Vittorio Gnecchi (1876–1954) was an Italian composer.

Life

Gnecchi was the son of a wealthy industrialist. Thanks to his solid financial position, he was able to take private lessons, and had among his teachers Michele Saladino (who was also the teacher of

Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece ''Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ' ...

and

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 ...

Tullio Serafin Tullio Serafin (1 September 18782 February 1968) was an Italian conductor and former Musical Director at La Scala. Biography Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19t ...

Gaetano Coronaro Gaetano Coronaro (18 December 1852 – 5 April 1908) was an Italian conductor, pedagogue, and composer. He was born in Vicenza and had his initial musical training there followed by study from 1871 to 1873 at the Milan Conservatory under Franco ...

and

Carlo Gatti Carlo Gatti (1817–1878) was a Swiss entrepreneur in the Victorian era. He came to England in 1847, where he established restaurants and an ice importing business. He is credited with first making ice cream available to the general public a ...

. As soon as he was nineteen years old, he achieved success with the pastoral action ''Virtù d'amore'', which allowed him to publish his work with the prestigious publisher

Ricordi Ricordi may refer to: People *Giovanni Ricordi (1785–1853), Italian violinist and publishing company founder *Giulio Ricordi (1840–1912), Italian publisher and musician Music *Casa Ricordi, an Italian music publishing company established in ...

. The next work was the opera ''

Cassandra Cassandra or Kassandra (; Ancient Greek: Κασσάνδρα, , also , and sometimes referred to as Alexandra) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecies but never to be believe ...

'', whose libretto, taken from ''

Oresteia The ''Oresteia'' ( grc, Ὀρέστεια) is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BCE, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of th ...

'' by

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

, was first set by Gnecchi himself, then entrusted to the librettist

Luigi Illica Luigi Illica (9 May 1857 – 16 December 1919) was an Italian librettist who wrote for Giacomo Puccini (usually with Giuseppe Giacosa), Pietro Mascagni, Alfredo Catalani, Umberto Giordano, Baron Alberto Franchetti and other important Italian co ...

. ''Cassandra'' was completed in 1903 and premiered on 5 December 1905 at the

Teatro Comunale di Bologna The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season. While there had been various theatres presenting opera in Bologna since the early 1 ...

under the direction of

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 ...

with

Solomiya Krushelnytska Solomiya Amvrosiivna KrushelnytskaHer name is sometimes spelt as Solomiya Ambrosiyivna Krushelnytska, Salomea Krusceniski, Krushel'nytska or Kruszelnicka. ( uk, Соломія Амвро́сіївна Крушельницька, links=no; Septem ...

and

Giuseppe Borgatti Giuseppe Borgatti (Cento, 17 March 1871 – Reno di Leggiuno, 18 October 1950) was an Italian dramatic tenor with an outstanding voice. (See Michael Scott, cited below, for a laudatory appraisal of his singing.) The creator of the title role i ...

. Shortly after the first performance of '' Elektra'' by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

(25 January 1909), an article appeared in Italy by musicologist

Giovanni Tebaldini Giovanni Tebaldini (7 September 1864 – 11 May 1952) was an Italian composer, organist and musicologist. Life He studied with Amilcare Ponchielli at the Conservatory of Milan and later with Franz Xaver Haberl in Regensburg. He was ''maestr ...

, entitled ''Telepatia Musicale''. In this article, ''Cassandra'' and ''Elektra'' were compared, and the author concluded that Strauss must have known Gnecchi's work, and may possibly have plagiarised it. Strauss denied plagiarism and, although there appear to be established correspondence about the work between him and Gnecchi,Scaccetti, ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' critics are inclined to believe that the similarities are coincidental.Pozzi, ''Grove'' Gnecchi never commented on the case, but his name was linked to it throughout his life. The uproar caused by the article curbed the circulation of ''Cassandra'' in Italy, while abroad there were several performances until 1933 (including at the

Wiener Volksoper The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...

, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and in numerous German theatres). In more recent times, the opera was revived in

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

on 13 July 2000 in a concert that resulted in a recording. It then arrived in 2011 at the

Teatro Massimo Bellini The Teatro Massimo Bellini is an opera house located on Piazza Vincenzo Bellini in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. Named after the local-born composer Vincenzo Bellini, it was inaugurated on 31 May 1890 with a performance of the composer's mast ...

, with performers Giovanna Casolla (Clytemnestra), John Treleaven (Agamemnon) and Maria Pentcheva (Cassandra) and conductor

Donato Renzetti Donato Renzetti (born on 30 January 1950) is an Italian conductor. He is the recipient of the 1980 Guido Cantelli Award. Biography Renzetti was once a percussionist at Milan's La Scala. He left it to return as a conductor and winner of the Cant ...

. Gnecchi's next opera was ''La Rosiera'' in 1927, which was followed by the ballet ''Atlanta'' (1929). The composer, whose style is characterised by the use of post-

wagnerian 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 ...

chromatic harmonies within classical forms, came late to the honours of the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...

, in which some of his works were performed, including the ''Missa Salisburgensis'' (1933), the ''Cantata Biblica'' (1934) and the opera ''Giuditta'' (1953), also as ''Cassandra'' with a libretto by Illica, the composition of which had begun almost forty years earlier, in 1914. Gnecchi died in Milan aged 77.

Compositions

Operas

* ''Virtù d'amore'', pastoral action in two acts, libretto by Maria Rossi Borzotti (private performance at Villa Gnecchi, Verderio di Brianza,

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 ...

, 7 October 1896). * ''Cassandra'', tragedy for music in a prologue and two parts, libretto by

(

, 5 December 1905) ** Revision:

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

29 February 1909 * La Rosiera, tragic idyll in three acts, libretto by Carlo Zangarini (Preussisches Theater,

Gera Gera is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of cit ...

, 12 February 1927). From ''

On ne badine pas avec l'amour ''No Trifling with Love'' (french: On ne badine pas avec l'amour) is a 1977 French drama film directed by Caroline Huppert. It is based on the theatrical work of Alfred de Musset of the same name. Plot The piece takes place in the castle of t ...

'' by

Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

. The work, after achieving good success abroad (Vienna, Berlin, Prague, Philadelphia, Stockholm), arrived in Italy at the

Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi The Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi is an opera house located in Trieste, Italy and named after the composer Giuseppe Verdi. Privately constructed, it was inaugurated as the Teatro Nuovo to replace the smaller 800-seat "Cesareo Regio Teatro di San Pie ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

on 25 January 1931 and was also seen in Ravenna the following year. The opera, "rich in colour, very elegant in the development of the themes and in the harmonisation" is set at the end of the 18th century and tells the story of the love of two sisters for the same man, Baron Perdicano. Camilla loves Perdicano but rejects him so as not to reveal her feelings; Perdicano then falls in love with Rosetta; Camilla manages to win Perdicano back but Rosetta commits suicide out of despair on the same day as the wedding. *''Giuditta, tragedy (oratorio) in three acts, libretto by

(Salzburg, 1953)

Instrumental, orchestral and vocal music

* ''Atalanta'', Symphonic ballet of Greek dances ( Teatro Lirico Milan, 1929) * ''Adagio'' for cello and piano (Paris, 1929) * ''Adagio cantabile'', sacred piece for string instruments and organ (Salzburg, 1931) * ''Poema eroico'' (''Notte nel campo di Oloferne''), for orchestra (

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 ...

, Milan, 6 June 1932) * ''Salve, Regina!'', motet for soprano solo, choir and orchestra (Milan, 1932) * ''O sacrum convivium'', motet for soprano, choir and orchestra (Milan, 1932) * ''Missa Salisburgensis'', for soprano, baritone, choir and large orchestra (Salzburg, 4 August 1933) * ''Cantata biblica'', three preludes and three parts for voice and piano (Salzburg, 1934) * ''Dances and Greek rites'', for violin, cello and piano (1939) * ''Pavane for piano'' * ''Preghiera'', sacred piece for string instruments and organ * ''Ave Maria'', for three voices and organ * ''Tempo di sinfonia'' in D flat

Song and piano

* ''Invocazione italica: coro di popolo'', text by

Giovanni Borelli Giovanni Alfonso Borelli (; 28 January 1608 – 31 December 1679) was a Renaissance Italian physiologist, physicist, and mathematician. He contributed to the modern principle of scientific investigation by continuing Galileo's practice of testi ...

(Milan, 1915) * ''Preghiera del soldato'', text by F. Pastonchi (Milan, 1917) * ''Dormi, tesoro'', own text (Milan, 1932) * ''Die kleine Mutter'', text by Manfred Hausmann (Milan, 1933) * ''Sorride ella'', from a text by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

(Rome, 1934) * ''Non partire'', from a text by Rabindranath Tagore (Rome, 1934) * ''The Secret'', from a text by Rabindranath Tagore (Rome, 1934) * ''La lampada'', text by Raniero Nicolai (1934) * ''Tristezza d'una notte di primavera,'' text by Gabriele D'Annunzio * ''Nozze rosee'', text by Maria Rossi Borzotti * ''Birdy song'', text by J. Madden

Recordings

* Cassandra - Denia Mazzola (''Clitennestra''), Alberto Cupido (''Agamennone''), Arnold Kocharyan (''Egisto''), Tea Demurishvili (''Cassandra''), Pierre Lebon (''Oreste''), Andzella Kirse (''Una Coèfora''), Jean Marc Ivaldi (''Il Fazionario del Porto''), Jean Marc Ivaldi (''Il Navarca''), Nikola Mijailovic (''Il Prologo'') - Direttore: Enrique Diemecke - Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon. Latvian Radio Chorus - Registrazione dal vivo - 2000 - Agorà Musica AG 260.2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gnecchi, Vittorio 19th-century Italian composers 20th-century Italian composers 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers Italian opera composers Italian ballet composers Composers from Milan 1876 births 1954 deaths