Federico Mompellio (September 9, 1908 – August 7, 1989) was an Italian musicologist,

music editor A music sequencer (or audio sequencer or simply sequencer) is a device or application software that can record, edit, or play back music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically CV/Gate, MIDI, or Open Sound Cont ...

, music librarian, and

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

. He worked as a music librarian and professor of music history at several conservatories and universities during a lengthy academic career that began in 1933 and extended into the 1980s. As a scholar, he is best remembered for his biographies of the composers Niccolò Paganini and Sigismondo d'India. He also worked extensively as a music editor on the works of Paganini for the music publisher Casa Ricordi, most notably reconstructing Paganini's '' Violin Concerto No. 5''; a work which was unknown until manuscripts were discovered in 1972 long after the composer's death.

Early life and education

Born in Genoa, Mompellio began his studies in music in his youth; studying the piano privately with R. Lifschitz in his native city. He studied music composition at the Conservatorio di Musica Niccolò Paganini in his native city with Mario Barbieri before graduating from the

Parma Conservatory Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second most ...

with degrees in piano performance in 1926 and in music composition in 1928. In 1924 Mompellio met the musicologist Adelmo Damerini who sparked a passion for music history and musicology within Mompellio. In 1932 he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in literature from the University of Genoa; writing a thesis targeted within the field of music history. He also took several courses in musicology taught by

Fausto Torrefranca Fausto Torrefranca (Vibo Valentia, 1 February 1883 – Rome, 26 November 1955) Italian musicologist and critic. Torrefranca studied in Turin and in Germany, he was also the music librarian at the conservatories in Naples and in Milan. He taugh ...

at Genoa University, and developed a long lasting friendship with Torrefranca that continued after he completed his education.

Career

In 1933 Mompellio joined the faculty of the

Palermo Conservatory The Conservatorio di Musica Alessandro Scarlatti (English: Conservatory of Music Alessandro Scarlatti), better known in English as the Palermo Conservatory, is a music conservatory in Palermo, Italy. One of the oldest music schools in Italy, the or ...

as both a professor of music history and music librarian, but left after one year to become a professor of both music composition and music history as well as music librarian at the Parma Conservatory. He remained in that position until 1938 when he was appointed librarian at the Milan Conservatory; serving in that position for the next eleven years. He was largely responsible for saving the library's contents from destruction during World War II. In 1949 Mompellio's role at the Milan Conservatory changed from that of librarian to professor of music history; a position he remained in until 1968. He also served as the vice-director of the conservatory for part of his later tenure at that institution. He concurrently taught courses in music history part time at other universities during the first half of the 1950s, including the University of Milan, University of Florence, University of Pavia, and University of Parma. In 1954 he joined the academic staff of the University of Parma and was made a full time professor there in 1968 when he left his position at the Milan Conservatory. From 1964 to 1968, Mompellio served as president of the Italian Society of Musicology. He was also a member of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and in 1983 he was the recipient of the Prix Antonio-Feltrinelli from the

Accademia dei Lincei The Accademia dei Lincei (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed", but anglicised as the Lincean Academy) is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rom ...

. As a scholar, Mompellio is best remembered for writing biographies on the composers Niccolò Paganini and Sigismondo d'India. He also authored several

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

s on neglected Italian composers from the 15th through 19th centuries. As a music editor he transcribed and reconstructed music written by Paganini and other historic Italian composers into contemporary music notation for the music publisher Casa Ricordi, including Paganini's '' Violin Concerto No. 5''; a work discovered in 1972 long after the composer's death. He also published several manuscripts of music by Paganini for which he served as music editor. He wrote music criticism for ''Il diapason'', ''Rivista italiana di musicologia'', and ''Nuova Rivista musicale italiana'' among other periodicals. Federico Mompellio died in Domodossola on August 7, 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mompellio, Federico 1908 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Italian musicologists Academic staff of Milan Conservatory Academic staff of the Palermo Conservatory Academic staff of the Parma Conservatory Academic staff of the University of Parma Genoa Conservatory alumni Italian music critics Music editors Musicians from Genoa Music librarians University of Genoa alumni Parma Conservatory alumni Writers from Genoa