Giuseppe Martucci (Italian pronunciation:[dʒuˈzɛppemarˈtuttʃi]; 6 January 1856, inCapua – 1 June 1909, inNaples) was anItaliancomposer,conductor,pianist and teacher. Sometimes called "the ItalianBrahms",[1] Martucci was notable among Italian composers of the era in that he dedicated his entire career toabsolute music, and wrote no operas. As a composer and teacher he was influential in reviving Italian interest in non-operatic music. Nevertheless, as a conductor, he did help to introduceWagner's operas to Italy and also gave important early concerts of English music there.
Martucci was born atCapua, inCampania. 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.[2] From the age of 11, he was a student at theNaples Conservatory, on the recommendation of professorBeniamino Cesi,[3] the latter being a former student ofSigismond Thalberg. FromPaolo Serrao, Martucci acquired his initial training in composition; his own composition students later on, when he worked and taught at Bologna, includedOttorino Respighi.
He died in Naples in 1909. His son Paolo, born in Naples in 1883, also became a pianist of note, briefly teaching at theCincinnati Conservatory.[2][3]
Martucci's career as an international pianist commenced with a tour through Germany, France and England in 1875, at the age of 19.[4] He was appointed piano professor at the Naples Conservatory in 1880,[3] and moved to Bologna in 1886, replacingLuigi Mancinelli at theBologna Conservatory; in 1902 he returned for the last time to Naples, as director of the Royal Conservatory of Music.[2][4]
It was in 1881 that Martucci made his first conducting appearance. One of the earliest Italian musicians to admire Wagner, Martucci introduced some of Wagner's output to Italy. He led, for example, the first Italian performance ofTristan und Isolde[5] in 1888 in Bologna. Nor did his enthusiasm for foreign composers end with Wagner's work. As well as performingCharles Villiers Stanford's 3rd ("Irish") Symphony in Bologna in 1898,[6] he conducted one of the rare concerts of all-British orchestral music on the European continent in the later nineteenth century.[3] What is more, he included music byBrahms,Lalo,Goldmark and others in his programmes.
Martucci began as a composer at the age of 16, with short piano works. He wrote nooperas, which was unusual among Italian composers of his generation, but instead concentrated on instrumental music and songs, producing also anoratorio,Samuel.[7]
Martucci was championed byArturo Toscanini during much of the latter's career. TheNBC Symphony Orchestra performed a number of Martucci's orchestral works in 1938, 1940, 1941, 1946, and 1953; although the performances were preserved ontranscription discs, none was approved for commercial release by Toscanini. All of these performances have been given unofficial release in recent years, on LP as well as CD format. NBC musical director Samuel Chotzinoff, in his 1956 book "Toscanini—An Intimate Portrait", said that every time the Maestro proposed scheduling Martucci's works, certain orchestra members and NBC authorities objected, but the conductor was not to be deterred. 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.[8]
Gian Francesco Malipiero said of Martucci's second symphony (1904) that it was "the beginning of the renaissance of non-operatic Italian music."[9] Martucci was an instrumentalistpur sang, takingabsolute music as his highest goal.
In 1989Francesco d'Avalos tried to start a revival of Martucci's music by recording four CDs with major works including the two piano concertos, two symphonies, andLa canzone dei ricordi. These discs were distributed byASV Records and later by Brilliant Classics.
In 2009, to mark the centenary of Martucci's death,Naxos Records released a series of CDs devoted to his orchestral music, featuring the Symphony Orchestra of Rome conducted byFrancesco La Vecchia.[10][11] In 2011Riccardo Muti and theChicago Symphony Orchestra featured Martucci'sNocturne, Op. 70, No. 1 during theorchestra's tour ofEurope.[12] Muti and the Chicago Symphony played the same piece as an encore, with prefatory remarks by Muti, at the conclusion of theirCarnegie Hall concert on January 21, 2025.[13]
Piano concertos Opp. 40 and 66 are available from a CD by Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpelier, with conductor Massimo De Benart and pianist Jeffrey Swann: Agora Musica B000LH5VIS.
