Italian Music

Nella vita musicale del primo Novecento italiano, animata da una straordinaria vitalità di progetti culturali e scenari artistici, Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968) ha svolto un ruolo da protagonista. La spiccata vocazione umanistica del compositore, la sua attitudine a sperimentare nuove forme di teatro musicale e a reinventare le memorie del passato in una dimensione estetica da proiettare nel futuro, hanno lasciato un segno profondo nella sua epoca e possono ancora trovare ampia risonanza nell’orizzonte della contemporaneità. Nel ricostruire un quadro organico dell’esperienza compositiva di Pizzetti, delle sue collaborazioni artistiche e delle sue opere, il volume propone una riflessione di ampio respiro sul modernismo musicale italiano. Un fenomeno tutt’altro che monolitico, in cui le istanze programmatiche delle avanguardie convivono con le aspirazioni di artisti che, come Pizzetti, intraprendono percorsi compositivi più articolati e complessi, sensibili alla dialettica tra una tradizione storicamente definita e l’inquieta alchimia delle forme che contraddistingue il disagio della modernità.

Durante la Edad Moderna, en particular durante el siglo XVIII, se desarrolló en todo el mundo occidental un intenso proceso de italianización musical, como consecuencia de la diáspora de música y músicos italianos por todo el orbe conocido. Muchos de ellos procedían del Reino de Nápoles, una fructífera escuela de música moderna y composición operística donde la presencia española era también destacada; no en vano, dicho Reino –que ocupaba la mitad sur de Italia– fue virreinato español hasta 1707, si bien las relaciones diplomáticas, culturales y musicales entre Nápoles y España se mantuvieron durante toda esa centuria. La continua movilidad de los músicos napolitanos (e italianos en general) y su llegada a los confines del mundo (incluyendo América Latina y Filipinas, vía la Península Ibérica) llevó apareja una globalización del estilo compositivo e interpretativo conocido como “galante”, y considerado un sinónimo de modernidad, expresividad y sofisticación. Bajo el lema de “Italia global”, el FeMAUB 2019 se dedicará a esta cuestión y programará una serie de conciertos representativos de las relaciones transnacionales de Italia con la Península Ibérica y el Nuevo Mundo, así como un congreso dedicado a Ignacio Jerusalem y Stella (1707-1769), compositor napolitano de quien se conmemora el 250 aniversario de su muerte; activo en España y México, Jerusalem representa paradigmáticamente la adaptación y actualización del estilo galante napolitano en el área hispana. // During the Modern period, in particular in the eighteenth century, an intensive process of musical Italianization took place throughout the Western world. This was a result of the worldwide diaspora of Italian music and musicians. Many of them came from the Kingdom of Naples, a fruitful school of modern music and operatic composition where the Spanish presence was also very strong; in fact, this Kingdom –which occupied the southern half of Italy– was a Spanish viceroyalty until 1707, and the diplomatic, cultural and musical connections between Naples and Spain remained throughout the whole century. Both the continuous circulation of Neapolitan (and, in general, Italian) musicians and their arrival to all the corners of the world (including Latin America and the Philippines, via the Iberian Peninsula) resulted in a globalization of the compositional and performative style known as “Galant” and considered to be synonymous with modernity, expressivity and sophistication. Under the title “Global Italy”, the FeMAUB 2019 addresses this issue and includes a series of concerts which are representative of the transnational connection of Italy to the Iberian Peninsula and the New World, as well as a conference devoted to Ignacio Jerusalem y Stella (1707-1769), a Neapolitan composer who is commemorated on the 250th anniversary of his death. Jerusalem, who worked in Spain and Mexico, is a paradigm of the adaption and updating of the Neapolitan Galant style in Hispanic lands.

In the Kingdom of Italy one could notice a tangible interest in folk musical heritage, which began to be collected and sometimes even included into “cultivated” music in order to celebrate Italy’s national identity. In most cases, though, in their compositions musicians actually used regional popular tunes which represented the colour of a specific region, but could not easily represent the whole nation. This article presents the case of two composers who made use of Sicily’s and Trentino’s musical heritage in their own compositions: Gino Marinuzzi and Riccardo Zandonai.