Alfonso Rendano (5 April 1853 – 10 September 1931) was an Italian pianist and composer. Rendano was born in Carolei (

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

). He was particularly precocious and at the age of ten he was admitted to the Naples Conservatory, where he was noticed by Sigismund Thalberg who sent him to Paris, recommending him to Rossini. In 1866 he studied under Georges Mathias, Chopin's pupil. For about 15 years, he carried out an intense musical activity; he then devoted himself to teaching, first in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, then in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Rendano also enjoyed the support of

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

who tried to help ensure that Rendano's Piano Concerto would receive a performance in a coming German music festival. Liszt wrote of the work: "It is a vigorous, original and remarkable work which I greatly appreciate."letter to Olga von Meyendorff, 3 February 1884, cited in "The Older Liszt" by Peter Coleman (pub. Lutterworth Press, 2023). Rendano wrote the opera ''Consuelo'', successfully staged in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

and in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He held his last concert at Rome's Teatro Valle in 1925. He died in Rome in 1931. The main theatre of

is named after him.

References

1853 births 1931 deaths People from Cosenza Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers Pupils of Georges Mathias Italian male classical pianists Italian male pianists 19th-century Italian classical pianists 19th-century Italian classical composers 20th-century Italian classical pianists 20th-century Italian classical composers 20th-century male composers 20th-century Italian male musicians 19th-century Italian male musicians Carolei {{pianist-stub