KNOW YOUR COMPOSERS

SONATA K208 graduated with a research on the life of Hans SONATA PER CHITARRA DOMENICO SCARLATTI Eisler, German composer and committed World Premiére (1685 – 1757) socialist, considered a national figure, who (Dedicated to Sante Tursi) wrote political choruses, protest songs and I. Vivace, molto regolare Domenico was born into an Italian family of film scores in a combative style. With regard II. Adagio composers and musicians in Naples, where to composition, Lombardi was under the III. Presto his father Alessandro was in charge of his supervision of A. Renzi, R. Lupi and B. VITO PALUMBO career as an organist and composer; in fact Porena. He settled in from 1968 (b.1972) he appointed his son as organist to the royal until 1972 where he attended classes given chapel in Naples (1701), where he was by B.A. Zimmermann and V. Globokar and Palumbo graduated in pianoforte and “maestro di capella”. One year later father also attended the Kölner Kurse für Neue composition under the supervision of Paolo and son went to Florence to try their luck; Musik (1968-1970) with Stockhausen, Pous- Rotili and studied electronic music with here he met Bartolomeo Cristofori a famous seur, Kagel, Schnebel and Rzewski. He was Agostino Di Scipio. He gained his Diploma keyboard instrument maker. Domenico did taught electronic music by H. Eimert summa cum laude at the Conservatoire N. not go with his father to and returned (Cologne) and by G. M. Koening (Utrecht) Puccini in Bari (). He furthered his knowledge of composition by attending instead to Naples trying his hand at opera. and later read a Meisterschüler under the master classes with Signor Azio Corghi at He later went to Venice where he stayed for supervision of P. Dessau in . the Chigiana Academy in Siena (Italy), four years. Against his father’s wishes he He is a proficient lecturer giving talks in obtaining Diplomas of merit. By 2003 he took a post with the exiled Polish Queen composition all over Europe, USA, Canada, perfected his knowledge of composition by Maria Casimira in Rome, writing for her Latin America and Japan. He is also a prolific composer with more than eighty attending the Academy of Santa Cecilia in seven successful operas. He also entered the Rome, guided by Azio Corghi, where he won service of the Marquis de Fontes and at St. works being published by Schirmer, Moeck, Suvini Zerboni and Ricordi. Notable are his the Luciano Beri’s grant for being the best Peter’s became an assistant maestro of the student of the year. Moreover, he was Cappella Giulia, being promoted to maestro operas, Faust, Un Travestimento (1991) with text by E. Sanguinetti and Dmitri oder Der winner of the 22nd Competition of Compo- in December 1714. He provided music for sition. Castello di Belveglio in the electro- secular cantatas as well as church music, Künstler und die Macht, the wording by H.K. Jungheinrich (2000). He has been commis- acoustic category, with his piece Pulsar, both with remarkable efficiency. He manag- written for percussion and electronic ed to escape his domineering father after a sioned to write music by IRCAM (Paris), WDR (Cologne), RIKSKONSERTER instruments (2000). He also won the legal battle in 1717 and was free to take his (Stockholm), RSO (Berlin), Radio DDR Valentino Bucchi’s prize in composition for own decisions concerning his career. (Berlin), and private requests. His academic his La Machine des Sons, for soprano and Two years later he resigned his positions in ensemble (2001) and the Franco Evangelisti career included a Fellowship at the Institute Rome and went to Palermo becoming mestre prize with Quintetto written for flute, for Advanced Studies (Berlin) followed by of the Portuguese court in Lisbon. He gave clarinet, violin, cello and piano plus the another one at the Hans Institute for keyboard lessons to Maria Bárbara, daugh- Manuel Valcárcel for his Ab-sense for piano, Advanced studies in Delmenhorst (Ger- ter of Jorge V, and when she married the ademas the FMMC Washington Interna- many). He has written numerous essays and Spanish crown prince they went to live in tional Composers prize for Deviazioni a number of books among them Conversa- classica nel “meriggiare pallido…” for string Seville, Scarlatti followed them. In 1733 zioni con Petrassi (Milan, 1980), and is the quartet and was semi-finalist at the Domenico travelled to Madrid where he co-author of a treatise on orchestration Prokofiev International Competition with spent the rest of his life. It was in this phase entitled Instrumentation in der Musik des 20, of his life that he wrote his remarkable series Concerto per pianoforte e orchestra. Jahrhunderts, Celle (Germany, 1985). With As a composer he is highly regarded as a of around one hundred sonatas for regard to Thamar y Amnón, the UK pre- keyboard, all of them in the same binary natural and brilliant writer and institutions miére for tonight’s concert, in Lombardi’s such as, Nuova Consonanza, Goethe Institut, form, some in pairs, where he let his own words he explained… “I met Reinbert imagination run free, stimulated by the new Beijing Central Conservatoire, Academia Evans, German guitarist at a Festival in Musicale Chigiana (Siena), Santander sounds and Spanish surroundings, and 1981, who asked me to write a piece for him. encouraged by his royal pupil and patron. Foundation (Spain), and the Berliner Phil- I accepted but was unable to fulfill my harmoniker have commissioned works. His Sonata K208 explored the new worlds of a promise. However, at the end of February virtuoso technique, putting in the new music is broadcasted by RAI and Arté and is 1982 I was visiting Berlin and heard an opera published by Suvini Zerbini, Curci and RAI musical trends, such devices as hand about Fedérico García Lorca called Die Trade Editions. He teaches composition at crossing, rapidly repeated notes, wide leaps wundersame Schusterfrau by Udo Zimmer- the Cosenza Conservatoire in Italy. Recently in both hands, with brilliant effects. In 1738 mann at the Staatsoper. The melody con- he was presented with the prestigious he was honoured with a knighthood from sisted only of three pitches with a vaguely Goffredo Petrassi prize by President Burlus- King John V of Portugal and he returned the Hispanic flavour which impressed me very coni for his distinguished career. honour by dedicating to the King a volume much. The following evening I went through “…The Sonata per Chitarra was inspired of “Essercizi per gravicembalo”, the only the pages of a poetry book by García Lorca by and dedicated to Sante Tursi. It is a work work published under his supervision. at one of my friend’s house, and found out a divided into three movements with the poem I liked very much; it was about the traditional fast ones at the beginning and at THAMAR Y AMNÓN relations between Thamar and Amnón, the end of the piece as well as one slow UK Premiére Jewish gypsies and their siblings camped out movement in the middle. The first one LUCA LOMBARDI in Andalucía. I returned home a few days Vivace molto regolare was written with (b.1945) later and put on hold a piece for two pianos melodic rhythmic patterns generating a and orchestra I was working on, and begun continuity in the piece; it is a kind of work Lombardi is one of the most talented writing on Thamar y Amnón. The Hispanic where this pattern moved into different composers of the new generation in Italy. He melody represents my humble homage to tonalities with a jazz flavour. Also the first is 61 years old and has made incursion into the guitar as an instrument as well as the bar has a very strong rhythmic peculiarity every field related to Italian New Music music and poetry it represents…” Construc- where through a constant sixteenth flow, one ranging from the classical to the electronic. tion of Freedom and other Writings, by L. could hear the typical accents that define its He studied piano and composition at the Lombardi, edited by Jürgen Thyn, Verlag pop characteristic. However, Adagio is a Universities of Vienna and Rome and Valentin Koerner, Baden-Baden, 2006. melancholic cantabile which is suitable for