Giovanni Bolzoni (15 May 1841 – 21 February 1919) was an Italian composer and violinist, who is known for his Minuet for String Orchestra.
Life and career
Born in
Parma
Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
, Bolzoni studied at the
Parma Conservatory
The Conservatorio di Musica Arrigo Boito, better known in English as the Parma Conservatory, is a music conservatory in Parma, Italy. It was originally established as the Regia Scuola di Canto, a school for singing in 1819 by Marie Louise, Duches ...
. After graduating in 1859, he was violinist and part-time conductor with Teatro Comunale di Reggio Emilia and Comunale di Cremona, eventually taking a position in
Savona
Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...
where he also taught violin. After six years he became its
concertmaster
The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...
and
conductor
Conductor or conduction may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear
* Conduction aphasia, a language disorder
Mathematics
* Conductor (ring theory)
* Conductor of an abelian variety
* Cond ...
. This was followed in 1874 by three years in
Perugia
Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...
as orchestral conductor and theatre director at the Istituto Morlacchi. In 1887, he became director of the Istituto Musicale, concertmaster at the Teatro Regio di Parma and of the Concerti Popolari.''The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians'' (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1956), p. 205
Bolzoni was the long-time director of the Turin Conservatory. Among his notable pupils were composers Carlo Adolfo Cantù and
Edgard Varèse
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French and American composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; h ...
.
In 1884, he conducted the premiere of the revised version of
Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...
's opera ''
Le Villi
''Le Villi'' (''The Willis'' or ''The Fairies'') is an opera–ballet in two acts (originally one) composed by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Ferdinando Fontana, based on the short story "Les Willis" by Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr. Karr ...
''.
Bolzoni died in Turin, aged 77.
Compositions
Besides the popular Minuet, Bolzoni composed the operas ''Il matrimonio civile'' (premiered in Parma, 1870), ''La stella delle Alpi'' (Savona, 1876), and ''Jella'' (
Piacenza
Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...
, 1881). He also wrote ''Tema con variazioni'' for string orchestra, ''Al castello medioevale'' for small orchestra, a string quartet, quartets, quintets, and violin pieces.
Recordings
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...
performed some of Bolzoni's music; two 1943 performances with the
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, the parent corporation of the National Broadcasting Company especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC ...
have been preserved on disc. In 1958,
Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American Conductor (music), conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Pops orchestras. With a combi ...
and the
Boston Pops Orchestra
The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart.
Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orc ...
recorded Bolzoni's Minuet for
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
as part of the ''Boston Tea Party'' album, which was later issued on CD. The work has also been recorded by
Frederick Fennell
Frederick Fennell (July 2, 1914 – December 7, 2004) was an American conductor and one of the primary figures who promoted the Eastman Wind Ensemble as a performing group. He was also influential as a band pedagogue, and greatly affected the ...
and the London Pops Orchestra for
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
and
Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian Americans, Estonian American conductor.
Early life
Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevge ...
and the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall (Detroit, Michigan), Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown, Detroit, ...
for
Chandos Records
Chandos Records is a British independent classical music recording company based in Colchester. It was founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.Giovanni Bolzoni – Work: Minuetto , arkivmusic.com