Teodoro Celli (1917–1989) was an Italian journalist, writer and music critic.

Biography

He was born in

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

in 1917. After studying piano and composition 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 ...

, the city where he grew up and where he graduated in

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, in 1941 he began to collaborate with newspapers and weeklies (including '' Oggi''). In the 1950s he became a music critic, specializing in

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's music and writing a biography of

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

entitled Va ''Va' pensiero''. From the seventies until his death he lived in Rome, where he worked as a music critic of '' Il Messaggero''. Alongside his activity as a critic to that of a writer, he published other books, including ''L'arte di Victor De Sabata'' (dedicated to

Victor De Sabata Victor de Sabata (10 April 1892 – 11 December 1967) was an Italian conductor and composer. He is widely recognized as one of the most distinguished operatic conductors of the twentieth century, especially for his Verdi, Puccini and Wagner. De ...

, published in 1978) and the collection of essays ''Il dio Wagner e altri dei della musica'' (started in 1980). As a regular collaborator of the ''Edizioni del

Teatro alla 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 ...

'', he published an essay on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the inauguration of the theater rebuilt after the bombings of the summer of 1943 that Celli lived closely: his family was displaced in

Castano Primo Castano Primo (; lmo, label=Milanese, Càstan) is a city and ''comune'' in Province of Milan, in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan. Castano Primo borders the following municipalities: Lonate Pozzolo, Vanzaghello, Magn ...

while his father, who worked at the Commercial Bank, survived the bombings in Milan and continued to work.Vedi
"16 agosto 1943. Così muore Milano"
The events of the night of August 1943, when the Lombard capital was at the center of a furious bombardment by four hundred allied " flying fortresses", was told by Celli himself in an interview/documentary with

Enzo Biagi Enzo Biagi (; 9 August 1920 – 6 November 2007) was an Italian journalist, writer and former partisan. Life and career Biagi was born in Lizzano in Belvedere, and began his career as a journalist in Bologna. In 1952, he worked on the screenpla ...

released in 1983, a few years before his death, which occurred in Rome in 1989. Celli was therefore an eyewitness, as well as the destruction, also of the reconstruction of the famous Milanese theater, which began in 1944 and ended in the spring of 1946, and was among those who attended the inauguration concert of the reconstructed Scala directed by

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 ...

, who came specifically from the USA for the occasion. He died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Celli, Teodoro People from Parma Italian music critics 1917 births 1989 deaths Italian journalists