Angelo Gilardino (16 November 1941 – 14 January 2022) was an Italian composer, guitarist, and
musicologist
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
.
Life and career
Gilardino was born in
Vercelli
Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, on 16 November 1941.
During his concert career, from 1958 to 1981, he premiered hundreds of new works for the guitar. Among his premieres was
John Duarte's ''Mutations on Dies Irae'' in 1974. He taught at the Liceo Musicale ''G. B. Viotti'' in Vercelli from 1965 to 1981, and held a professorship at the
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...
Conservatory in
Alessandria
Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin.
Alessandria ...
from 1981 to 2004. The Conservatory awarded him the Marengo Music Prize in 1998.
Gilardino has composed much music for solo guitar, as well as
chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...
and
concerto
A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...
s. His solo works include five volumes of ''Studi di virtuosità e di trascendenza'' (1981-1988), two numbered
sonatas
Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...
(1985, 1986) as well as several titled sonatas and sonatinas, two sets of
variations
Variation or Variations may refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon
* Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individuals ...
(1989, 1991), and ''Ikonostas'' for a guitar tuned in G (2004).
The ''Studi di virtuosità e di trascendenza'' represent one of the most significant contributions to the guitar repertoire in the 20th century. The title places the collection in the tradition of the ''
Transcendental Etudes
Transcendence, transcendent, or transcendental may refer to:
Mathematics
* Transcendental number, a number that is not the root of any polynomial with rational coefficients
* Algebraic element or transcendental element, an element of a field exten ...
'' by
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
. Numbers 1 through 48 have dedications that play an important role in identifying influences and traditions that are important to the composer, and help provide a context in which to interpret the individual etudes. These have been recorded by the guitarist Cristiano Porqueddu for Brilliant Classics.
He has also written four works for guitar with guitar orchestra, seven concertos for guitar, some in combination with other instruments (including
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
and
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
), and several
duet
A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...
s (for guitar with
bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...
,
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
,
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
and
vibraphone
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...
).
From 1967 to 2006, Gilardino supervised the publication of hundreds of new guitar works by Edizioni Musicali Bèrben. He has also discovered the ''Variazioni'' by
Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions r ...
and several works written for the guitarist
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987) was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were students of Segovia or their students.
Segovia's contribution to the m ...
by
Cyril Scott
Cyril Meir Scott (27 September 1879 – 31 December 1970) was an English composer, writer, poet, and occultist. He created around four hundred musical compositions including piano, violin, cello concertos, symphonies, and operas. He also wrot ...
,
Pierre de Bréville
Pierre Eugène Onfroy de Bréville (21 February 1861 – 24 September 1949) was a French composer.
Biography
Pierre de Bréville was born in Bar-le-Duc, Meuse (department), Meuse. Following the wishes of his parents, he studied law with the goal ...
,
Lennox Berkeley
Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer.
Biography
Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James Char ...
and many others. He was artistic director of th
Andrés Segovia Foundationof Linares from 1997 to 2005.
In 2009 the Guitar Foundation of America conferred upon him the prestigious Artistic Achievement Award which is reserved for performers, composers, pedagogues, and scholars who have made monumental contributions to the development of the art and life of the classical guitar.
Gilardino died on 14 January 2022, at the age of 80.
Si è spento a 80 anni Angelo Gilardino, il più grande musicista vercellese dall’inizio del ‘900
Quotes
*''"I am not a good interpreter of my own music - I never played it and I avoid giving lessons with my music on the stand. "''
rec.music.classical.guitar
(23 January 2003)
*''"I have no connection with my pieces, except when I am composing them. Since then, especially when published, they belong to everybody, and I am no longer especially fond of a piece or of another. I feel insignificant and unimportant in respect of the music I write. I have to add - to be quite honest - that when teaching I do not like to deal with my own music. ..when it happens I have to teach a piece of my own, I feel rather uncertain about what to say."''
Interview with Angelo Gilardino
*''"Actually, since 1981 to March of this year I was active as a professor in a conservatory and - even without giving concerts - I followed learning a lot about guitar, due mainly to the excellence of students who have cooperated with me. But, I confirm, you are right, I am no technician at all - my work with players has developed in the area of interpretation. I have taught people who could play much better than I did even when I was a concert player."'
rec.music.classical.guitar
(31 August 2004)
List of works
Solo guitar
*''Canzone Notturna'' (1968)
*''Estrellas para Estarellas'' (1970)
*''Abreuana'' (1971)
*''Araucaria'' (1971)
*''Appaloosa'' (1972)
*''Luceat'' (1972)
*''Trepidazioni per Thebit'' (1972)
*''Ocram'' (1973)
*''Tenebrae factae sunt'' (1973)
*''Studi di virtuosità e di trascendenza'' (1981-1988)
*''Sonata No. 1 (Omaggio ad Antonio Fontanesi)'' (1985)
*''Sonata No. 2 (Hivern florit)'' (1986)
*''Variazioni sulla Follìa'' (1989)
*''Musica per l'angelo della Melancholìa'' (1991)
*''Variazioni sulla Fortuna'' (Nell'antologia ''Fortune 1993'') (1991)
*''Winterzeit'' after Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
(2000)
*''Colloquio con Andrés Segovia
Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987) was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were students of Segovia or their students.
Segovia's contribution to the m ...
'' (2002)
*''Sonatine des fleurs et des oiseaux'' (2002)
*''Tríptico de las visiones'' (2002)
*''Catskill Pond'' (2003)
*''La casa del faro'' (2003)
*''Sonata Mediterranea'' (2004)
*''Sonata del Guadalquivir'' (2004)
*''Annunciazione (Omaggio al Beato Angelico)'' (2004)
*''Ikonostas (Omaggio a Pavel Florenskij)'' (2004)
*''Memory of Antinous (Omaggio a Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Yourcenar (, , ; born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie Ghislaine Cleenewerck de Crayencour; 8 June 1903 – 17 December 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist, who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the ''Prix Fem ...
)'' (2004)
*''A Quiet Song - To the Memory of John W. Duarte
John William Duarte (2 October 1919 – 23 December 2004) was a British composer, guitarist and writer.
Duarte was born in Sheffield, England, but lived in Manchester from the age of six months.
Career
Duarte was educated at Manchester Central ...
'' (2005)
*''Cantico di Gubbio'' (2007)
*''Sonata di Lagonegro'' (2008)
*''Winter Tales'' (2008; for Russian 7-string guitar)
*''Sette Preludi'' (2012)
*''Sonatina de Valparaíso'' (2015)
*''Into the rose-garden - To the Memory of Julian Bream
Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public per ...
'' (2020)
Guitar and guitar ensemble
*''Concerto d'estate'' for guitar and guitar quartet (1992)
*''Concierto de Córdoba'' for guitar and guitar quartet (1993)
*''Poema d'inverno'' for guitar and guitar duo (1994)
*''Concerto d'autunno'' for guitar and small guitar orchestra (1994-1995)
*''Feste lontane'' for four guitars (2007)
*''Sonetti giuliani'' for four guitars (2008)
Guitar and orchestra
*''Leçons de Ténèbres'' - concerto for guitar and chamber orchestra (1996)
*''Fiori di novembre'' - concerto for mandolin, guitar and chamber orchestra (1997)
*''Concerto Italiano'' for four guitars and orchestra (1998)
*''La casa delle ombre'' - concerto for flute, guitar and strings (1999)
*''Liederkonzert'' for two guitars and chamber orchestra (2000)
*''En las tierras altas'' - concerto for accordion, guitar and strings (2001)
*''Star of the Morning'' for guitar, cello and orchestra (2004)
*''Concerto-Serenata'' for bass clarinet, guitar and strings (2006)
*''Concerto di Novgorod'' for Russian seven-string guitar and orchestra (2006)
*''Concerto di Oliena'' for guitar and orchestra (2007)
Chamber music
*''Preghiere per gli innocenti'' for voice and guitar (1997)
*''Canzoni dimenticate'' (1999)
*''Sonatina-Lied No. 1'' for bassoon and guitar (1999)
*''Sonatina-Lied No. 2'' for violin and guitar (2000)
*''Fantasia concertante'' sul ''Gran Solo'' op. 14 di Sor for violin, viola, cello and guitar (2000)
*''Retrato de Andrés Segovia'' for string orchestra (2001)
*''Sonata Romantica (Homage to Franz Schubert)'' for cello and guitar: an elaboration of the piece of the same name by Manuel M. Ponce for solo guitar (2002)
*''Retrato de Francisco Tárrega
Francisco de Asís Tárrega Eixea (21 November 185215 December 1909) was a Spanish composer and classical guitarist of the late Romantic period. He is known for such pieces as Capricho Árabe and ''Recuerdos de la Alhambra''. He is often calle ...
'' for chamber orchestra with guitar (2004)
*''Partita'' for vibraphone and guitar (2005)
*''Sonatina-Lied No. 3'' for flute and guitar (2005)
*''Iberia (da Albéniz e Tárrega)'' for flute, viola and guitar (2006)
*''Sonatina-Lied No. 4'' for mandolin and guitar (2006)
*''Quartetto "I castelli d'acqua"'' for two mandolins, mandola and guitar (2006)
*''Sonatina-Lied No. 5'' for oboe and guitar (2006)
*''Quintetto di Lucedio'' for guitar and string quartet (2008)
*''Trio - Fiori del deserto'' for flute, viola and guitar (2009)
Chitarra Battente
* ''Albero solitario - ricordo della grande pittrice Lucana Maria Padula'' for Chitarra battente and Guitar (2017) for Cordaminazioni (Marcello De Carolis and Luca Fabrizio)
* ''Concerto di Matera'' for chitarra battente and ten instruments (2018) for Marcello De Carolis
Complete discography
Gilardino as performer
LP
*Series of Contemporary Guitar Music - Angelo Gilardino plays Haug, Wissmer, Duarte, Tansman, Berkeley
*La Chitarra Nel Secolo XX - Vol. I, Compositori Italiani (Rosetta, Chailly, Maghini, Bettinelli, Mosso)
Gilardino's compositions played by others
LUIGI ATTADEMO - plays "Variazioni sulla Follìa"
CD "Folías"
Guitart Collection Guit 2026
www.luigiattademo.it
GIANLUCA BARBERO plays
"Studio n. 6 – Soledad - Omaggio a Francisco Goya"
"Studio n. 47 – Le rose sulla neve – In memoriam Eso Peluzzi"
Map – Lr Cd 116
LUIGI BISCALDI and QUARTETTO DI ASTI
plays
"Concerto d'estate" per chitarra sola e quartetto di chitarre
"Concierto de Córdoba" para guitarra solista y cuarteto de guitarras
BERCD 833-2 Bèrben
PIERO BONAGURI
esegue "Colloquio con Andrés Segovia"
"Pocci 2004" Guitar Reference
VP Music Media
Chitarrista MICHAEL BRACKEN
plays "Sonata n. 2 – Hivern Florit"
"Good News"
Atma Disques
TRIO CITHAROEDIA
plays
"Poema d'inverno" per tre chitarre
"Ferenc Farkas, Angelo Gilardino
Complete works for Guitar Trio"
NIC 1051 - Guitart Collection
ANGELO COLONE
plays
"Studio n. 18 – Omaggio a de Falla"
"Sintesi"
Map – Lr Cd 087
ANGELO COLONE
esegue
plays
"Tema con variazioni (Omaggio a Fernando Sor)"
"Già la pioggia è con noi (Omaggio a Salvatore Quasimodo)"
"Sacrificio" (Omaggio ad Agustin Barrios Mangoré)
"Concerto per chitarra e orchestra da camera – Leçons de Ténèbres"
"Jondo (Omaggio a Joaquin Turina)
"Soledad (Omaggio a Francisco Goya)
"Paesaggio lucano (Omaggio al pittore Mauro Masi)"
CD "Angelo Angelo"
www.angelocolone.it
MARCO DE SANTI
plays
"Quattro Studi di virtuosità e di trascendenza"
"Ocram"
EMI I.071
SAM DESMET
plays
"Tema con variazioni"
(Omaggio a Fernando Sor)
"Elegia di marzo"
(Omaggio a Juan Ramón Jiménez)
CD "study< >study"
first string
www.samdesmet.com
WILLIAM FEASLEY
plays
"Soledad (Omaggio a Francisco Goya)"
"Echoes of Goya"
SONORA SO22587CD
FABIO FEDERICO
plays
"Elegia di marzo"
"Mediterranea"
"Alleluia"
"El rosario"
"Jondo"
CD "Estudios"
Etnoworld Classical
www.fabiofederico.com
REZA GANJAVI
plays "Canzoni Dimenticate"
per varie formazioni a duo con chitarra
CD "In Friendship"
TILMAN HOPPSTOCK
plays
"Etude n. 3"
CD "The 20th Century Guitar"
Signum SigX90-00
LUIGI GIFFI
plays
"Elegia di marzo"
"Sacrificio"
"Quattuor in Musica"
MARTHA MASTERS
plays
"Colloquio con Andrés Segovia"
CD "Viaggio in Italia"
GSP1031CD
LUCIO MATARAZZO
plays "Quattro Studi di virtuosità e di trascendenza"
CD "LM & friends"
CD GUITART COLLECTION
ALBERTO MESIRCA
plays
"Annunciazione – Omaggio al Beato Angelico"
"Ikonostas – Omaggio a Pavel Florenskij
"Ikonostas"
Map – Lr Cd 112
LORENZO MICHELI
plays
"Canzone notturna"
"Autumn of the soul"
Contrastes Records CR 9291409
MICHAEL PARTINGTON
plays
"Studio n. 12 (Omaggio a Prokofiev)"
"20th Century Guitar"
Roserecord Rose 1004CD
CRISTIANO PORQUEDDU
plays
"Sonata n. 2 - Hivern Florit"
"Embarquement pour Cithère"
"Omaggio a Sergej Prokof'ev"
"Les arbres rouges"
Seicorde 188IT
www.cristianoporqueddu.com
CRISTIANO PORQUEDDU
plays
"Studies 1-12"
CD Trascendentia Vol.I
Seicorde 188IT
www.trascendentia.com
CRISTIANO PORQUEDDU
plays
"Studies 13-24"
Trascendentia Vol.II
Seicorde 188IT
www.trascendentia.com
CRISTIANO PORQUEDDU
plays
"Studies 25-36"
Trascendentia Vol.III
Seicorde 188IT
www.trascendentia.com
CRISTIANO PORQUEDDU
plays
"Studies 37-48"
Trascendentia Vol IV
Seicorde SNR019
www.trascendentia.com
CRISTIANO PORQUEDDU
plays
"Studies 49-60"
Trascendentia Vol V
www.trascendentia.com
MARCELLO RIVELLI
plays
"Sonata n. 2 - Hivern Florit"
Guitart Collection Guit 2030
GIANLUCA SABBADIN
plays
"Studio n. 47 – Le rose sulla neve"
"Studio n, 18 – El rosario"
"Studio n. 4 – Elegia di marzo"
CD "Recital per chitarra sola"
GIULIO TAMPALINI
plays
"Works for Guitar 2002-2004"
www.giuliotampalini.it
CORDAMINAZIONI (MARCELLO DE CAROLIS - LUCA FABRIZIO)
plays
"Albero solitario - ricordo della grande pittrice lucana Maria Padula"
www.cordaminazioni.com
References
Sources
*Annala, Hannu and Mätlik, Heiki
"Gilardino, Angelo"
''Handbook of Guitar and Lute Composers'', Mel Bay Publications, 2008, p. 77.
*Colonna, Maurizio, "Gilardino, Angelo" in ''Chitarristi-compositori del XX secolo: le idee e le loro conseguenze'', F. Muzzio, 1990, p. 315.
*Guitar Foundation of America
Artistic Achievement Award (2009): Angelo Gilardino
*
External links
Angelo Gilardino official website
AG Blog
Angelo Gilardino official blog
Interviews
(by Isolde Schaupp)
Recordings
*
LP recordings / Liner Notes
(Oviatt Library Digital Collections - restricted access)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilardino, Angelo
1941 births
2022 deaths
20th-century classical composers
21st-century classical composers
Composers for the classical guitar
Italian classical composers
Italian classical guitarists
Italian male guitarists
Italian male classical composers
Italian musicologists
People from Vercelli
20th-century guitarists
21st-century guitarists
20th-century Italian composers
20th-century Italian male musicians
21st-century Italian male musicians