Mascagni, Pietro
Mascagni, Pietro
Mascagni, Pietro, famous Italian composer; b. Livorno, Dec. 7, 1863; d. Rome, Aug. 2, 1945. His father was a baker who wished him to continue in that trade, but yielded to his son’s determination to study music. Thanks to aid from an uncle, he was able to take some music lessons with Soffredini in Livorno and then to attend the Milan Cons., where he studied with Ponchielli and Saladino (1882). However, he became impatient with school discipline, and was dismissed from the Cons. in 1884. He then was active as a double bass player in the orch. of the Teatro dal Verme in Milan. After touring as a conductor with operetta troupes, he taught music in Cerignola, Puglia. He composed industriously; in 1888 he sent the MS of his 1-act opera Cavalleria rusticana to the music publisher Sonzogno for a competition, and won 1st prize. The opera was performed at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on May 17, 1890, with sensational success; the dramatic story of village passion, and Mascagni’s emotional score, laden with luscious music, combined to produce an extraordinary appeal to opera lovers. The short opera made the tour of the world stages with amazing rapidity, productions being staged all over Europe and America with neverfailing success; the opera was usually presented in 2 parts, separated by an “intermezzo sinfonico” (which became a popular orch. number performed separately). Cavalleria rusticana marked the advent of the operatic style known as verismo, in which stark realism was the chief aim and the dramatic development was condensed to enhance the impressions. When, 2 years later, another “veristic” opera, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, was taken by Sonzogno, the 2 operas became twin attractions on a single bill. Ironically, Mascagni could never duplicate or even remotely approach the success of his first production, although he continued to compose industriously and opera houses all over the world were only too eager to stage his successive operas. Thus, his opera Le Maschere was produced on Jan. 17, 1901, at 6 of the most important Italian opera houses simultaneously (Rome, Milan, Turin, Genoa, Venice, Verona); it was produced 2 days later in Naples. Mascagni himself conducted the premiere in Rome. But the opera failed to fire the imagination of the public; it was produced in a revised form in Turin 15 years later (June 7, 1916), but was not established in the repertoire even in Italy. In 1902 he made a tour of the U.S. conducting his Cavalleria rusticana and other operas, but, owing to mismanagement, the visit proved a fiasco; a South American tour in 1911 was more successful. He also appeared frequently as a conductor of sym. concerts. In 1890 he was made a Knight of the Crown of Italy; in 1929 he was elected a member of the Academy. At various times he also was engaged in teaching; from 1895 to 1902 he was director of the Rossini Cons. in Pesaro. His last years were darkened by the inglorious role that he had played as an ardent supporter of the Fascist regime, so that he was rejected by many of his old friends. It was only after his death that his errors of moral judgment were forgiven; his centennial was widely celebrated in Italy in 1963. D. Stivender ed. and tr. his autobiography into Eng. (N.Y., 1975).
Works
dramatic: opera:Pinotta (c. 1880; San Remo, March 23, 1932); Guglielmo Ratdiff (c. 1885; Milan, Feb. 16, 1895); Cavalleria rusticana (Rome, May 17, 1890); L’Amico Fritz (Rome, Oct. 31, 1891); I Rantzau (Florence, Nov. 10, 1892); Silvano (Milan, March 25, 1895); Zanetto (Pesaro, March 2, 1896); Iris (Rome, Nov. 22, 1898; rev. version, Milan, Jan. 19, 1899); Le Maschere (simultaneous premiere in Rome, Milan, Turin, Genoa, Venice, and Verona, Jan. 17, 1901); Arnica (Monte Carlo, March 16, 1905); Isabeau (Buenos Aires, June 2, 1911); Parisina (Milan, Dec. 15, 1913); Lodoletta (Rome, April 30, 1917); Scampolo (1921); II piccolo Marat (Rome, May 2, 1921); Nerone (Milan, Jan. 16, 1935); I Bianchi ed i Neri (1940). operetta:Il re a Napoli (n.d); Si (Rome, Dec. 13, 1919). other: 2 syms. (1879, 1881); Poema leopardiano (for the centenary of G. Leopardi, 1898); Hymn in honor of Admiral Dewey (July 1899); Rapsodia satanica for Orch. (music for a film, Rome, July 2, 1917); Davanti Santa Teresa (Rome, Aug. 1923); chamber music; choral works; songs; piano pieces.
Bibliography
G. Monaldi, P. M.: L’Uomo e l’artista (Rome, 1899); G. Bastianelli, P. M.: Con nota delle opere (Naples, 1910); G. Orsini, L’arte di P. M. (Milan, 1912); E. Pompei, P. M.: Nella vita e nell’arte (Rome, 1912); A. Donno, M. nel 900 musicale (Rome, 1935); A. Jeri, M., 15 Opere, 1000 Episodi (Milan, 1940); D. Cellamare, M. e la “Cavalleria” visti da Cerignola (Rome, 1941); M. parla (Rome, 1945); Comitato nazionale delle onoranze a P. M. nel primo centenario della nascità (Livorno, 1963); M. Morini, ed., P. M. (2 vols., Milan, 1964); G. Gavazzeni, Discorso per M. nel centenario della nascità (Rome, 1964); D. Cellamare, P. M. (Rome, 1965); R. Iovino, M: L’avventuroso dell’opera (Milan, 1987); C. and L. Pini, M. a quattro mani (Viareggio, 1992); C. Criscione and L. Andalò, eds., M. ritrovato: 1863–1945: L’uomo, il musicista: Mostra itinierante per il cinquantenario della scomparsa del musicista livornese (Milan, 1995); M. Morini, R. Iovino, and A. Paloscia, eds., P. M:Epistolario (Lucca, 1996 et seq.).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire