Cecilia Seghizzi
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Cecilia Seghizzi (5 September 1908 – 22 November 2019) was an Italian composer, painter, teacher and supercentenarian.


Biography

Cecilia Seghizzi was the daughter of composer and choirmaster (19 January 1873 – 5 January 1933), one of
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
's most popular composers. After coming back to Italy after being exiled to the
refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...
of Wagna in Austria during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Cecilia began studying the violin with Alfredo Lucarini and graduated with honors from the Conservatory "G. Verdi" in
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
. In her thirties she alternated between concerts and teaching in middle school and music school. She began in the meantime to devote herself to composition, completing her studies with a diploma from the conservatory "Tartini" in Trieste under the guidance of Vito Levi. In her fifties she founded and managed the complex
Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...
polyphonic, with which she won first prize at the national polyphonic competition in
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
. The recognition from this got her a series of concerts and recordings for major venues both at home and abroad. She lived the rest of her life in
Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...
,
Friuli-Venezia Giulia Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...
.


Style

Her music catalog included more than 130 compositions, among which many are
choral music A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
. It is in choral music that she used sonorities and driving rhythms, humorous and light swings the most. In this her work is similar to that of
Alfredo Casella Alfredo Casella (25 July 18835 March 1947) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career Casella was born in Turin, the son of Maria (née Bordino) and Carlo Casella. His family included many musicians: his grandfather, a f ...
,
Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...
, and
Giulio Viozzi Giulio Viozzi (born Trieste, 5 July 1912 – died Verona, 29 November 1984) was an Italian composer, conductor, pianist, and music critic. He was a pupil of , and took his diploma in piano playing in 1931. Among his compositions are numerous ope ...
. Her style, very conservative, is linked to
neo-classicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
, and has had no trace of the innovations introduced by
avant-garde music Avant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of innovation in its field, with the term "avant-garde" implying a critique of existing aesthetic conventions, rejection of the status quo in favor of unique or original elem ...
since the 1930s.


Personal life

On 5 September 2018, she became a
supercentenarian A supercentenarian, sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian, is a person who is 110 or older. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of significant age-related diseases until short ...
upon celebrating her 110th birthday. She died on 22 November 2019, aged 111.


Selected works

*Sonata for Oboe and Piano (1963) *By night flute, soprano and piano (1979) *Concertino for horn and strings (1981) *Divertimento for violin and piano (1982) *Waltz for flute and piano (1984)


References

1908 births 2019 deaths People from Gorizia Women supercentenarians Italian supercentenarians Italian women painters 20th-century Italian women artists 20th-century Italian women composers 20th-century Italian painters {{Italy-painter-20thC-stub