This Week in Classical Music: October 17, 2021.The Italians.Three Italian composers were born this week: the Renaissance-era Luca Marenzio, who was born on October 18th of 1553, Baldassare Galuppi, born on the same day but a century and a half later, on October 18th of 1706, and Luciano Berio, one of the most interesting composers of the second half of the 20th century, on October 24th of 1925.Take a look at the entry about Marenzio here, Galuppi – here, and one of our takes on Berio here.It is said that Galuppi was the most successful and richest composer of the mid-18th century.His fame and money came mostly from his operas – he wrote more than 100 of them (we think that his sacred music is of much higher quality).He was called the father of comic operas (he wasn’t the first one to write opera buffa, but his were more popular), but practically none of them are staged these days.The comic opera Il filosofo di campagna, based on the libretto by Carlo Goldoni, was extremely popular throughout Europe.Here’s the cheerful overture.Francesco Piva leads the Italian group Intermusicale Ensemble.
Franz Liszt was also born this week, on October 22nd of 1811.Staying with the Italian theme, here is Sonetto 47 del Petrarca, from Années de pèlerinage: Italie.Lazar Berman recorded it in 1977.
Finally, the great Jewish-Hungarian-American conductor, Georg Solti was born (as György Stern) on October 21st of 1912.His first significant position was that of the music director at the Bavarian State Opera; he was then hired at the Frankfurt Opera and, in 1961, became the music director of the Covent Garden Opera.Only later did he develop his career as a symphony conductor.Solti recorded 45 complete operas, and even though his Wagner recordings are most famous (his recording of Der Ring des Nibelungen was voted the greatest recording ever made, twice: once by the Gramophone magazine in 1999, and the second time by professional music critics in a poll conducted by the BBC, in 2011) some of his Italian operas are also extremely good.Here is Io vengo a domandar grazia mia Regina, from Act II of Don Carlo.Carlo Bergonzi is Don Carlo, Renata Tebaldi – Elizabeth.Sir Georg Solti conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
The Italians, 2021
This Week in Classical Music: October 17, 2021. The Italians. Three Italian composers were born this week: the Renaissance-era Luca Marenzio, who was born on October 18th of 1553,
Baldassare Galuppi, born on the same day but a century and a half later, on October 18th of 1706, and Luciano Berio, one of the most interesting composers of the second half of the 20th century, on October 24th of 1925. Take a look at the entry about Marenzio here, Galuppi – here, and one of our takes on Berio here. It is said that Galuppi was the most successful and richest composer of the mid-18th century. His fame and money came mostly from his operas – he wrote more than 100 of them (we think that his sacred music is of much higher quality). He was called the father of comic operas (he wasn’t the first one to write opera buffa, but his were more popular), but practically none of them are staged these days. The comic opera Il filosofo di campagna, based on the libretto by Carlo Goldoni, was extremely popular throughout Europe. Here’s the cheerful overture. Francesco Piva leads the Italian group Intermusicale Ensemble.
Franz Liszt was also born this week, on October 22nd of 1811. Staying with the Italian theme, here is Sonetto 47 del Petrarca, from Années de pèlerinage: Italie. Lazar Berman recorded it in 1977.
Finally, the great Jewish-Hungarian-American conductor, Georg Solti was born (as György Stern) on October 21st of 1912. His first significant position was that of the music director at the Bavarian State Opera; he was then hired at the Frankfurt Opera and, in 1961, became the music director of the Covent Garden Opera. Only later did he develop his career as a symphony conductor. Solti recorded 45 complete operas, and even though his Wagner recordings are most famous (his recording of Der Ring des Nibelungen was voted the greatest recording ever made, twice: once by the Gramophone magazine in 1999, and the second time by professional music critics in a poll conducted by the BBC, in 2011) some of his Italian operas are also extremely good. Here is Io vengo a domandar grazia mia Regina, from Act II of Don Carlo. Carlo Bergonzi is Don Carlo, Renata Tebaldi – Elizabeth. Sir Georg Solti conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.