Giuseppe Martucci (1856 – 1909) was an Italian
composer, conductor, pianist and teacher. As a composer
and teacher he was influential in reviving Italian
interest in non-operatic music. As a conductor he
helped to introduce Wagner's operas to Italy and also
gave important early concerts of English music there.
Martucci was born at Capua, in Campania. He learned the
basics of music from his father, Gaetano, who played
the trumpet. A child prodigy, he played in public on
the piano whe...(+)
Giuseppe Martucci (1856 – 1909) was an Italian
composer, conductor, pianist and teacher. As a composer
and teacher he was influential in reviving Italian
interest in non-operatic music. As a conductor he
helped to introduce Wagner's operas to Italy and also
gave important early concerts of English music there.
Martucci was born at Capua, in Campania. He learned the
basics of music from his father, Gaetano, who played
the trumpet. A child prodigy, he played in public on
the piano when only eight years old. From the age of
11, he was a student at the Naples Conservatory, on the
recommendation of professor Beniamino Cesi, the latter
being a former student of Sigismond Thalberg. From
Paolo Serrao, Martucci acquired his initial training in
composition; his own composition students later on,
when he worked and taught at Bologna, included Ottorino
Respighi. He died in Naples in 1909. His son Paolo,
born in Naples in 1883, also became a pianist of note,
briefly teaching at the Cincinnati Conservatory.
Martucci was championed by Arturo Toscanini during much
of the latter's career. The NBC Symphony Orchestra
performed a number of Martucci's orchestral works in
1938, 1940, 1941, 1946, and 1953; although the
performances were preserved on transcription discs,
none was approved for commercial release by Toscanini.
Some Toscanini biographers (including Mortimer Frank
and Harvey Sachs) have questioned the merit of the
compositions, speculating that Toscanini may have
performed them out of a sense of duty.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Martucci).
Although originally written for Solo Piano, I created
this Interpretation of the Improvviso (Opus 17) for
Classical Guitar.
SHEET MUSIC