Musica Toscana
Encyclopedia
Musica Toscana, Inc., is a nonprofit cultural, educational, and musicological organization located in Louisville, Kentucky
, that promotes the musical heritage of the Tuscan
region of Italy
. It was founded in 1999 under the leadership of the musicologist Robert L. Weaver, a retired faculty member of the University of Louisville
. Since 2007, Musica Toscana has been headed by Margaret M. Guarnieri. It maintains a reciprocal membership with the period instrument ensemble Auser Musici
of Pisa
, Italy.
One of the principal reasons for the creation of Musica Toscana was the acquisition in 1984 of the private music library of the Italian Ricasoli family by the Dwight Anderson Music Library of the University of Louisville. At the time, the Ricasoli collection was one of the largest private collections of eighteenth-century music remaining in the world. The collection originated with Baron Pietro Leopoldo Ricasoli in Florence
and was once in the possession of Baron Bettino Ricasoli
, a founding father of the modern Italian state and one of its first prime ministers.
The principal goal of Musica Toscana is to promote music written in Tuscany, performed in Tuscany, or written by Tuscan composers active outside of Tuscany that originates from the period 1590-1850, an era of political, culture, and economic decline in the region, but one of continued musical importance that saw the birth of opera
in the 1590s and the invention of the piano
a century later.
Musica Toscana oversees the publication of a series of scholarly and performing editions, the Monuments of Tuscan Music, and sponsors concerts and lectures devoted to its repertory of interest, often in collaboration with Bourbon Baroque
.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, that promotes the musical heritage of the Tuscan
Tuscan
-Linguistic phenomena:* Tuscan dialect, the ancestor of the modern Italian language* Tuscan gorgia, a sound-Creative works:* Under the Tuscan Sun * Under the Tuscan Sun -Sports cars:...
region of Italy
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...
. It was founded in 1999 under the leadership of the musicologist Robert L. Weaver, a retired faculty member of the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
. Since 2007, Musica Toscana has been headed by Margaret M. Guarnieri. It maintains a reciprocal membership with the period instrument ensemble Auser Musici
Auser Musici
Auser Musici is a period instrument ensemble centered in Pisa that specializes in early music repertory from the Tuscan region of Italy.-History, Mission, and Activities:...
of Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, Italy.
One of the principal reasons for the creation of Musica Toscana was the acquisition in 1984 of the private music library of the Italian Ricasoli family by the Dwight Anderson Music Library of the University of Louisville. At the time, the Ricasoli collection was one of the largest private collections of eighteenth-century music remaining in the world. The collection originated with Baron Pietro Leopoldo Ricasoli in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and was once in the possession of Baron Bettino Ricasoli
Bettino Ricasoli
Bettino Ricàsoli, 1.º Barone Ricàsoli, 1.º Conte di Brolio was an Italian statesman.-Biography:...
, a founding father of the modern Italian state and one of its first prime ministers.
The principal goal of Musica Toscana is to promote music written in Tuscany, performed in Tuscany, or written by Tuscan composers active outside of Tuscany that originates from the period 1590-1850, an era of political, culture, and economic decline in the region, but one of continued musical importance that saw the birth of opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in the 1590s and the invention of the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
a century later.
Musica Toscana oversees the publication of a series of scholarly and performing editions, the Monuments of Tuscan Music, and sponsors concerts and lectures devoted to its repertory of interest, often in collaboration with Bourbon Baroque
Bourbon Baroque
Founded in the summer of 2007 by harpsichordist John Austin Clark and baroque violinist Nicolas Fortin, Bourbon Baroque is a period instrument ensemble centered in Louisville, Kentucky that specializes in the performance of the music of the 17th and 18th centuries...
.
External links
- Musica Toscana, Inc. website
- Barone Ricasoli Ricasoli history