Pollini, Francesco (Giuseppe)

views updated

Pollini, Francesco (Giuseppe)

Pollini, Francesco (Giuseppe) , Italian pianist, singer, and composer of Slovenian birth; b. Laibach, March 25, 1762; d. Milan, Sept. 17, 1846. He was a pupil of Mozart (who dedicated a violin rondo to him) at Vienna, and later of Zingarelli at Milan, where he was appointed a prof. of piano shortly after the opening of the Cons. (1809). He was the first to write piano music on 3 staves, a method imitated by Liszt, Thalberg, and others; a specimen of this style is one of his 32 Esercizi in forma di toccata, op.42 (1820), a central melody surrounded by passagework for both hands. He publ. Metodo per clavicembalo (Milan, 1811). Among his compositions is an opera buffa, La cassetta nei boschi (Milan, Feb. 25, 1798), chamber music, songs, many piano pieces, and harpsichord works.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire