Emanuele Muzio

Emanuele Muzio, portrait by Giovanni Boldini

Donnino Emanuele Muzio (24 August 1821 in Zibello – 27 November 1890 in Paris) was an Italian composer, conductor and vocal teacher. He was a lifelong friend and the only student of Giuseppe Verdi.[1]

Biography

In April 1844, Verdi took on Muzio, eight years his junior, as a pupil and amanuensis. He had known him since about 1828 as a protégé of his own supporter, Antonio Barezzi.[2] Muzio, who in fact was Verdi's only pupil, became indispensable to the composer. He reported to Barezzi that Verdi "has a breadth of spirit, of generosity, a wisdom."[3] The relationship was to grow stronger, and Muzio remained a lifelong friend. In November 1846, Muzio wrote of Verdi: "If you could see us, I seem more like a friend, rather than his pupil. We are always together at dinner, in the cafes, when we play cards...; all in all, he doesn't go anywhere without me at his side; in the house we have a big table and we both write there together, and so I always have his advice."[4] Muzio was to remain associated with Verdi throughout his life, assisting in the preparation of scores and transcriptions, and later conducting the premieres of many of his works in their premiere performances in the USA and elsewhere. He was chosen by Verdi as one of the executors of his will, but predeceased the composer in 1890.[5]

Muzio was conductor of the Italian Opera in Brussels in 1852 as well as conducting in London and at the Academy of Music in New York City. In 1875, he settled in Paris as a vocal teacher. His students include Carlotta Patti and Clara Louise Kellogg.[6]

Selected works

Emanuele Muzio—Verdi's pupil

Operas

Chamber music

Piano

Vocal

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Van, Gilles de (1998). Verdi's Theater: Creating Drama through Music. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-14369-4.
  2. ↑ Phillips-Matz 1993, p. 160.
  3. ↑ Phillips-Matz 1993, p. 166.
  4. ↑ Phillips-Matz 1993, p. 192–193.
  5. ↑ Marchesi n.d.
  6. ↑ Theodore Baker and Alfred Remy, ed. (1919). "Muzio, Emanuele". Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (3rd ed.). p. 639.

Sources

Bibliography

External links

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