Italian 20th Century Music: The Quest for Modernity

Italian 20th Century Music offers a long needed overview of Italian music in the modern era and provides us a glimpse of forgotten musical treasures that have for too long awaited re-discovery.

When Giuseppe Verdi died in 1901 he left behind him a clear message: Italian music was badly in need of reform and this could only be done by "looking back to move forward" -by passing over the transient developments of the 19th century to search for the real roots of Italian culture. Some composers took heed, but many clung to the opera lirica and verism of the recent past. The situation was not helped by the conservatism of Mussolini's fascist government, which favoured writers of popular opera at the expense of innovators.

The years following the Second War World saw the fall of the monarchy and a general opening up to the outside world. Despite the innate conservatism of the Italian public, which continued to hamper a full expression of Italian radicalism in music, Italian composers were at last able to express themselves freely and many began to be rightfully acknowledged by important international institutions, above all during the groundbreaking Darmstadt courses, and later in the post-serial post-modern musical culture that dominated the end of the century.

From Mascagni and Tosti to Dallapiccola and Petrasi, from Maderna, Berio and Nono to Morricone, Einaudi and Fedele, this is an intriguing account of a tumultuous century, and an important contribution to the history of music in the 20th century.

CONTENIDO

Preface

Introduction

1. The twilight of Italian melodrama
Verdi, Boito, Smareglia, Franchetti, Montemezzi, Gnecchi, Tosti, Denza, Leoncavallo, Giordano, Cilea, Mascagni, Puccini, Alfano, Zandonai, Wolf-Ferrari, Pick-Mandiagalli, Perosi

2. Pioneers and revolutionaries
Faccio, Sgambati, Martucci, Setaccioli, M. E. Bossi, Sinigaglia, Busoni, Pratella, Russolo

3. The dawn of a new era
Santoliquido, Tommasini, Torrefranco, R. Boss, Respighi, Pizzetti, De Sabata, Gui, Malipiero, Casella, Savinio

4. A fascist interlude
Mulè, Lualdi, Marinuzzi, Blanc, Liviabella, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Rieti, Massarani, Toscanini

5. Towards a modern idiom
Labroca, Ghedini, Veretti, Pilato, Salviucci, Dallapiccola, Petrassi, Rota, Menotti, Tosatti, L. Chailly

6. Darmstadt and beyond
Togni, Nono, Maderna, Donatoni, A. Clementi, Evangelisti, Pennisi, Guaccero, Scelsi

7. The good, the bad and the popular
Modugno, Garinei & Giovannini, Marini, Gaslini, Berio, Gentilucci, Manzoni, Bussotti, Castiglioni, Chiari, Morricone

8. New ventures, old themes
Panni, Solbiati, Sinopli, Renosto, Corghi, Guarnieri, Vacchi, Sbordoni, Cardi, Sciarrino, Mayr, Sollima, L. Einaudi, Del Corno, Boccadoro, Ferrero, A. Liberovici, Ambrosini, Grossi, Romitelli, Tutino, Battistelli, Piovani, Dalpane, Lombardi, Fedele, Gervasoni

Further reading

Selected bibliography

Index