, he was a music critic of the "Kurier Warszawski." He was socially active in the Warsaw Music Society. In 1872, he received a scholarship from the Warsaw Music Society. In December of the same year, he went to Berlin, where he studied composition with Friedrich Kiel at the Akademie der Künste. During these studies, he composed, among others, Variations and Fugues on a Theme by I. B. Viotti for string quartet (dedicated to Kiel), and from 1874, he worked on the First Symphony in A major, which he presented at a public concert in Berlin in April 1875 as a diploma work. Both critics and the public received this work well. After returning to Warsaw, Noskowski organized a concert of the composer on November 10, 1875, in the Resursa Obywatelska hall. The program, in addition to the First Symphony, included, among others, the overture Morskie Oko, which achieved considerable success. However, Noskowski's efforts to find permanent employment in Warsaw ultimately failed. Thanks to the recommendation of Friedrich Kiel, he finally secured the post of city music director and conductor of the Bodan Singing Society in Konstanz, where he likely arrived at the end of 1875 after marrying Stanisława Segedy, a piano graduate of the Warsaw Music Institute.

Noskowski's activity in Konstanz took place between 1876 and 1880. Under his direction, the Bodan Singing Society achieved the status of the best choral group in Baden, gained considerable authority among musicians, and the recognition of Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden. Financial and family stability allowed for intensive creative work. In Konstanz, among others, the first cycle of Krakowiacy for piano is Piano Quartet op. 8, String Quartet No. 1, op. 9, and Symphony No. 2 in C minor "Elegy." In 1880, Noskowski met Liszt in Baden-Baden, who soon after took part in the first performance of his Piano Quartet op. 8. Noskowski's rising position did not go unnoticed by the Warsaw musical community. In 1878, he received an offer to become a teacher at the Music Institute, but he refused it. Instead, he established a collaboration with "Ech Muzyczny," publishing articles (including a series entitled "Drogowskazy") in which he harshly assessed the artistic relations in Warsaw, the poverty of concert programs, the dilettantism of critics, and the contempt for the works of Polish composers, among other issues. These articles were met with polemical outcry.

Despite the good conditions in which he lived and worked in Konstanz throughout the 1880s, Noskowski had the intention of moving to a larger center of musical life. Initially, he considered Weimar or Leipzig, but it is not known under what circumstances he received another offer from Warsaw, where the resigning director of the Warsaw Musical Society, Władysław Żeleński, proposed him as his successor. On November 25, 1880, this institution organized a concert featuring Noskowski, during which, in addition to the Morskie Oko Overture, already known to the public, he conducted the world premiere of his Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Elegy." Despite the very low attendance, both works were well received by critics and the musical community. This fact likely influenced Noskowski's decision to accept the post of director of the Warsaw Musical Society. This finally occurred in January 1881, when Noskowski, along with his family, including his son Zygmunt Stanisław, relocated permanently to Warsaw.

The grave of composer Zygmunt Noskowski (1846-1909) in the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.

Noskowski considered the main task in his new position to be the reconstruction of musical life in Warsaw, which had been hindered throughout the 19th century and even suppressed in the post-uprising periods due to restrictions by the tsarist authorities and the pauperization of the city's inhabitants. Noskowski began by rebuilding the choir of the Musical Society, announcing memberships, and conducting free lessons in choral singing and musical rules for the newly appointed members. Then, he began to implement the idea of ​​weekly symphony concerts in Warsaw. To this end, he made energetic efforts to establish a permanent symphony orchestra in Warsaw, whose primary task was to perform works by Polish composers. These attempts did not bring lasting success. The orchestra founded and conducted by Noskowski, which held its inaugural concert on May 8, 1881, went bankrupt after only a year, despite its inclusion in the structures of the Musical Society and the collaboration of such outstanding soloists as Aleksander Michałowski and Stanisław Barcewicz. Neither the subsequent orchestra, founded in May 1886, nor the amateur orchestra, founded in the same year—both organized and led by Noskowski—survived for long. The cause of the failures was huge financial problems, which forced the composer to cover the deficit from his pocket and, as a result, to seek income by writing music for unsophisticated plays and stage adaptations performed in garden theaters. After that, he abandoned more ambitious creative projects for a while. The next point in Noskowski's plan was to organize weekly chamber concerts, both within and outside the activities of the Musical Society, usually also with the participation of Michałowski and Barcewicz. Due to the shortage of funds, Noskowski himself performed there as a violinist, violist, pianist, and even a singer, which was sometimes mistakenly taken as a sign of his desire to promote himself. The energy with which he faced various challenges and his somewhat abrasive way of dealing with them made him many enemies; on the other hand, he was criticized for turning some intimate evenings into social gatherings and even dance parties, which he did to attract new members for the Musical Society, recruited from the wealthier strata of the middle class. Despite these controversies and several severe crises in the activities, thanks to Noskowski, musical life in Warsaw became more regular.

A key work for Noskowski is the Symphony No. 2 in C minor, composed between 1875 and 1879. In the autograph, this work is titled Symfonia Elegijna, and the final movement is entitled "Per aspera ad astra!" In the program of the concert in Kraków on April 6, 1883, all the movements bear programmatic titles:

1. Naród w niewoli [The Nation in Slavery];

2. Nadzieje i wezwanie do walki [Hope and Call to Arms];

3. Elegy poległym bohaterom [Elegy on the fallen heroes].

4. ‘Per aspera ad astra!’.

In this context, the title of the final movement acquires special significance: "Per aspera ad astra." It shows that it is adapted to reflect on the Polish struggle for national independence.

Noskowski's Second Symphony features several musical indicators intended to demonstrate its lucidity. The first and last movements begin with the motto motif, a three-note sequence (C – B – G) descending from the principal. In an article, Noskowski stated that this melodic figure was typical of Polish folk music. It was also used by many other European composers of the time to emphasize the "national" color of their music, most notably by the Norwegian Edvard Grieg.

In any case, this motif does not play any essential structural role in the outer movements of Noskowski's Second. It is, however, part of the broad elegiac melody of the slow movement, from which the entire work took its name. Some Polish dances in his Second Symphony also refer to Noskowski, specifically the "Kujawiak" in the first movement and the "Krakowiak" in the scherzo. In this respect, he follows the model of Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński, who used several rhythmic Polish dances in each movement of his Symphony No. 2. Noskowski adapted Dobrzyński's idea of ​​combining the change of mode with the use of a patriotic melody, but, as will be shown, he transferred it to a much higher level of structural complexity, accessible only to connoisseurs.

Noskowski ends his slow elegiac movement in the minor mode, apparently to avoid doubling the "per aspera ad astra" effect. He even adapted the central theme of the first movement of Dobrzyński's Symphony to his own; however, he uses it differently. In Dobrzyński's Symphony, the theme is introduced in the slow introduction pathetically and plaintively; it also opens the Allegro molto, where it is answered by a fortissimo explosion of the entire orchestra on a diminished seventh chord. This strong, almost operatic gesture apparently represents a collective cry of protest. In Noskowski's Symphony, the Dobrzyński theme is introduced in a rather discreet and veiled way by the lower voices at the beginning of the Allegro molto. The fortissimo dynamic is reached much later in the course of a complex process of motivic development.

Obviously, Noskowski wanted to avoid a simplistic "Deus ex machina" effect. In the finale, the melodic aspect of the song is carefully developed through the two themes of the last movement, which are both related to the central theme of the first movement and also to the song itself. The second theme is presented in E flat major in the exposition. It is followed by a coda in which several themes are composed simultaneously. In the development section of this movement, a fierce conflict culminates in the destruction of the thematic material, similar to Beethoven's first movement in the Eroica Symphony.