Vittorio Giannini (October 19, 1903 – November 28, 1966) was an Americanneoromantic composer of operas, songs, symphonies, and band works, and member of the Giannini family.
Giannini, who was ofItalian heritage, was born inPhiladelphia on October 19, 1903. His father, Ferruccio, was born inPonte d'Arbia,Tuscany, and his mother, Antonietta (née Briglia), was born inMarsicovetere,Basilicata; both immigrated to the U.S. in the 1880s. He began as aviolinist under the tutelage of his mother; he would go on to study violin and composition at theMilan Conservatory on scholarship, and then to take his graduate degree at theJuilliard School. He returned to Juilliard to teach, moving on to theManhattan School of Music, theJuilliard School of Music, and theCurtis Institute of Music. His students includedHerbie Hancock,Nicolas Flagello,David Amram,Mark Bucci,Alfred Reed,Anthony Iannaccone, M. William Karlins,Irwin Swack,John Corigliano,Adolphus Hailstork,Rolande Maxwell Young,Thomas Pasatieri,Avraham Sternklar,Mary Lynn Twombly,Michele Levin, andNancy Bloomer Deussen. Giannini was the founder and first president of theNorth Carolina School of the Arts in 1965, which he envisioned as a type of Juilliard of the South, bringing artists such as cellistIrving Klein and violinistRuggiero Ricci to teach there. He remained there until his death in 1966.[1]
Giannini's father, Ferruccio Giannini, was anopera singer and founder of the Verdi Opera House in Philadelphia. Vittorio's two sisters were celebrated singers as well. Euphemia Giannini Gregory taught Voice at the Curtis Institute for 40 years counting among her students the opera divasAnna Moffo andJudith Blegen.[2]Dusolina Giannini was adramatic soprano andprima donna who performed throughout Europe, until moving to the United States to sing with theMetropolitan Opera, and finally to spend her remaining years teaching. Dusolina was a pivotal figure in the success of some of her brother's operas. Her career was already well underway when she took the lead in the 1934 premiere (Munich) of his first opera,Lucedia, as well as the lead (Hester Prynne) in his 1937 opera based onNathaniel Hawthorne'sThe Scarlet Letter (Hamburg, 1938).[3] Both operas enjoyed successful premieres, but have never been produced again. His most successful opera proved to be a 1950 adaptation ofThe Taming of the Shrew.[citation needed]
Giannini's partnership with poetKarl Flaster was a fruitful one. In addition to his work onThe Scarlet Letter, Flaster was thelibrettist for several of Giannini's operas, includingLucedia andThe Harvest. Flaster also provided the lyrics for dozens of Giannini's art songs, including several that have become staples of the song recital repertoire, most notably "Tell Me, Oh Blue Blue Sky,"[4] recorded byMario Lanza,Leonard Warren, and others.[citation needed]
His operas and songs brought Giannini his initial success during the 1930s and early 1940s. (Beauty and the Beast was commissioned by CBS in 1938--the first opera composed specifically for radio.) He then began to focus on instrumental works, many of a diverting nature. Some of these works show a fondness for infusing Baroque forms with a romantic warmth. During his last few years he revealed a more serious side to his creative personality, broadening his tonal language with greater harmonic dissonance and melodic chromaticism, in the service of greater expressive depth, all within a romantic aesthetic framework. Among those considered his greatest works are the vocal monodramaThe Medead,Psalm 130 for double-bass or cello and orchestra, and his Symphony No. 5. In addition to his seven symphonies (of which only the last five were numbered), he composed 15 operas and several concerti, as well as music for chorus, solo piano, and chamber ensembles. During the last eight years of his life he composed five works for wind band and, ironically, they are his most widely performed compositions today. One, his Symphony No. 3 (1958), has become a staple of the band repertoire. Despite the wide range of his output, little of his other music is in the active repertoire. However, today a representative sample of all aspects of his work is available on recording.[citation needed]
Giannini died inNew York City on November 28, 1966, at the age of 63.[5]
