Mauro Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo Giuliani (27 July 1781 – 8 May 1829) was an Italian
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...
, cellist, singer, and composer. He was a leading
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 ...
virtuoso
A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...
of the early 19th century.
Biography
Although born in
Bisceglie, Giuliani's center of study was in
Barletta where he moved with his brother Nicola in the first years of his life. His first instrumental training was on the cello—an instrument which he never completely abandoned—and he may have also studied the violin. Subsequently, he devoted himself to the guitar, becoming a skilled performer on it in a short time. The names of his teachers are unknown.
He married Maria Giuseppe del Monaco, and they had a child, Michael, born in Barletta in 1801. After that, he was possibly in
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 ...
and
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
for a brief stay. By the summer of 1806, fresh from his studies of counterpoint, cello and guitar in Italy, he had moved to
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
without his family. There, he began a relationship with the Viennese Anna Wiesenberger (1784–1817), with whom he had four daughters, Maria Willmuth (born 1808), Aloisia Willmuth (born 1810),
Emilia Giuliani-Guglielmi (born 1813) and Karolina Giuliani (born 1817).
In Vienna, he became acquainted with the classical instrumental style. In 1807, Giuliani began to publish his own compositions. His concert tours took him all over Europe, and he was acclaimed for his virtuosity and musical taste. He achieved significant success and became a musical celebrity, equal to the best of the many instrumentalists and composers who were active in the Austrian capital city at the beginning of the 19th century.
Giuliani defined a new role for the guitar in the context of European music. He was acquainted with the highest figures of Austrian society and with notable composers such as
Rossini and
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
, and cooperated with the best active concert musicians in Vienna. In 1815, he appeared with
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (followed later by
Ignaz Moscheles), the violinist
Joseph Mayseder and the cellist
Joseph Merk, in a series of chamber concerts in the botanical gardens of
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace (Austrian German, German: Schloss Schönbrunn ) was the main summer residence of the House of Habsburg, Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, the 13th district of Vienna. The name ''Schönbrunn'' (meaning "beautiful spring") ha ...
, concerts that were called the "Dukaten Concerte", after the price of the ticket, which was a
ducat
The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...
. This exposure gave Giuliani prominence in the musical environment of the city. Also in 1815, he was the official concert artist for the celebrations of the Congress of Vienna. Two years earlier, on 8 December 1813, he had played (probably cello) in an orchestra for the first performance of
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
's
Seventh Symphony.
In Vienna, Giuliani had minor success as a composer. He worked mostly with the publisher
Artaria, who published many of his works for guitar, but had dealings with other local publishers who spread his compositions across Europe. He developed a teaching career here as well; among his numerous students were
Jan Nepomucen Bobrowicz and
Felix Horetzky.
In 1819, Giuliani left Vienna, mainly for financial reasons: he expected to make financial profit on a concert tour through Bohemia and Bavaria. He returned to Italy, spending time in Trieste and
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, and finally settled in Rome. In 1822, he brought his illegitimate daughter Emilia to Italy, who had been born in Vienna in 1813. She was educated at the nunnery ''L'adorazione del Gesù'' from 1821 to 1826, together with Giuliani's first illegitimate daughter Maria Willmuth. In Rome he had little success, publishing only a few compositions and giving only one concert.
In July 1823, he began a series of trips to
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 ...
to be with his father, who was seriously ill. In the Bourbon city of Naples, Giuliani would find a better reception to his guitar artistry, and was able to publish other works for guitar with local publishers.
In 1826, he performed in Portici before
Francesco I and the Bourbon court. During this Neapolitan period, he appeared frequently in duo concert with his daughter Emilia, who had become a skilled performer on the guitar. Toward the end of 1827, his health began to fail; and he died in Naples on 8 May 1829.
Quotes
Works
Theme and variations
As a guitar composer he was very fond of the
theme and variations— an extremely popular form in Vienna. He had a remarkable ability to weave a melody into a passage with musical effect while remaining true to the idiom of the instrument.
*One example of this ability is to be found in his Variations on a theme of
Handel, Op. 107. This popular theme, known as ''"
The Harmonious Blacksmith"'', appears in the ''Aria'' from Handel's Suite no. 5 in E for
harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...
.
*Another example is Giuliani's ''Sei variazioni sull'aria "A Schisserl und a Reindl"'', op. 38, which is a set of variations on the Austrian folk song ''A Schisserl und a Reindl, is åll mein Kuchlg'schirr'', used in the play ''Der Kaufmannsbude'' (1796), with music by
Johann Baptist Henneberg (1768–1822) and text by Schikaneder; and in the play ''Der Marktschreyer'' (1799), with music by Franz Xaver Süssmayr (1766–1803) and text by Friedrich Karl Lippert. (
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
used the same theme in his work op.105, number 3 for flute and piano.)
*His three-movement sonata Op. 15 is a clever, witty work and one of the most developed examples of the genre for guitar.
*The several sets of extended ''Rossiniana'' reside at the pinnacle of nineteenth-century operatic pot pourri for guitar.
Giuliani's achievements as a composer were numerous. Giuliani's 150 compositions for guitar with opus number constitute the nucleus of the nineteenth-century guitar repertory. He composed extremely challenging pieces for solo guitar as well as works for orchestra and Guitar-Violin and Guitar-Flute duos.
Significant pieces by Giuliani include his three guitar concertos (op. 30, 36 and 70); a series of six
fantasias for guitar solo, op. 119–124, based on airs from
Rossini operas and entitled the "Rossiniane"; several
sonatas
In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the Music history, history of music, designating a variety of ...
for violin and guitar and flute and guitar; a
quintet, op. 65, for strings and guitar; some collections for voice and guitar, and a
Grand Overture written in the Italian style. He also transcribed many symphonic works, both for solo guitar and guitar duo. One such transcription arranges the overture to ''
The Barber of Seville
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...
'' by Rossini, for two guitars. There are further numerous didactic works, among which is a method for guitar that is used by modern teachers.
Today, Giuliani's concertos and solo pieces are widely performed by professionals.
Original sources of themes
Giuliani arranged many 19th-century opera themes for the guitar, e.g. from the opera ''
Semiramide'' by
Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...
. His work ''Le Rossiniane'' also includes numerous themes from the
operas of Rossini.
Themes in Giuliani's ''Le Rossiniane''

*''Rossiniana I'', op. 119
:Introduction (Andantino)
:"Assisa a piè d'un salice" (
Otello
''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...
)
:"Languir per una bella", Andante grazioso (
L'Italienne à Alger)
:"Con gran piacer, ben mio", Maestoso (
L'Italienne à Alger)
:"Caro, caro ti parlo in petto", Moderato (
L'Italienne à Alger)
:"Cara, per te quest'anima", Allegro Vivace (
Armida)
*''Rossiniana II'', op. 120
:Introduction (Sostenuto)
:"Deh ! Calma, o ciel", Andantino sostenuto (
Otello
''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...
)
:"Arditi all'ire", Allegretto innocente (
Armida)
:"Non più mesta accanto al fuoco", Maestoso (
Cendrillon)
:"Di piacer mi balza il cor", (
La pie voleuse)
:"Fertilissima Regina", Allegretto (
Cendrillon)
*''Rossiniana III'', op. 121
:Introduction (Maestoso Sostenuto)
:"Un soave non-so che" (
Cendrillon)
:"Oh mattutini albori!", Andantino (
La dame du lac)
:"Questo vecchio maledetto", (
Le Turc en Italie)
:"Sorte! Secondami", Allegro (
Zelmira)
:"Cinto di nuovi allori", Maestoso (
Ricciardo et Zoraïde)
*''Rossiniana IV'', op. 122
:Introduction (Sostenuto-Allegro Maestoso)
:"Forse un dì conoscerete", Andante (
La pie voleuse)
:"Mi cadono le lagrime" (
La pie voleuse)
:"Ah se puoi così lasciarmi", Allegro Maestoso (
Moïse en Egypte)
:"Piacer egual gli dei", Maestoso (
Mathilde de Shabran)
:"Voglio ascoltar" (
La pierre de touche)
*''Rossiniana V'', op. 123
:Introduction (Allegro con brio)
:"E tu quando tornerai", Andantino mosso (
Tancrède)
:"Una voce poco fa" (
Le Barbier de Séville)
:"Questo è un nodo avviluppato", Andante sostenuto (
Cendrillon)
:"LÃ seduto l'amato Giannetto", Allegro (
La pie voleuse)
:"Zitti zitti, piano piano", Allegro (
Le Barbier de Séville)
*''Rossiniana VI'', op. 124
:Introduction (Maestoso)
:"Qual mesto gemito", Larghetto (
Sémiramis)
:"Oh quante lagrime finor versai", Maestoso (
La dame du lac)
:"Questo nome che suona vittoria", Allegro brillante (
Le siège de Corinthe)
The "Introduction" from Rossiniana No. 2 has become well known in popular culture due to its inclusion in the
Counter Strike Italy map.
Pedagogy
Giuliani is the only guitarist of the first generation of classical guitar who did not publish a method. However, he left behind a vast collection of studies and exercises that are still used in a guitarist's early training today:
* Op.1- ''Studio per la chitarra'' ("Studio" for the guitar)
** Part One, for the right hand (120 Right Hand Studies)
** Part Two, for the left hand
** Part Three, ornaments etc.
** Part Four, twelve progressive lessons
* Op.48 - ''Esercizio per la chitarra, contenente 24 pezzi della maggiore difficoltà , diversi preludi, passagi, ed assolo'' (Exercise for the guitar, containing 24 pieces of the greatest difficulty, including various preludes, passaggi, and solo pieces)
* Op.51 - ''XVIII Leçons Progressives'' (Eighteen Progressive Lessons)
* Op.98 - ''Studi Dilettevoli ossia Raccolta di vari Pezzi Originali'' (Delightful Studies, or, Collection of various Original Pieces)
* Op.100 - ''Etudes instructives, faciles, et agréables… contenant un Recueil de Cadences, Caprices, Rondeaux, et Préludes'' (Instructive, easy, and agreeable studies… containing a collection of cadences, caprices, rondos, and preludes)
* Op.139 - ''24 Prime Lezioni, Parte prima'' (24 First Lessons, Part 1)
** Only six studies were ever published in this collection–not 24, and no part 2.
Instruments used by Giuliani
Of the instruments used by Giuliani, there are guitars made by:
*''possibly:'' Gennaro Fabricatore, (Naples 1809) (now in the collection of Gianni Accornero)
At the bottom of the guitar, one can see the initials M G. The guitarcase also has the initials M G.
*''briefly:'' Pons l'Aîné (Joseph Pons), (Paris 1812)
This Pons guitar was made for
Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria in Paris 1812, and later given to Giuliani: is known to have been in Giuliani's possession only briefly.
[Found: A Giuliani Guitar, Kept In A London Bank Since 1816]
by Paul Pleijsier, 2001 Giuliani later gave it to the amateur guitarist Christopher Bilderbeck de Monte as a present. However, Giuliani did not often play this 1812 guitar: it hardly shows signs of use.
*''unlikely:'' Pons l'Aîné (Joseph Pons), (Paris 1825) (now in the collection of Gianni Accornero)
The back cover of a CD claims ''"Giuliani's original Guitar Pons l'Aîné 1825"''.
Though this is probably a deceptive and possibly intentionally ambiguous claim. Gianni Accornero wrote the CD's liner notes about the guitar, and claims: ''"This instrument is in actual fact identical to the one which Joseph had made for
Empress Marie-Louise of Habsburg, the wife of Napoleon, who later gave it to Giuliani. This instrument became one of his favourites. Not only the model is the same, but also are the different types of wood used for its construction.
[CD back cover image]
Giuliani Concerto CD1
(also available
Giuliani Concerto CD2
o
double CD
Liner notes about the instrument, written by Gianni Accornero."''
However Paul Pleijsier is critical of these claims; and has found flaws and inconsistencies in Accornero's claims.
Pleijsier states that there is no evidence that Giuliani ever played the 1825 Pons.
[Duimzuigerij over een Pons-gitaar]
/ref>
Eduardo Catemario (the performer on the CD) notes ''"E` interessante notare che questa Pons è molto simile (per non-dire identica) a quella di Giuliani"'' (''"It is interesting to note that this Pons is very similar (if not identical) to that of Giuliani"'').Catemario on the 1825 Pons guitar
see also
Bibliography
Biographies
* Thomas F. Heck: Mauro Giuliani : a life for the guitar (GFA Refereed Monographs, 2) : Published as an e-book (Kindle, ePub) by the Guitar Foundation of America, 2013. . Updates the author's 1995 monograph on Giuliani, cited below.
''Mauro Giuliani, Ascesa e declino del virtuoso della chitarra (Guitar virtuoso: his early life and final decline)'' 2005,
''La sesta corda. Vita narrata di Mauro Giuliani'', Bari, Levante, 2008 ("La Puglia nei documenti", 12).
*
Nicola Giuliani: La sexta cuerda. Vida narrada de Mauro Giuliani (Spanish edition). Editorial Piles, Valencia.
*Thomas F. Heck: Mauro Giuliani : virtuoso guitarist and composer. Columbus : Editions Orphée, 1995. Reprinted in paperback 1997. Sold out in 2005; superseded by Mauro Giuliani : a Life for the Guitar (2013) cited above. (English)
Nicola Giuliani ''Omaggio a Mauro Giuliani : l'Orfeo della Puglia'' Type: Italian : Book Book Publisher:
.l. : s.n. 1999.
Marco Riboni Mauro Giuliani (1782–1829) : profilo biografico-critico ed analisi delle trascrizioni per chitarra Type: Italian : Book Book : Thesis/dissertation/manuscript Publisher: Anno accademico 1990–1991.
*Marco Riboni: Mauro Giuliani (1781–1829) : profilo biografico-critico ed analisi delle trascrizioni per chitarra Type: English : Book Book Publisher:
.l. : s.n. 1992.
*Brian Jeffery: Introduction and indexes Type: English : Book Book Publisher: London : Tecla Editions, ©1988.
*Filippo E Araniti: Nuove acquisizioni sull'opera e sulla vita di Mauro Giuliani : gli anni del soggiorno napoletano (1824–1829) Type: Italian : Book Book Publisher: Barletta-Trani : Regione Puglia-Assessorato Pubblica Istruzione, 1993.
*Thomas F. Heck: "The birth of the classic guitar and its cultivation in Vienna, reflected in the career and compositions of Mauro Giuliani (died 1829)"; Biography in Vol. 1, Thematic catalogue of the complete works of Mauro Giuliani in Vol. 2. Type: English : Doctoral dissertation, Yale University, 1970.
*Brian Jeffery: Introductions and indexes to Mauro Giuliani : Complete Works. Type: English : Book Book.Publisher: Penderyn, South Wales : Tecla Editions, 1988.
Analysis
*Yvonne Regina Chavez: ''The flute and guitar duos of Mauro Giuliani'' Book: Thesis/dissertation/manuscript Publisher: 1991. (English)
*Roger West Hudson: The orchestration of the guitar concerto : a comparison of the Concerto in A major, op. 30, by Mauro Giuliani and the Concierto del sol by Manuel Ponce. Type: English : Book Book : Thesis/dissertation/manuscript. Publisher: 1992.
*Heike Vajen Rossiniana no. 6 op. 124 by Mauro Giuliani.Type: German : Book Book. Publisher: Celle : Moeck, (1986).
*Volker Höh: Sonata op. 15 : Fingersatz by Mauro Giuliani. Type: Book Book Publisher: Celle : Moeck, 1989.
*Horacio Ceballos: Sonata Op. 15
úsicaby Mauro Giuliani. Type: Spanish : Book Book. Publisher: Buenos Aires, Argentina : RICORDI, 1977.
*Kurt L Schuster: Performing Joseph Haydn's Divertimento a quattro, opus 2, no. 2 and Mauro Giuliani's Grand sonata eroica, opus 150. Type: English : Book Book : Thesis/dissertation/manuscript. Publisher: 1989.:
References
External links
*
Michael Lorenz"New Light on Mauro Giuliani's Vienna Years"(Vienna, 2015)
Musical Manuscripts Collectionat the
Harry Ransom CenterBiography''The guitar and mandolin''by Philip James Bone, 1914)
Associazione GiulianiFound: A Giuliani Guitar, Kept In A London Bank Since 1816by Paul Pleijsier, 2001
Information(Tecla Editions)
Sheetmusic
Rischel & Birket-Smith's Collection of guitar music1
Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Denmark
The Music Library of Sweden
George C. Krick Collection of Guitar Music
Washington University
GFA Archive
maurogiuliani.free.fr
creativeguitar.org
(sheetmusic largely compiled from the above primary sources)
*
Free scores
at the Mutopia Project
Images of Giuliani
Image (www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de)
*
image
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giuliani, Mauro
1781 births
1829 deaths
19th-century Italian classical composers
19th-century Italian male musicians
Composers for the classical guitar
Italian classical cellists
Italian classical guitarists
Italian male classical composers
Italian Classical-period composers
Italian Romantic composers
Italian male guitarists
People from the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani
19th-century guitarists
Musicians from the Kingdom of Naples
Musicians from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies