Guido Turchi
Encyclopedia
Guido Turchi was an Italian
composer
and writer on music.
Guido Turchi was born in Rome, where he later studied at the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia with Cesare Dobici, A. Ferdinandi, and Alessandro Bustini, and was awarded diplomas in piano and composition in 1940. In 1945 he achieved the highest possible marks in the advanced diploma course given by Ildebrando Pizzetti
(Montecchi 2001).
Like many Italian composers of his own and the preceding generation, he was not interested in continuing the tradition of his immediate predecessors of the 19th century, but rather turned to other, earlier sources: Gregorian plainchant, Renaissance madrigals, instrumental composers of the eighteenth century, and to non-Italian music of contemporary Europe (d'Amico 1951, 26). In his early works, Turchi employed a musical language sometimes close to the 12-tone system, though he did not embrace it entirely. The neo-madrigalism fashionable at the time also marks his work, with particular influences from Goffredo Petrassi
. Bartók's
stamp is also prominent on works such as the Concerto breve (1947) for string quartet. The Piccolo concerto notturno (1950), combining a post-tonal style indebted to Hindemith with bold neo-Impressionist colours, is one of his most successful pieces (Montecchi 2001).
Turchi's only opera is the three-act Il buon soldato Svejk, to a libretto by Gerardo Guerrieri based on Jaroslav Hašek
’s Osudy dobrého vojáka Svejka za svetové války
(The Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk During the World War), first performed at La Scala
in 1962 after a gestation period of almost ten years. It begins in a style reminiscent of Alban Berg
’s Wozzeck
, and progresses to a lighter, more detached mood (Montecchi 2001).
Turchi died in Venice in September 2010.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
composer
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
and writer on music.
Guido Turchi was born in Rome, where he later studied at the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia with Cesare Dobici, A. Ferdinandi, and Alessandro Bustini, and was awarded diplomas in piano and composition in 1940. In 1945 he achieved the highest possible marks in the advanced diploma course given by Ildebrando Pizzetti
Ildebrando Pizzetti
Ildebrando Pizzetti was an Italian composer of classical music.- Biography :Pizzetti was born in Parma in 1880. He was part of the "Generation of 1880" along with Ottorino Respighi and Gian Francesco Malipiero. They were among the first Italian composers in some time whose primary contributions...
(Montecchi 2001).
Like many Italian composers of his own and the preceding generation, he was not interested in continuing the tradition of his immediate predecessors of the 19th century, but rather turned to other, earlier sources: Gregorian plainchant, Renaissance madrigals, instrumental composers of the eighteenth century, and to non-Italian music of contemporary Europe (d'Amico 1951, 26). In his early works, Turchi employed a musical language sometimes close to the 12-tone system, though he did not embrace it entirely. The neo-madrigalism fashionable at the time also marks his work, with particular influences from Goffredo Petrassi
Goffredo Petrassi
Goffredo Petrassi was an Italian composer of modern classical music, conductor, and teacher. He is considered one of the most influential Italian composers of the twentieth century.-Life:...
. Bartók's
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
stamp is also prominent on works such as the Concerto breve (1947) for string quartet. The Piccolo concerto notturno (1950), combining a post-tonal style indebted to Hindemith with bold neo-Impressionist colours, is one of his most successful pieces (Montecchi 2001).
Turchi's only opera is the three-act Il buon soldato Svejk, to a libretto by Gerardo Guerrieri based on Jaroslav Hašek
Jaroslav Hašek
Jaroslav Hašek was a Czech humorist, satirist, writer and socialist anarchist best known for his novel The Good Soldier Švejk, an unfinished collection of farcical incidents about a soldier in World War I and a satire on the ineptitude of authority figures, which has been translated into sixty...
’s Osudy dobrého vojáka Svejka za svetové války
The Good Soldier Švejk
The Good Soldier Švejk , also spelled Schweik or Schwejk, is the abbreviated title of a unfinished satirical/dark comedy novel by Jaroslav Hašek. It was illustrated by Josef Lada and George Grosz after Hašek's death...
(The Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk During the World War), first performed at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
in 1962 after a gestation period of almost ten years. It begins in a style reminiscent of Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
’s Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
, and progresses to a lighter, more detached mood (Montecchi 2001).
Turchi died in Venice in September 2010.