Alfredo Casella |

Alfredo Casella

Italian composer, pianist, conductor and music writer. Born into a family of musicians (his father was a cellist, a teacher at the Musical Lyceum in Turin, his mother was a pianist). He studied in Turin with F. Bufaletti (piano) and G. Cravero (harmony), from 1896 – at the Paris Conservatory with L. Diemera (piano), C. Leroux (harmony) and G. Fauré (composition).

He began his musical career as a pianist and conductor. He toured in many European countries (in Russia – in 1907, 1909, in the USSR – in 1926 and 1935). In 1906-09, he was a member (played the harpsichord) of the ensemble of ancient instruments of A. Kazadezyus. In 1912 he worked as a music critic for the newspaper L’Homme libre. In 1915-22 he taught at the Santa Cecilia Music Lyceum in Rome (piano class), from 1933 at the Santa Cecilia Academy (piano improvement course), and also at the Chijana Academy in Siena (head of the piano department). ).

Continuing his concert activities (pianist, conductor, in the 30s a member of the Italian Trio), Casella promoted modern European music. In 1917 he founded the National Musical Society in Rome, which was later transformed into the Italian Society of Modern Music (1919), and from 1923 into the Corporation for New Music (a section of the International Society for Contemporary Music).

In the early period of creativity was influenced by R. Strauss and G. Mahler. In the 20s. moved to the position of neoclassicism, combining modern techniques and ancient forms in his works (Scarlattiana for piano and 32 strings, op. 44, 1926). Author of operas, ballets, symphonies; Casella’s numerous piano transcriptions contributed to a resurgence of interest in early Italian music. He took an active part in the publication of the classical repertoire of pianists (J. S. Bach, W. A. ​​Mozart, L. Beethoven, F. Chopin).

Casella owns musicological works, incl. essay on the evolution of cadence, monographs on I. F. Stravinsky, J. S. Bach and others. Editor of many classical piano works.

Since 1952, the International Piano Competition named after A. A. Casella (once every 2 years).

CM Hryshchenko

Compositions:

operas – The Snake Woman (La donna serpente, after the fairy tale by C. Gozzi, 1928-31, post. 1932, Opera, Rome), The Legend of Orpheus (La favola d’Orfeo, after A. Poliziano, 1932, tr Goldoni, Venice), Desert of Temptation (Il deserto tentato, mystery, 1937, tr Comunale, Florence); ballets – choreography, comedy Monastery over the water (Le couvent sur l’eau, 1912-1913, post. under the name Venetian monastery, Il convento Veneziano, 1925, tr “La Scala”, Milan), Bowl (La giara, after short story by L. Pirandello, 1924, “Tr Champs Elysees”, Paris), Room of drawings (La camera dei disegni o Un balletto per fulvia, children’s ballet, 1940, Tr Arti, Rome), Rose of a Dream (La rosa del sogno, 1943, tr Opera, Rome); for orchestra – 3 symphonies (b-moll, op. 5, 1905-06; c-moll, op. 12, 1908-09; op. 63, 1939-1940), Heroic elegy (op. 29, 1916), Village march ( Marcia rustica, op. 49, 1929), Introduction, aria and toccata (op. 55, 1933), Paganiniana (op. 65, 1942), concerto for strings, piano, timpani and percussion (op. 69, 1943) and others; for instruments (solo) with orchestra – Partita (for piano, op. 42, 1924-25), Roman Concerto (for organ, brass, timpani and strings, op. 43, 1926), Scarlattiana (for piano and 32 strings, op. 44, 1926) ), concerto for Skr. (a-moll, op. 48, 1928), concerto for piano, skr. and VC. (op. 56, 1933), Nocturne and tarantella for wlc. (op. 54, 1934); instrumental ensembles; piano pieces; romances; transcriptions, incl. orchestration of the piano fantasy “Islamey” by Balakirev.

Literary works: L’evoluzione della musica a traverso la storia della cadenza perfetta, L., 1923; Polytonality and atonality, L. 1926 (Russian translation of the article by K.); Strawinski and Roma, 1929; Brescia, 1947; 21+26 (collection of articles), Roma, 1930; Il pianoforte, Roma-Mil., 1937, 1954; I segreti della giara, Firenze, 1941 (autobiography, English translation – Music in my time. The memoirs, Norman, 1955); GS Bach, Torino, 1942; Beethoven intimo, Firenze, 1949; La tecnica dell’orchestra contemporanea (with V. Mortari), Mil., 1950, Buc., 1965.

References: И. Глебов, А. Казелла, Л., 1927; Соrtеsе L., A. Casella, Genoa, 1930; A. Casella – Symposium, edited by GM Gatti and F. d’Amico, Mil., 1958.