Niccolò Castiglioni (17 July 1932 – 7 September 1996) was an Italian composer, pianist, and writer on music. Castiglioni was born and raised in

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 ...

, where he began studying piano at the age of 7. He received his performer's diploma from the

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory (''Conservatorio di Milano'') is a college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year ...

in 1952, and graduated there in composition in 1953. His student compositions were marked by Stravinsky's neo-classicism, but after graduation his style changed under the influence of the Second Viennese School. His interest in

twelve-tone technique The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition first devised by Austrian composer Josef Matthias Hauer, who published his "law o ...

was joined with musical-political engagement, though this was short-lived. The ''Impromptus I–IV'', identified by the composer as his first true opus, abandoned these

expressionistic Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

tensions, and these four short pieces exhibit a close relationship to Webern's aphoristic style, while also moving closer to the European avant garde. Personal contact with

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

at the RAI electronic music studio in Milan also influenced Castiglioni's direction at that time, and his attendance at the

Darmstädter Ferienkurse Darmstädter Ferienkurse ("Darmstadt Summer Course") is a regular summer event of contemporary classical music in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1946, under the name "Ferienkurse für Internationale Neue Musik Darmstadt" (Vacation Cou ...

completed this development. During the years 1958 to 1965 he taught at the Darmstadt Summer Courses. From 1966 to 1970 he taught

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

as composer-in-residence at

SUNY Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

(1966), visiting professor at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

(1967), Regent Lecturer in composition at the

University of California at San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...

(1968), and professor of the history of Renaissance music at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

(1969–70). Following his return to Italy in 1970, he eventually resumed teaching composition at the conservatories of

Trent Trent may refer to: Places Italy * Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom * Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany * Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States * Trent, California, ...

(1976–77), Milan (1977–89),

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

(1989–91) and Milan once again (1991–96). Among his many students are Armando Franceschini, Giampaolo Testoni and Carlo Galante,

Alfio Fazio Alfio Fazio (born October 27, 1959) is an Italian composer of contemporary music. Fazio was born in Genova and graduated in classical guitar and composition at Milan Academy of Music. He has studied guitar with Anselmo Bersano and composition ...

, Aldo Brizzi,

Matteo Silva Matteo Silva (born 17 October 1960, in Ulm, Germany) is an Italian-German-Swiss author, music producer, ethnomusicologist and visual artist. He was born in Ulm, Germany from German mother and Italian father, grew up in Bologna, Italy and Lugano, Swi ...

and

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music di ...

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* 1932 births 1996 deaths 20th-century classical composers Twelve-tone and serial composers Italian classical composers Italian male classical composers Italian classical pianists Male classical pianists Italian male pianists Musicians from Milan Milan Conservatory alumni Academic staff of Milan Conservatory University at Buffalo faculty University of Michigan faculty University of California, San Diego faculty University of Washington faculty 20th-century classical pianists International Rostrum of Composers prize-winners 20th-century Italian composers 20th-century Italian male musicians {{Italy-composer-stub