Alfonso Rendano (5 April 1853 – 10 September 1931)
was an Italian pianist and composer. He is mostly renowned for inventing the "third pedal", which augmented the interpretative resources of the piano.
Rendano was born in
Cosenza
Cosenza (; local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a populati ...
. He was particularly precocious and at the age of ten he was admitted to the
Naples Conservatory, where he was noticed by
Sigismund Thalberg who sent him to Paris, recommending him to
Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
.
In 1866 he studied under
Georges Mathias
Georges Amédée Saint-Clair Mathias (; 14 October 182614 October 1910) was a French composer, pianist and teacher. Alongside his teaching work, Georges Mathias was a very active concert pianist.
Biography
Mathias was born in Paris. He studied a ...
,
Chopin's pupil. For about 15 years, he carried out an intense musical activity; he then devoted himself to teaching, first in
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, then in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
Rendano wrote the opera ''Consuelo'', successfully staged in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
and in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. He held his last concert at Rome's
Teatro Valle
Teatro may refer to:
* Theatre
* Teatro (band)
Teatro, Italian for "theatre", is a vocal group signed to the Sony BMG music label. The members of Teatro are Jeremiah James, Andrew Alexander, Simon Bailey and Stephen Rahman-Hughes.
Band members ...
in 1925. He died in Rome in 1931.
The main theatre of
Cosenza
Cosenza (; local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a populati ...
is named after him.
References
1853 births
1931 deaths
People from Cosenza
Italian classical composers
Italian male classical composers
Italian opera composers
Male opera composers
Pupils of Georges Mathias
Italian classical pianists
Male classical pianists
Italian male pianists
19th-century classical pianists
19th-century classical composers
20th-century classical pianists
20th-century classical composers
19th-century Italian composers
20th-century Italian composers
20th-century Italian male musicians
19th-century Italian male musicians
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