Mule, Giuseppe
Mule, Giuseppe
Mule, Giuseppe, Italian composer and pedagogue; b. Termini, Imerese, Sicily, June 28, 1885; d. Rome, Sept. 10, 1951. He studied at the Palermo Cons., graduating as a cellist as well as in composition. In 1922 he was engaged as director of the Palermo Cons, (until 1925), and in 1925 he succeeded Respighi as director of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome; remained there until 1943. He wrote mostly for the stage, and was particularly successful in providing suitable music for revivals of Greek plays. He composed numerous operas in the tradition of the Italian verismo: La Baronessa di Carini (Palermo, April 16, 1912), La Monacella della fontana (Trieste, Feb. 17, 1923), Dafni (Rome, March 14, 1928), Liola (Naples, Feb. 2, 1935), Taormina (San Remo, 1938), and La zolfara (Rome, 1939). Other works include the oratorio // Cieco di Gerico (1910), 2 symphonic poems, Sicilia canora (1924) and La Vendemmia (1936), 3 canti siciliani for Voice and Orch. (1930), a String Quartet and other chamber music, and songs.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis Mclntire