The Music of Luigi Dallapiccola

Luigi Dallapiccola (1904-1975) was one of the most important Italian composers of the twentieth century. As well as writing several operas he composed a large number of works in which the human voice whether in solo or in chorus plays an important role. Dallapiccola also set texts by writers as diverse as James Joyce Salvatore Quasimodo Antonio Machado Goethe and Heine. This book is the first in English to deal with Dallapiccola as a whole from the first hesitant vocal compositions of his student years up to the works of his last decade in which Italian lyricism is combined with great formal rigor. The author suggests that Dallapiccola should be understood not only as an influential figure in the post-war developments of Italian music but also as one who renewed and revitalized the older traditions of Italian music.Raymond Fearn is Professor of Music Keele University.