Maksim Aleksandrovich Amfiteatrov (27 February 1907 – 19 December 1990), known as Massimo Amfiteatrof, was a Russian-born Italian

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

, dubbed as the "Cellists' Caruso". (italian: ''il Caruso dei Violoncellisti'')

Biography

Amfiteatrof was born Maksim Aleksandrovič Amfiteatrov (russian: Максим Александрович Амфитеатров) from a Russian family. His mother, Ilaria Vladimirovna Amfiteatrova, was an actress and a singer, while his father,

Alexander Amfiteatrov Alexander Valentinovich Amfiteatrov (Amphiteatrof) (russian: Алекса́ндр Валенти́нович Амфитеа́тров); (December 26, 1862 – February 26, 1938) was a Russian writer, novelist, and historian. Biography Born a prie ...

, was a writer and a journalist. His brother,

Daniele Amfitheatrof Daniele Alexandrovich Amfitheatrof (russian: Даниил Александрович Амфитеатров, October 29, 1901 – June 4, 1983) was a Russian-Italian composer and conductor. Early life Amfitheatrof was born in Saint Petersburg ...

, became an orchestra conductor. He lived in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

until 1917. When the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

outbroke, his family escaped to Italy and settled in

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

, first in Cavi (a ''frazione'' of

Lavagna Lavagna is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, Italy. History and Culture The village, unlike nearby Chiavari which has pre-Roman evidence, seems to have developed in Roman times with the Latin name of ''Lavania''. The ...

) and then in Levanto, in the

Province of La Spezia A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. In Levanto the Amfiteatrof family gave hospitality to other Russian refugees, especially artists, and made its house a well-known cultural and intellectual circle. Having a culturally strong background, Massimo Amfiteatrof began to study cello and moved to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

to attend the local Conservatory. In 1924

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

appointed him principal solo cello at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

at the age of 17, a role with whom he worked first with the

EIAR Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche (EIAR, "Italian Body for Radio Broadcasting") was the public service broadcaster in Fascist Italy and the only entity permitted to broadcast by the government. History The company was established in 1 ...

Orchestra 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 then with the

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

Orchestra in Rome. As a soloist, Amfiteatrof toured all Europe and America, sometimes together with pianist Marisa Candeloro. During the 1940s, he had formed a trio with violinist Arrigo Pelliccia and pianist Ornella Puliti Santoliquido. The Trio turned into the Quartetto di Roma as the violist

Bruno Giuranna Bruno Giuranna (born 6 April 1933 in Milan) is an Italian violist. Giuranna was also responsible for a transcription of Bach's Goldberg Variations The ''Goldberg Variations'', BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Se ...

joined the group. Massimo Amfiteatrof also taught at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome and at the Naples Conservatory and made some records (many of them published by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

) together with the Virtuosi di Roma string quartet in which violinists such as

Renato Fasano Renato Fasano (Naples, August 21, 1902 – Rome, August 3, 1979) was an Italian conductor and musicologist particularly associated with 18th-century Italian works. Having studied music in his native Naples, Fasano established in 1941 the chamber ...

and Luigi Ferro did participate. Although he was a classical musician, Massimo Amfiteatrof provided his talent to pop music artists and records. One of his best efforts has been his contribution to Fabrizio De Andre's album '' Non al denaro non all'amore né al cielo'': Amfiteatrof played cello in two songs, "''Un ottico''" (An Optician) and "''Un Blasfemo''" (A Blasphemous One), under the baton of

Nicola Piovani Nicola Piovani (born 26 May 1946) is an Italian light-classical musician, theater and film score composer, and winner of the 1998 Best Original Dramatic Score Oscar for the score of the Roberto Benigni film ''La Vita è bella'', better known to ...

and together with violinist/violist Dino Asciolla. After his retirement, Amfiteatrof continued to live in Levanto and died there in 1990. In 1992, two years after his death, the Ligurian town inaugurated the Amfiteatrof Music Festival, known until 2016 as Festival Massimo Amfiteatrof, a classical and chamber music festival that has reached the 25th edition in 2016.

References

External links

Russi in Italia
(Italian biography)

(French biography)
Festival Massimo Amfiteatrof
(Festival Massimo Amfiteatrof official website) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amfiteatrof, Massimo 1907 births 1990 deaths Expatriates from the Russian Empire in France 20th-century Russian musicians 20th-century Italian musicians Italian classical cellists Russian classical cellists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Italy 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century cellists

Biography

See also

References

External links