Bignami, Carlo

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Bignami, Carlo

Bignami, Carlo, Italian violinist and composer; b. Cremona, Dec. 6, 1808; d. Vogherà, Oct. 2, 1848. He studied violin with his father and elder brother. He played in theater orchs. in Cremona and Milan, and in 1829 was appointed director of the Teatro Sociale in Mantua; then was in Milan and Verona. Returning to Cremona in 1837 as director and first violinist of the orch., he made it one of the best in Lombardy. Paganini called him “primo violinista d’Italia,” but he may have meant this phrase to express his low opinion of other Italian violinists in comparison. Bignami wrote a number of violin pieces, including a Concerto, a Capriccio, Studi per violino, Grande Adagio, Polacca, fantasias, variations, etc.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire