Giuseppe PettineGiuseppe Pettine (born Giuseppe Antonio Luigi Pettine, 13 February 1874, Isernia

Isernia

Isernia Isernia Isernia (Latin: Aesernia or, in Pliny and later writers, Eserninus, or in the Antonine Itinerary, Serni is a town and comune in the central Italian region of Molise, and the capital of Isernia province.- Geography :...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 was an Italian-American concert mandolin

Mandolin

A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

ist, teacher, and composer.

Early life and career

Pettine started to study the mandolin with Camille Mastropaolo at a very early age. After the Pettine family emigrated to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1889 and settled in Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

, Giuseppe was regarded as a child prodigy of the mandolin because of his great concert appearances. Raffaele Calace

Raffaele Calace

Raffaele Calace was an Italian mandolin player and composer.He was born in Naples, Italy as the son of Antonio Calace, a successful instrument maker. Raffaele was initially trained to become a musician. At the same time, he discovered the possibilities of the mandolin and soon he became an...

 (1863–1934) dedicated his First Mandolin Concerto op. 113 to Pettine, his fellow countryman and friend, in honor of his skills and passion for the mandolin.

Pettine was a member of the Big Trio, a trio formed by guitarist William Foden, banjoist Frederick Bacon and Giuseppe Pettine on mandolin. He published a mandolin method book in 1896, and a comprehensive six-volume tutorial for the mandolin. He also became a teacher of the Italian mandolin technique. Members of his school of American mandolinists include William Place Jr. (1889–1959) and Alfonso Balasone (Albert Bellson, 1897–1977). Today the Pettine method is still regarded as one of the most comprehensive works for mandolin ever published.

Mandolin design

Besides these activities Pettine was concerned with the development and production of fine mandolins. For this he worked in close cooperation with the well-known VEGA musical instrument manufacturers company in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, creating the "Giuseppe Pettine Special" model, a soloist mandolin modelled after the modern Neapolitan mandolin designed by the Vinaccia luthier

Luthier

A luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...

 family of Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

.

Composer

As a composer he greatly contributed to the mandolin repertoire, writing original music for solo mandolin and mandolin in combination with other instruments. Works include his published three-movement concerto titled Concerto Patetico for mandolin and piano accompaniment. This concerto also exists in an unpublished incomplete version for solo mandolin and orchestra consisting of winds and plucked instruments. The orchestra parts were written for first and second mandolin, mandola, mandoloncello, bass, tenor banjo, flute, piccolo flute, clarinet in A, bassoon, horn in F and timbales.

Another of Pettine's compositions for solo mandolin is his Fantasia Romantica, a substantial work in which he emphasizes the wonderful possibilities of the instrument by including seldom-heard harmonics, both natural and artificial, with chord arpeggios and virtuosic scale passages.

Praise

George C. Krick (1871–1962), a well-known guitarist, mandolinist, and contemporary of Pettine, wrote, "The man who undoubtedly has contributed more than anyone else to the American literature of the mandolin is Giuseppe Pettine." And "His concert repertoire includes many of the great violin concertos and original compositions and his concert tours have taken him from Maine to California. Amongst his numerous compositions the Concerto Patetico, for mandolin and piano, is his greatest contribution to mandolin literature."

Pettine died in 1966.