Giuliani, Mauro (Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo)

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Giuliani, Mauro (Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo)

Giuliani, Mauro (Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo), famous Italian guitarist and composer; b. Bisceglie, near Bari, July 27, 1781; d. Naples, May 8, 1829. He was entirely self-taught, and at the age of 19 he under-took a highly successful tour in Europe. In 1806 he settled in Vienna, where he became associated with Hummel, Moscheles, and Diabelli; Beethoven became interested in him, and wrote some guitar music expressly for his performances. In 1823 he visited London, where he won extraordinary acclaim; a special publication, named after him The Giulianiad and devoted to reports about his activities, was initiated there, but only a few issues appeared. He publ. over 200 works for guitar. He also perfected a new guitar with a shorter fingerboard (“la ghitarra di terza”).

Bibliography

T. Heck, The Birth of the Classic Guitar and Its Cultivation in Vienna, Reflected in the Career and Compositions ofM. G. (d. 1829) (diss., Yale Univ., 1970); T. Heck, M. G.: Virtuoso Guitarist and Composer (Columbus, Ohio, 1995).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire