Alessandro Solbiati (born 9 September 1956) is an Italian composer of classical music, who has composed instrumental music for chamber ensembles and orchestra, art songs and operas. He received international commissions and awards, and many of his works are recorded. He is also an academic, teaching in Italy and France.

Career

Born on 9 September 1956 in

Busto Arsizio Busto Arsizio (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the south-easternmost part of the province of Varese, in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, north of Milan. The economy of Busto Arsizio is mainly based on industry and commerce. It is the ...

, Solbiati studied music at the

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory, also known as the Conservatorio di Milano and the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, is a Music school, college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital ...

, piano with Eli Perrota, and composition with Sandro Gorli. He finished both subjects with diplomas. He studied further, from 1977 to 1980, at the Accademia Chigiana di

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

with

Franco Donatoni Franco Donatoni (9 June 1927 – 17 August 2000) was an Italian composer. Biography Born in Verona, Donatoni started studying violin at the age of seven, and frequented the local music academy. Later, he studied at the Milan Conservatory ...

. He received commissions from

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

, the

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist media, generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed wi ...

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg ( German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the "Mozarteum" name in Salzburg municipality; the International Mozarteu ...

Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One of the wealthiest charitable founda ...

and

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...

, among others. His music has been performed at notable festivals, in Australia, Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US, and other. His music has been broadcast in Europe and America. It was published by "Edizioni

Suvini Zerboni Suvini Zerboni (ESZ) Italian music publishing house founded in 1907 in Milan, taking its name from the theater society of the same name. The ESZ catalogue included, besides operetta favourites, the best of Italian contemporary music, such compose ...

" in Milan. He set poems by

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics, an ...

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

and

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a Germans, German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticis ...

to music, among others. Two operas are based on works by Russian authors, ''Il carro e i canti'' (2008) after

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

, and ''Leggenda'' after Dostoyevsky's ''

The Brothers Karamazov ''The Brothers Karamazov'' ( rus, Братья Карамазовы, Brat'ya Karamazovy, ˈbratʲjə kərɐˈmazəvɨ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly ...

''. It was commissioned by the

Teatro Regio di Torino The Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) is a prominent opera house and opera company in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. Its season runs from October to June with the presentation of eight or nine operas given from five to twelve performances of each. Several b ...

and premiered in 2011, conducted by

Gianandrea Noseda Gianandrea Noseda (born 23 April 1964) is an Italian conductor. He is currently the music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.; general music director (''Generalmusikdirektor)'' of Zurich Opera; principal guest condu ...

. His third opera, ''Il suono giallo'', is based on

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...

's experimental play ''

The Yellow Sound ''The Yellow Sound'' (in German, ''Der Gelbe Klang'') is an experimental theater piece originated by the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky. Created in 1909, the work was first published in '' The Blue Rider Almanac'' in 1912. ''The Yellow Sound'' ...

''. It was premiered on 13 June 2015 at the

Teatro Comunale di Bologna The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season. While there had been various theatres presenting opera in Bologna since the early ...

. Solbiati has taught composition at the

Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini The Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini (previously known as the Liceo Musicale di Bologna, and better known in English as the Bologna Conservatory) is a college of music in Bologna, Italy. The conservatory opened on 3 December 1804, as the ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, the Milan Conservatory and the ''Centre Acanthes'' in

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

. He has held master classes at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

and the

Conservatoire de Lyon A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

. His compositions achieved awards at international competitions, such as a string quartet at the International Milan Competition in 1980, and a violin concerto, ''Di Luce'', winning the RAI-Paganini Prize of Rome in 1982.

Compositions

His list of compositions is published by

IRCAM IRCAM (French: ''Ircam, '', English: Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of Avant-garde music, avant garde and Electroacoustic ...

: * ''ibi bonae fabbricator'' for flute * ''Quartetto'' for string quartet (1980) * ''Des ciels brouillés'' for

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

and ensemble (1981) * ''Blütenstaub'' for

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

(1982) * ''Di luce'' for violin and orchestra (1982) * ''Cadeau'' for piano, violin,

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and five percussionist (1984) * ''Lied'' for

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

, violin, cello and piano (1985) * ''Nel deserto''

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

for soloists, choir and instruments (1986) * ''Dawn'' for flute and

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

(1987) * ''Trio'' for violin, cello and piano (1987) * ''Notturno'' for wind quintet (1988) * ''As if to land'' for flute (1989) * ''Am Fuss des Gebirgs'' for flute, bass clarinet and piano (1991) * ''Corde'' for viola (1991) * ''Secondo quartetto'' for string quartet (1991) * ''Decima elegia'' for soloists, choir and orchestra (1991/95) * ''Canto per Ania'' for cello and 14 instruments (1992) * ''Ottetto'' for wind instruments (1992) * ''By my window'' for piano and ensemble (1993) * ''Mi lirica sombra'' for bass clarinet and ensemble (1993) * ''Con l'antico canto'' for flute and bass clarinet (1995) * ''Inno'', radio opera (1996) * ''La colomba azzurra / racconto in musica su testo di Paola Capriolo'' (1996) * ''Mari'' for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1997) * ''Sonetto'' for violin and piano (1997) * ''Sinfonia'' for orchestra (1997/98) * ''Piccoli canti / per voce recitante e otto strumenti su testi di

Alda Merini Alda Merini (21 March 1931 – 1 November 2009) was an Italian writer and poet. Her work earned the attention and admiration of other Italian writers, such as Giorgio Manganelli, Salvatore Quasimodo, and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Merini's writing st ...

'' (1998) * ''Ingresso e Kyrie'' for choir and instruments (1999) * ''Sette pezzi'' for string orchestra (1999) * ''Concerto'' for

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and orchestra (2000) * ''Der Wind spielt'' for wind instruments (2002) * ''Memoriam'' for orchestra (2002) * ''Piccoli canti Suite'' for eight instruments (2002) * ''Due adagi'' for violin solo (2003) * ''Il risveglio di Florestano'' for chamber orchestra (2003) * ''Pensieri interrotti'' for

bayan Bayan may refer to: Educational institutions * Bayan Islamic Graduate School, Chicago, IL Places *Bayan-Aul, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan *Bayan Mountain, an ancient mountain name for part of Tarbagatai Mountains at Kazakhstan in Qing Dynasty period *B ...

(2003) * ''Weg'' for twelve instruments (2004) * ''Sonata seconda'' for piano (2005) * ''Alumina'' for flute and strings (2005) * ''Volo'' for soprano and viola (2005) * ''Dies'' for clarinet and piano (2005) * ''Sonata Felix'' for piano and violin (2006) * ''Tre lieder su George'' for soprano and piano on poems by

Stefan George Stefan Anton George (; 12 July 18684 December 1933) was a German symbolist poet and a translator of Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Hesiod, and Charles Baudelaire. He is also known for his role as leader of the highly influential liter ...

(2006) * ''Und nun'' for

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

and seven instrumenti. Homage to

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

on a stanza by

(2009) * ''Thai song'' for 52 gongs from Thailand (2009) * ''Il carro e i canti'', opera in one act, after Pushkin (2009) * ''Leggenda'', opera in one act, libretto by the composer (2011) * ''Il suono giallo'', opera (2017)

Recordings

* ''Nel Deserto'', ensemble ''2E2M'' (CD ADDA) * ''Quartetto con lied'', ''Borciani'' string quartet (

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...

,) * ''Trio'', trio ''Matisse'' (Ermitage) * ''Tre pezzi per chitarra'',

Filomena Moretti Filomena Moretti (born 11 June 1973)Maurice J. Summerfield: ''The Classical Guitar. Its Evolution, Players and Personalities Since 1800'', 5th edition (Blaydon-on-Tyne: Ashley Mark Publishing Co., 2002), p. 202. is an Italian classical guitarist. ...

(Phoenix) * ''Alessandro Solbiati'' ensemble ''Alternance'' (

) * ''Solbiati & Botter: Agli inquieti spiriti'' (

) * ''By my Window'' (

) * ''Piano Works'' (

) * ''Crescendo'', orchestra (EMA Vinci records) * ''Il suono giallo'', Opera (EMA Vinci records – EMA Vinci contemporanea)Solbiati: Musica Da Camera
discogs * ''Leggenda'', Opera (EMA Vinci records – EMA Vinci contemporanea) * ''INSIEME'', ensemble (EMA Vinci records – EMA Vinci contemporanea)

References

External links

Profile
Edizioni Suvini Zerboni (in Italian) *
"Intervista con Alessandro Solbiati su Trittico per fisarmonica da concerto"
nterview with Alessandro Solbiati on "Trittico for accordion"by Corrado Rojac and Lidia Bramani, 25 May 2015, Corrado strumentiemusica.com (in Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Solbiati, Alessandro 1956 births Living people People from Busto Arsizio Milan Conservatory alumni Academic staff of the Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini Academic staff of Milan Conservatory Italian male classical composers 20th-century Italian male musicians 20th-century Italian classical composers 20th-century male composers 21st-century Italian male musicians 21st-century Italian classical composers