Ennio Bolognini
Encyclopedia
Ennio Bolognini was born in Buenos Aires
and was a cellist, composer
and conductor.
, who became Ennio's godfather
.
Bolognini studied first with his father, and later with Jose Garcia
, Casals's teacher, who was now living in Buenos Aires. When Ennio was still only fifteen he won first prize in a Spanish/American cello contest, and was awarded a fine cello made by Luigi Rovatti. While still a teen-ager Ennio had the privilege of performing "The Swan" with Saint-Saëns himself at the piano; and the Richard Strauss
cello sonata, also with the composer.
in preparation for his prize-fight with Jack Dempsey
. Bolognini was not only an amazingly fine cellist, but also a champion boxer
, and a licensed airplane pilot
. He flew his own private plane, and was once a professional stunt flyer. He was co-founder of the American Civil Air Patrol, and trained cadets to fly B-29 bombers in World War II. He was a modern day Renaissance
man, an athlete, gourmet
, gambler, speaking Hebrew, Greek
, Japanese
, Hungarian
, Russian
and 15 different Italian
dialects.
Bolognini was well known for his fiery temper and impulsive behavior. When he was principal cellist of the Chicago Symphony (he always took his dog to rehearsals), he served as interpreter for Glazunov
, who was appearing as a guest conductor. Glazounov, overcome by stage fright, came to Ennio instead of mounting the podium, and spoke with him anxiously for a few minutes, as the audience waited. Later, Bolognini was accused of trying to hog the stage, and he became angry and resigned from the Symphony.
He lived in Las Vegas
from 1951 to his death in 1979, where he founded the Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra
. He was a wonderful guitarist
, and could also play flamenco
music on the cello
, as if it were a guitar. Casals praised Bolognini as the greatest cello talent he had ever heard in his life. Feuermann
said that Bolognini was a better cellist than Casals, Piatigorsky
or himself.
The source of this last statement is disputed by some. Nothing in the biographies of Piatigorsky, Feuermann or Casals alludes to Bolognini, or his greatness. He has left no recordings of major or recognized cello works, such as the Bach solo cello sonatas, or other major cello concertos; and his recordings are limited to short musical vignettes or his own short compositions.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy (Barber) Bolognini, who remains in the family home in Las Vegas. She currently works with the Las Vegas Music Teachers Association who offer a scholarship competition in Bolognini's honor. http://lvmta.org/state.asp?page=bolognini
He is also survived by his daughter, Francesca Bolognini, who resides in Cambria, California. She is a percussionist, drum circle facilitator, artist and holistic healer.
is now at the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington, D.C.
It is unique, in that there are 51 signatures inscribed on it, including those of Kreisler
, Heifetz
, Stern
, Szigeti
, Liberace
, Jack Dempsey
, Bruno Walter
, Janos Starker
, Eugene Ormandy
, Miklós Rózsa
, etc. Everywhere he went, he asked his friends to sign his cello.
Voice recording of Bolognini using the cello for sound effects to entertain two young boys.
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and was a cellist, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and conductor.
Early life and musical training
Born into a musical family, his father was an amateur cellist and a close friend of the conductor Arturo ToscaniniArturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
, who became Ennio's godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
.
Bolognini studied first with his father, and later with Jose Garcia
Jose Garcia
Jose Garcia or José García may refer to:* José Garcia , French actor* José García , Dominican baseball player* José García , Venenzuelan boxer...
, Casals's teacher, who was now living in Buenos Aires. When Ennio was still only fifteen he won first prize in a Spanish/American cello contest, and was awarded a fine cello made by Luigi Rovatti. While still a teen-ager Ennio had the privilege of performing "The Swan" with Saint-Saëns himself at the piano; and the Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
cello sonata, also with the composer.
Career and Life
In 1923 Bolognini emigrated to the United States. Interestingly the reason he moved to the United States was to be the sparring partner for Luis FirpoLuis Firpo
Luis Ángel Firpo, , was an Argentine boxer. Born in Junín, Argentina, he was nicknamed "The Wild Bull of The Pampas."...
in preparation for his prize-fight with Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
. Bolognini was not only an amazingly fine cellist, but also a champion boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, and a licensed airplane pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
. He flew his own private plane, and was once a professional stunt flyer. He was co-founder of the American Civil Air Patrol, and trained cadets to fly B-29 bombers in World War II. He was a modern day Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
man, an athlete, gourmet
Gourmet
Gourmet is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterised by elaborate preparations and presentations of large meals of small, often quite rich courses...
, gambler, speaking Hebrew, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and 15 different Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
dialects.
Bolognini was well known for his fiery temper and impulsive behavior. When he was principal cellist of the Chicago Symphony (he always took his dog to rehearsals), he served as interpreter for Glazunov
Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was a Russian composer of the late Russian Romantic period, music teacher and conductor...
, who was appearing as a guest conductor. Glazounov, overcome by stage fright, came to Ennio instead of mounting the podium, and spoke with him anxiously for a few minutes, as the audience waited. Later, Bolognini was accused of trying to hog the stage, and he became angry and resigned from the Symphony.
He lived in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
from 1951 to his death in 1979, where he founded the Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra
Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra
The Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra is a symphony orchestra serving the Las Vegas metropolitan area. It was founded on July 4, 1998 by Harold Weller and Susan and Andrew Tompkins. The current music director and conductor is David Itkin. The orchestra's current venue is Artemus W. Ham Hall on the...
. He was a wonderful guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, and could also play flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
music on the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, as if it were a guitar. Casals praised Bolognini as the greatest cello talent he had ever heard in his life. Feuermann
Emanuel Feuermann
Emanuel Feuermann was an internationally celebrated cellist in the first half of the 20th century.-Biography:...
said that Bolognini was a better cellist than Casals, Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky
Gregor Piatigorsky was a Russian-born American cellist.-Early life:...
or himself.
The source of this last statement is disputed by some. Nothing in the biographies of Piatigorsky, Feuermann or Casals alludes to Bolognini, or his greatness. He has left no recordings of major or recognized cello works, such as the Bach solo cello sonatas, or other major cello concertos; and his recordings are limited to short musical vignettes or his own short compositions.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy (Barber) Bolognini, who remains in the family home in Las Vegas. She currently works with the Las Vegas Music Teachers Association who offer a scholarship competition in Bolognini's honor. http://lvmta.org/state.asp?page=bolognini
He is also survived by his daughter, Francesca Bolognini, who resides in Cambria, California. She is a percussionist, drum circle facilitator, artist and holistic healer.
Compositions
- Adagio and Allegro for solo cello
- Fiesta Baska - Lamada Montanesa for solo cello
- Seranata de Bolonini for solo cello
- Seranata del Eco for solo cello
- Serenata Del Gaucho for solo cello
- Prelude and Fugue on a theme of Purcell
- Cello's Prayer
His Cello
Bolognini's celloCello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
is now at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
It is unique, in that there are 51 signatures inscribed on it, including those of Kreisler
Fritz Kreisler
Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler was an Austrian-born violinist and composer. One of the most famous violin masters of his or any other day, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound which was immediately...
, Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
, Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
, Szigeti
Joseph Szigeti
Joseph Szigeti was a Hungarian violinist.Born into a musical family, he spent his early childhood in a small town in Transylvania. He quickly proved himself to be a child prodigy on the violin, and moved to Budapest with his father to study with the renowned pedagogue Jenő Hubay...
, Liberace
Liberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
, Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
, Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
, Janos Starker
János Starker
János Starker |Kingdom of Hungary]]) is a Hungarian-American cellist. Since 1958 he has taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he holds the title of Distinguished Professor.- Child prodigy :...
, Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
, Miklós Rózsa
Miklós Rózsa
Miklós Rózsa was a Hungarian-born composer trained in Germany , and active in France , England , and the United States , with extensive sojourns in Italy from 1953...
, etc. Everywhere he went, he asked his friends to sign his cello.
External links
Voice recording of Bolognini using the cello for sound effects to entertain two young boys.