Presentation of Silvio Omizzolo



Italiano


  • Silvio Omizzolo, born in Padua from a family whose roots were in the Asiago plateau, in the pre-Alps near Vicenza, was an excellent pianist and piano teacher, director of the Istituto Musicale C.Pollini, Padova, but also one of the main composers in the region of Venice during the XX century. A student of the composer Almerigo Girotto, from Vicenza, Omizzolo tempered his love for the romantic tradition in a constructivist language, largely based on counterpoint, which may be compared to those of P.Hindemith and B.Bartok; he also experimented with dodecaphonic techniques. His major works for the piano are Dieci Studi sul Trillo (1936-39), which have been recently arranged by the famous jazz player Enrico Intra and the jazz septet of Marco Gotti (Lectio brevis sul trillo per pianoforte di Silvio Omizzolo, 2005); another important work is the Concerto per pianoforte ed orchestra (1959-60), which received the 3rd prize from the Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition , Bruxelles 1969.


  • There is particular interest for the first world performance of the Elegia per gli impiccati di Bassano by the Orchestra Filarmonia Veneta from Treviso and by the Coro Citta` di Padova, on the evening of September 26, together with Beethoven's Symphony n.3 Eroica in the Theater J.da Ponte, Bassano.
    Dring the civil war (1943-45) the Monte Grappa was a theater of the resistence to the nazi occupation on Italy. On September 26, 1944, 31 prisoners of the resistence were hanged at the trees of Bassano. Bassano has been awarded a gold medal for its contribution to the resistence and the memory of September 26, 1944, is still celebrated with strong emotions, also due to the contribution of the Associazione 26 Settembre. In 1963 the author Neri Pozza from Vicenza wrote an Elegy for the martyrs of Bassano,

    Mare nero intorno al Grappa, mare-fuoco,
    nero carcere le strade.
    Nere jene scatenate,
    grida lunghe, lacerate.
    Nero il bosco, il sasso nero
    cielo azzurro - cielo nero,
    bianchi i vivi ammanettati,
    bianchi i morti abbandonati
    [...]

    Its hypnotically repeated octonaries, in alternance with freer verses, inspired Silvio Omizzolo in the composizione of the Elegy for contralto, bariton, voice, choir and orchestra. Until now this piece has been performed only in a version for soloists, choir and piano; now, thanks to the Peruzzi-Omizzolo family and to the Associazione 26 Settembre, it will be possible to hear it in the rich orchestration required by the composer. The celebration of the difficult personal choice of the resistence fighters will be a stern counterpoint to Beethoven's celebration of the idealized hero of Napoleonic age and to Beethoven's disillusion with those imperial ambitions.


  • The town of Nove is famous for its rich tradition of ceramics, well-documented in the local museum, where one can see interesting pieces by XX century masters. The other events of the Festival Omizzolo will take place in the Auditorium of the Istituto d'Arte in Nove. A significant part of the sophisticated chamber music production by Silvio Omizzolo will be performed, namely the Sonata per violino e pianoforte (1966-7), the Notturno e danza per flauto e pianoforte (1965) and the Divertimento in tre tempi per clarinetto e pianoforte (1974). Tere will be also a performance of the Lamento della sposa padovana (1941), texts by an anonymous author of the 13th century, for soprano and chamber ensemble. This piece, giving voice to the sorrow of a woman whose husband has departed to fight a crusade, expresses Omizzolo's sad meditation on 2nd World War. The simple and elegant musical style revisits the style of Italian renaissance madrigals, following Gian Francesco Malipiero and Luigi Dallapiccola.


  • Other events will present the works of Omizzolo in the frame of 20th century music. There will be a performance of Kindertotenlieder by G.Mahler, a crucial author in the transition from between 19th and 20th century music, and a witness of the rich Jewish musical tradition in the enlightened city of Vienna, soon to become a main target of nazism and of antisemitism. There will be a ``Nono-Omizzolo'' concert of chamber music by Omizzolo together with some important pieces by Luigi Nono. Pianists Nicola Giosmin and Daniele Barbato will perform the Momenti Musicali (1989), last and most mature composition by Omizzolo; soprano Milli Fullin will sing La Fabbrica Illuminata for soprano and electronic tape. This piece by Nono is of extraordinary dramatic impact: the electronic tape records the noise of a steel mill, the voices of workers speak of the struggle to improve the safety of working conditions and the verses by casare Pavese express the hope of liberation. Luigi Nono's music plunges the listener in the deafening noise of a steel mill and in the emptional turmoil of working class struggle, vividly calling the attention of the public to the important themes of the safety of working conditions in factories and on the pollution of the environment.

    For further information on the music by Luigi Nono, please consult Archivio Nono.



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