d’Arienzo, Nicola
d’Arienzo, Nicola
d’Arienzo, Nicola, Italian composer, pedagogue, and writer on music; b. Naples, Dec. 24, 1842; d. there, April 25, 1915. His entire career was centered on Naples. His parents initially opposed his interest in music, so he studied secretly with Vincenzo Fiore Vanti (counterpoint) and Giovanni Moretti (instrumentation). After his parents relented, he pursued training with Mer–cadante. He composed all but one of his operas for Naples, winning his most notable success with II cuoco e il segretario (June 11, 1873). His La figlia del diavolo (Nov. 16, 1879) stirred controversy for its verismo leanings. He taught harmony and counterpoint (1872–74) and was director (1874–75) of the music school at the Real Albergo dei Poveri. In 1875 he became a teacher of harmony at the Cons., where he taught counterpoint and composition from 1877 to 1912, and also was its director from 1909 to 1911. He publ. Introduzione del sistema tetracor diale nella musica moderna (Milan, 1878), Dell’opera comica dalle origini a G.B. Pergolesi (1887), and La musica in Napoli (Naples, 1900).
Works
DRAMATIC: opera(all 1st perf. in Naples unless otherwise given): Monzù Gnazio, o La fidanzata del parrucchiere (1860); I due mariti (Feb. 1, 1866; rev. version, Milan, 1871); Le rose (Feb. 1868); II cacciatore delle Alpi (June 23, 1870); II cuoco e il segretario (June 11, 1873); I viaggi (Milan, June 28, 1875); La figlia del diavolo (Nov. 16, 1879); I tre coscritti (Feb. 10, 1880); La fiera (Feb. 1887); not perf.: Rita di Lister, Lesbo di Rodio, andCapitati Fracassa. ORCH.: A Roma, concerto sinfonico (1871); Orlando, sym. (e. 1871); Pensiero sinfonico (1871); Violin Concerto (1880); Piccolo Concerto for Cello and Orch. (1881); Violin Concerto–fantasia (1912). CHAMBER: Piano Trio (1863); Cello Sonata (1884); String Quartet (1888); Nonet (1889); harp pieces; piano music. VOCAL: Cristo sulla croce, oratorio for Solo Voices, Chorus, and Orch.; Miserere for 5 Voices; Stabat mater for 6 Solo Voices, Chorus, and Orch.; numerous songs.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire