Museo Rosenbach is an Italian

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...

 progressive rock

Italian progressive rock

The Italian progressive rock scene was born in the early 70s, mostly inspired by the progressive movement in Britain, but with certain features of its own that makes some sources mention it as a separate musical genre....

 band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 whose album Zarathustra

Zarathustra (album)

Zarathustra is a progressive rock album released in 1973 by the Italian band Museo Rosenbach.It is regarded by many authorities as one of the best Italian progressive rock works of all time.-Track listing:#"Zarathustra: L'Ultimo Uomo" – 3:55...

, in spite of the limited success it scored in the 1970s, is today considered a cornerstone of the genre.

History

Museo Rosenbach was formed around 1971 as Inaugurazione del Museo Rosenbach ("The Inauguration of Rosenbach Museum") when two bands, La Quinta Strada and Il Sistema joined forces. La Quinta Strada and Il Sistema had played mostly songs by other popular artists like Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...

 and rock groups such as The Kinks

The Kinks

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...

, The Animals

The Animals

The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...

 and Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf (band)

Steppenwolf are a Canadian-American rock group that was prominent in the late 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of Toronto group The...

 and by Rhythm & Blues stars like Otis Redding

Otis Redding

Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...

 and Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...

.

The band name may have been inspired by Premiata Forneria Marconi

Premiata Forneria Marconi

Premiata Forneria Marconi is an Italian progressive rock band. They were the first Italian group to have success abroad, entering both the British and American charts. Between 1973 and 1977 they released five albums with English lyrics...

 and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso is an Italian rock band. A popular progressive rock band in the 1970s, they continued making music in the 1980s and 1990s...

. If these other bands had named themselves after a bakery and a bank, the band thought it was reasonable to create a "Museum" dedicated to the German publisher Otto Rosenbach. Other possible inspirations for the name may have come from the eclectic collections of the Rosenbach Museum & Library

Rosenbach Museum & Library

The Rosenbach Museum & Library is located within two 19th-century townhouses at 2008 and 2010 Delancey Place in Philadelphia. The historic houses contain the collections and treasures of Philip Rosenbach and his younger brother Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach...

 in Philadelphia, PA or simply the poetic name "Rosenbach", which means "brook of roses" in German.

Influenced by Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

 and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso is an Italian rock band. A popular progressive rock band in the 1970s, they continued making music in the 1980s and 1990s...

 (among others), Museo Rosenbach released their first and most well-known album Zarathustra

Zarathustra (album)

Zarathustra is a progressive rock album released in 1973 by the Italian band Museo Rosenbach.It is regarded by many authorities as one of the best Italian progressive rock works of all time.-Track listing:#"Zarathustra: L'Ultimo Uomo" – 3:55...

in April 1973. The songs on Zarathustra

Zarathustra (album)

Zarathustra is a progressive rock album released in 1973 by the Italian band Museo Rosenbach.It is regarded by many authorities as one of the best Italian progressive rock works of all time.-Track listing:#"Zarathustra: L'Ultimo Uomo" – 3:55...

displayed the influence of classical music

Classical music

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

 and the heavy keyboard passages (synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

, mellotron

Mellotron

The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...

 and Hammond organ

Hammond organ

The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...

) typical of other Italian progressive rock groups of the time and of progressive rock in general. Vocalist Stefano Galifi's distinctive voice and keyboard player Pit Corradi added originality to the band sound.

The band provoked controversy for their supposed right-wing inclinations stemming from the image of Mussolini

Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....

 found in the collage on the album cover, and the Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...

-inspired lyrics.

The band's first lineup was short-lived, disbanding soon after the release of Zarathustra

Zarathustra (album)

Zarathustra is a progressive rock album released in 1973 by the Italian band Museo Rosenbach.It is regarded by many authorities as one of the best Italian progressive rock works of all time.-Track listing:#"Zarathustra: L'Ultimo Uomo" – 3:55...

and after some live concerts in 1973. Their second album of new material, Exit, was released in 2000. Of the founding members, only Alberto Moreno and Giancarlo Golzi remained. This album was considered more commercial than Zarathustra

Zarathustra (album)

Zarathustra is a progressive rock album released in 1973 by the Italian band Museo Rosenbach.It is regarded by many authorities as one of the best Italian progressive rock works of all time.-Track listing:#"Zarathustra: L'Ultimo Uomo" – 3:55...

.

In 2002 Museo Rosenbach took part in an experiment, first proposed by the Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 magazine Colussus, to interpret the Finnish poem Kalevala

Kalevala

The Kalevala is a 19th century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology.It is regarded as the national epic of Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature...

in rock music. The short suite "Flower of Revenge" was composed for this project.

The former member who enjoyed the greatest success in his solo career was drummer Giancarlo Golzi, who joined the pop band Matia Bazar

Matia Bazar

Matia Bazar is an Italian musical group formed in Genoa in 1975. The original members of the group are Piero Cassano, Aldo Stellita and Carlo Marrale. Antonella Ruggiero was the first singer in the group. The group represented Italy in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest with a song called Raggio di...

.

1973 lineup

• Stefano Galifi - vocals
• Enzo Merogno - guitar, vocals
• Pit Corradi - keyboards
• Alberto Moreno - bass, piano, mellotron
• Giancarlo Golzi - drums, percussion, vocals

Current lineup

• Alberto Moreno - bass and mellotron
• Giancarlo Golzi - drums
• Marco Balbo - classical and lead guitar
• Andrea Biancheri - vocals
• Marioluca Bariona - keyboards

Discography

• Zarathustra
  Zarathustra (album)
  Zarathustra is a progressive rock album released in 1973 by the Italian band Museo Rosenbach.It is regarded by many authorities as one of the best Italian progressive rock works of all time.-Track listing:#"Zarathustra: L'Ultimo Uomo" – 3:55...
  
  (1973)
• Live '72 (1992 - live)
• Rare and Unreleased (1992 - demos and some previously unreleased tracks)
• Exit (2000)
• "Fiore di Vendetta" song in Kalevala
  Kalevala (project)
  Kalevala is a 3 CD progressive rock epic based upon the Finnish national epic of the same name. It tells the story in 30 parts, each part played by a different band.-The Kalevala:...
  
  (2003).

External links

• Official site of the band
• Museo Rosenbach on Progboard: Museo Rosenbach album reviews and ratings
• Museo Rosenbach on ProgArchives: Museo Rosenbach album reviews and ratings
• Page with detailed images of the original LP and info for collectors