Mario Bertoncini (27 September 1932, in Rome – 19 January 2019, in Siena) was an Italian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

. In 1962 he was awarded the Nicola d'Atri Prize by the

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prom ...

for his ''Sei Pezzi per orchestra'' and in 1965 he was awarded both the

Gaudeamus International Composers Award The Gaudeamus International Composers Award is made by the Gaudeamus Foundation. The prize is awarded yearly, to a young composer at Dutch music concert, ''Gaudeamus Muziekweek''. The Gaudeamus Foundation had held an annual music week of Dutch co ...

and the Fondation européenne de la Culture prize for ''Quodlibet''. He has performed as a concert pianist with

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

s throughout Europe and North America and in Israel and Korea.

Life and career

Born in Rome, Bertoncini studied music composition with

Goffredo Petrassi Goffredo Petrassi (16 July 1904 – 3 March 2003) was an Italian composer of modern classical music, conductor, and teacher. He is considered one of the most influential Italian composers of the twentieth century.Petrassi, Goffredo. (2008). ...

, piano with

Rodolfo Caporali Rodolfo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Rodolfo (footballer, born 1992), Brazilian footballer Rodolfo José da Silva Bardella * Rodolfo Albano III, Filipino politician * Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. (1928-2012), Filipino actor ...

, and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

with

Gottfried Michael Koenig Gottfried Michael Koenig (5 October 1926 – 30 December 2021)"In Memoriam Got ...

. He began his career as a concert pianist in Europe in 1956. For several decades he performed widely as both a recitalist and orchestral soloist; appearing under the batons of such conductors as

Bruno Maderna Bruno Maderna (21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian conductor and composer. Life Maderna was born Bruno Grossato in Venice but later decided to take the name of his mother, Caterina Carolina Maderna.Interview with Maderna‘s thr ...

, Daniele Paris,

Mario Rossi Mario Rossi may refer to: * Mario Rossi (architect) (1897–1961), an Italian architect who designed prominent Islamic buildings * Mario Rossi (conductor) (1902–1992), a prominent Italian conductor * Mario Rossi (racing driver) (1932–?), an Ame ...

, Paul Hupperts, and Roelof Krol among others. He was a member of the Rome-based improvisation group

Gruppo di Improvvisazione di Nuova Consonanza (also known as The Group or ) was an avant-garde free improvisation group considered the first experimental composers collective. History The collective was formed by Italian composer Franco Evangelisti in Rome in 1964. Drawing on jazz, seria ...

from 1965 to 1973; notably serving as the group's president from 1970 to 1972. In 1967 Bertoncini was appointed to the music faculty of the

Pesaro Conservatory Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

, where he remained through 1973. In 1974 he was made an Artist-in-Residence at the

German Academic Exchange Service The German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD (german: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), was founded in 1925 and is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation. Organisation ''DAAD'' is a ...

in Berlin where he created open air kinetic sound-sculptures for presentation at the Berliner Festwochen. In 1975-1976 he worked on the music faculty of

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in Montréal. From 1980 until his retirement in 2004 he taught on the music faculty of the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

. His final home was in Cetona, Italy.

References

*''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

(2001), page 469.

External links

Official Website of Mario Bertoncini
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertoncini, Mario 1932 births 2019 deaths Berlin University of the Arts faculty Italian classical pianists Male classical pianists Italian male pianists Italian composers Italian male composers McGill University faculty 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century Italian male musicians Musicians from Rome