Goffredo petrassi biography template

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He initially focused on composition studies under Alessandro Bustini and harmony under Vincenzo di Donato, alongside organ with Fernando Germani.^[7][4]Petrassi earned his diploma in composition in 1932, with his graduation piece Tre cori per coro e orchestra performed that July; he then continued with organ studies, obtaining that diploma in 1933.

The premiere occurred in Salzburg in 1951.^[1][32]In opera, Petrassi crafted intimate, one-act works that integrated vocal drama with literary adaptation. The work's stark, ritualistic intensity conveys personal anguish and disillusionment with fascism, marking a stylistic shift toward more expressionistic forms. Lasting approximately 36 minutes, the piece premiered in Rome in 1941 under Bernardino Molinari.^[1][8][23]Composed amid World War II, Coro di morti (1940–41), a dramatic madrigal for male chorus, three pianos, brass, double basses, and percussion, responds to the era's devastation by setting Giacomo Leopardi's philosophical text on death and eternity.

Petrassi had many famous students, including Franco Donatoni, Aldo Clementi, Cornelius Cardew, Ennio Morricone, Karl Korte, Boris Porena, Norma Beecroft, Mario Bertoncini, Ernesto Rubin de Cervin, Eric Salzman, Kenneth Leighton, Peter Maxwell Davies, Michael Dellaira, Armando Santiago, and Richard Teitelbaum.

Petrassi died in Rome at the age of 98.

Membership

American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Inspired by these encounters, he made his first tentative attempts at composition, creating simple pieces for organ and voice that echoed the Renaissancepolyphony he had absorbed in church settings.^[4] This period of informal, hands-on learning laid the groundwork for his later formal studies, emphasizing practical immersion over structured instruction.^[2]

Formal Training

At the age of 24, Goffredo Petrassi enrolled at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome in 1928, building on his prior practical experience in a music shop that had equipped him with foundational musical knowledge.

The Sonata da camera (1948) for harpsichord and ten instruments—flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, and strings—spans 12 minutes across three movements (Mosso e scorrevole, Adagio, Vivace e grazioso), reviving Baroque sonata principles through pointillistic rhythms and timbral contrasts that anticipate his serial explorations.^[37] The Flute Concerto (1960), for solo flute and chamber orchestra, extends to 18 minutes and emphasizes the instrument's extended techniques, such as multiphonics and microintervals, within a dialogue that links to his broader concerto series but maintains an intimate scale.^[28]Later works further embraced avant-garde elements in instrumental settings.

At age 15 in 1919, financial needs led him to leave school and take employment at a music shop in Rome, where his duties included tuning pianos and copying scores. This period marked a pivotal maturation in his artistic development, as he later reflected that his commitment to composing solidified around ages 22 to 23.^[7][4]During his time at the conservatory, Petrassi absorbed key influences from the Italian musical milieu, including indirect guidance from Alfredo Casella, whose progressive outlook shaped his early encounters with neoclassical techniques inspired by composers like Paul Hindemith and Igor Stravinsky.

Il cordovano (1944–48, revised 1958), with libretto by Eugenio Montale after Cervantes's Entremés del viejo celoso, explores jealousy and deception through concise, neoclassical scoring for voices and small orchestra; it premiered in Milan in 1949. Music for Brass and Timpani (1963), subtitled Musica di ottoni, features four trumpets, four horns, three trombones, tuba, and timpani in a 10-minute exploration of metallic sonorities and spatial effects, evoking ritualistic intensity through layered fanfares and percussive punctuations.

Clocking in at about 14 minutes, it premiered in Venice on 28 September 1941.^[1][23][29]The Quattro inni sacri (Four Sacred Hymns; 1942, orchestrated 1950), for tenor, baritone, and orchestra, revives medieval Latin hymns such as Jesu dulcis memoria and Te lucis ante terminum in a Baroque-inspired framework, emphasizing lyrical melodies and colorful orchestration to affirm Petrassi's affinity for sacred music.

These works frequently featured orchestral accompaniment to heighten dramatic expression, reflecting his interest in Renaissancepolyphony and Baroque forms while incorporating contemporary harmonic tensions.^[1]The Magnificat (1939–40), for soprano soloist, mixed chorus, and orchestra, exemplifies Petrassi's early sacred style, evoking the solemn rituality of Roman basilica traditions through luminous polyphonic textures inspired by Baroque models and Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms.

The work was first performed in its orchestral version in 1950.^[30][31]Petrassi's cantata Noche oscura (1950–51), for mixed chorus and orchestra, sets verses from St. John of the Cross's mystical poem, capturing the soul's dark night of faith through dense, atmospheric textures and evolving serial influences.

Connections

Married Rosetta Acerbi in 1962.

Father:

Eliseo Petrassi

Mother:

Erminia Calzoletti

Spouse:

Rosetta Acerbi