Vittorio Rieti

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Vittorio Rieti (born January 28, 1898 in Alexandria , † February 19, 1994 in New York City ) was an Italian-American composer .

life and work

Rieti was born in Egypt to Italian parents. From 1912 to 1917 he studied music with Giuseppe Frugatta in Milan and at the same time at the University of Milan, where he received his doctorate in law in 1917. His music studies, which were interrupted by a brief military service in the Italian army, he completed in 1920 in Rome with Ottorino Respighi . At this time Rieti rejected his youthful works, which touched the atonal, and developed a neoclassical style with a modern but tonal harmony that was typical for him from then on . Alfredo Casella also encouraged his musical development . Casella conducted Rieti's Concerto for Wind Quintet and Orchestra at the Prague Music Festival in 1924 , with which he achieved his first international success.

From 1925 to 1940, when Rieti lived partly in Rome and partly in Paris, he was close to the Groupe des Six . In December 1925, his ballet music "Barabau", written for Serge de Diaghilev's Ballets Russes , was a great success. Thanks to the mediation of Alfred Schlee , "Barabau" had a sensational success a few days later as a German premiere also at the Princely Reussian Theater in Gera in the choreography of Yvonne Georgi . In addition to other ballet music, Rieti also composed particularly successful stage music for the theater of Louis Jouvet in the years 1935–1939 . Rieti was also one of the founders of the Paris group "La Sérénade", which was mainly committed to contemporary chamber music .

In 1940 Rieti emigrated to America, where he was naturalized on June 1, 1944. In addition to his ballet compositions, which were particularly recognized for the choreographies of George Balanchine in the USA, the conductors Arturo Toscanini and Dimitri Mitropoulos in particular performed his orchestral works. In 1954 Rieti won the New York Music Critics' Prize. He also taught in 1948/49 at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, 1950–1953 at the Chicago Musical College, 1955/56 and later at Queens College in New York and at the New York College of Music, where he was professor of composition from 1960 .

Works (selection)

Operas
  • Orfeo (1928)
  • Teresa nel Bosco (1934)
  • Don Perimplin (1949)
  • The Pet Shop (1949)
ballet
  • Barabau (1925)
  • Le bal (1929)
  • La Sonnambula (1946)
Orchestral works
  • Symphony No. 3 (1932)
  • Symphony No. 4 (1944)
Concerts
  • Piano Concerto No. 3 (1958)
  • Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra (1952–1955, 1972)
  • Cello Concerto No. 2 (1953)
  • Triple Concerto for violin, viola, piano and orchestra (1971)
Chamber music
  • Capriccio for violin and piano (1941)
  • Partita for harpsichord, flute, oboe, 2 violins, viola and cello (1945)
  • String Quartet No. 3 (1951)
  • Woodwind Quintet (1957)
  • String Quartet No. 4 (1960)
  • Concertino for 5 Instruments for flute, viola, cello, harp and harpsichord (1963)
  • Pastorale e fughetta for flute, viola and piano (or harpsichord) (1966)
  • Sonata à 5 for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and piano (1966)
  • Incisioni for brass quintet (1967)
  • Silografie for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and basson (1967)
  • Sestetto pro Gemini for flute, oboe, piano, violin, viola and cello (1975)
piano
  • Second Avenue Waltzes for 2 pianos (1942)
  • Suite champêtre for 2 pianos (1948)
  • Medieval Variations (1962)
  • Chorale, variazioni e finale for 2 pianos (1969)
Film music

literature

  • Boris Schwarz: Rieti, Vittorio . In: MGG Vol. 11, Basel, London, New York 1963, Sp. 498f.
  • Rieti, Vittorio . In: Baker's Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Classical Musicians , ed.Laura Kuhn. Schirmer Books, 1997.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ MGG , Vol. 11, 1963, Col. 498
  2. ^ Internet Movie Database
personal data
SURNAME Rieti, Vittorio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian-American composer
DATE OF BIRTH January 28, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH Alexandria
DATE OF DEATH February 19, 1994
Place of death New York City