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Price: $800.00 |
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FINE CONDITION |
GIOVANNI SGAMBATI - PIANIST & CONDUCTOR |
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Autographed and inscribed 9.5” x 11” (mount) Giuseppe Felici of Rome to his pupil and conservatory founder, pianist Margherita Bertolucci, June 16, 1911.
Sgambati (1841-1914) a natural wunderkind was brought as a child to Amerigo Barbieri, a pupil of Muzio Clementi. He made his public debut at 6 and in 1849 was brought by his family to Trevi where he studied with composer Tiberio Natalucci, a pupil of the then popular opera composer Niccolo Zingarelli. He later went to Rome to study counterpoint and theory with Giovanni Aldega. A virtuoso pianist by 1862, he was introduced to Franz Liszt in Rome, who befriended the young pianist and acted as his coach and advisor. Their friendship lasted until Liszt’s death. In 1866, Sgambati graduated from Conservatorio Santa Cecilia and embarked on a solo touring career. Well appreciated by his audiences, he became one of the leading concert pianists in Europe and the most important Italian on the circuit. Sgambati also trained as a conductor and introduced to Italy, many of the major German and French Romantic works not yet heard in Italy. In 1868, he was appointed Professor of Pianoforte at Santa Cecilia and in addition to teaching there, he also offered free private piano lessons to deserving pupils who could otherwise not afford to study with him. His pupils included, pianist-composer Ferruccio Busoni, pianist Lucia Anselmi, composer Roffredo Caetani, pianist Edoardo Celli, pianist Ernesto Consolo, pianist Aurelio Giorni, composer Mikhail Ivanov, pianist Enrico Toselli, composer & contralto Mary Augusta Wakefield, pianist-author Bettina Walker, Also, a composer, and through Liszt’s introduction to his son-in-law Richard Wagner, the composer brought the young pianist to his publisher Schott, who then published and issued his works with great success at that time. Sgambati is considered the Father of the modern school of Italian pianism. Margherita Bertolucci was a pupil of Sgambati and Martucci and began her career as a concert pianist, even making an American tour. In 1915, she founded the Boccherini Conservatorio in Lucca where she famously instilled the principals she learned from both Sgambati and Martucci. A number of letters from Sgambati to Bertolucci have reached the autograph marketplace over the past 20 years, though this is the penultimate item we have seen. The photographer, Giuseppe Felici (1830-1910) was the official Papal photographer of his day. |
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Phone: 212-860-5541
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