Sergio Calligaris
Encyclopedia
Sergio Calligaris is a pianist, composer and piano teacher born in Rosario
, Argentina
on January 22, 1941. After living and tutoring in the United States, where he gained his doctorate in music, Calligaris established his residence in Italy in 1974.
, Adele Marcus
, Nikita Magaloff
, and Guido Agosti
.
Calligaris’ technique is characterised by the sheer brilliance and powerful touch typical of the Leschetizky school; his technical qualities, complemented by a detailed attention to the composition’s form, made him a fine interpreter of both romantic (especially Schumann
and Chopin) and post-romantic (Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Debussy) repertoire.
Calligaris has performed in prestigious concert-halls such as the Konzertsaal Bundesallee in Berlin
, the Auditorium of S. Cecilia in Rome, the Musikverein Brahms-Saal in Vienna
, and recently, as a soloist in his own Concerto for piano and orchestra, Op. 29, at the Main Theatre of Manila
.
He has recorded, among the others, for EMI
, Orion Records
and the Ares-Libreria Editrice Vaticana; the latter, a few years ago, released a compilation entitled Sergio Calligaris: composer and interpreter to celebrate the twenty-fifth year of his recording debut.
Calligaris’ composing career soared after the welcoming reception of Renzo’s piano notebook, with commissions from various musical institutions (the Symphonic dances, Op. 26, for example, by the Teatro Bellini in Catania
). A prolific composer (his last works are Poema for tenor or soprano and piano op. 49, and the Sonatas op. 50 and 51 for piano and flute and piano and violin respectively), Calligaris has been able to produce steadily without making any concession on the quality, rigour, beauty and originality of his music. This ‘no-compromise’ approach is thought to be an important element of his music's success.
Beside the production for piano (which ultimately led to a fruitful cooperation with pianist and director Vladimir Ashkenazy
), Calligaris wrote for a variety of instruments (voice, cello, trumpet, organ, clarinet, flute, violin, horn) and for both chamber and symphonic orchestras. The majority of his compositions have been recorded by several artists. In 2007, Sergio Calligaris has been awarded the International Prize "Giuseppe Verdi" in recognition of his activity as both performer and composer.
Calligaris' composition are published by Carisch. In 2008 and 2009 Carisch has issued four anthological volumes entitled Piano Parnassum, which collect most of his works for piano (the remaining two volumes will be published in the forthcoming months).
(Cleveland Institute of Music
, California State University of Los Angeles) and in Italy
(Conservatorio di Napoli, Pescara and L’Aquila). He has been member of juries in several prestigious piano competitions.
Rosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
on January 22, 1941. After living and tutoring in the United States, where he gained his doctorate in music, Calligaris established his residence in Italy in 1974.
The Pianist
Calligaris’ career as a performer started at the age of thirteen. He pursued his studies under the guidance of such masters as Jorge Fanelli, Arthur LoesserArthur Loesser
Arthur Loesser was an American classical pianist and writer.Born into a musical family, Loesser received early training from his father until he began lessons with Sigismund Stojowski at the Institute of Musical Art, now called the Juilliard School.Loesser was the author of the books Humor in...
, Adele Marcus
Adele Marcus
Adele Marcus was an American pianist, but better known as a teacher of many other famous pianists.She was born in Kansas City, the last of 13 children of a rabbi of Russian descent...
, Nikita Magaloff
Nikita Magaloff
Nikita Magaloff was a Georgian-Russian pianist.He was born in Saint Petersburg to a Georgian noble family named Maghalashvili. Magaloff and his family left Russia in 1918 for Finland and then Paris, where he studied with Isidor Philipp, chair of the piano department at the Paris Conservatory...
, and Guido Agosti
Guido Agosti
Guido Agosti was an Italian pianist and piano teacher.Agosti was born in Forlì in 1901. He studied piano with Ferruccio Busoni, Bruno Mugellini and Filippo Ivaldi, earning his diploma at age 13. He studied counterpoint under Benvenuti and literature at Bologna University. He commenced his...
.
Calligaris’ technique is characterised by the sheer brilliance and powerful touch typical of the Leschetizky school; his technical qualities, complemented by a detailed attention to the composition’s form, made him a fine interpreter of both romantic (especially Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
and Chopin) and post-romantic (Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Debussy) repertoire.
Calligaris has performed in prestigious concert-halls such as the Konzertsaal Bundesallee in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, the Auditorium of S. Cecilia in Rome, the Musikverein Brahms-Saal in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and recently, as a soloist in his own Concerto for piano and orchestra, Op. 29, at the Main Theatre of Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
.
He has recorded, among the others, for EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, Orion Records
Orion Records
Orion Records was a primarily classical record label active from the late 1960s until 1988. It grew out of an earlier, Canadian label, Baroque Records, founded by former Everest Records executive Giveon Cornfield...
and the Ares-Libreria Editrice Vaticana; the latter, a few years ago, released a compilation entitled Sergio Calligaris: composer and interpreter to celebrate the twenty-fifth year of his recording debut.
- A list of Calligaris’ recordings (with musical excerpts) can be found at: Discography
- Reviews of Calligaris as a performer can be found at: Piano reviews
The Composer
Calligaris turned back to composition around the end of the 1970s, after some twenty years spent performing. One of his earliest works, Renzo’s piano notebook, Op. 7 (written in 1978), has since become a widely executed contemporary piano piece. In this oeuvre featuring ten short and well-characterised pictures, all qualities of Calligaris’ music can already be singled out:-
- the vivid opposition between "elegiac" and "flamboyant and wild" themes
- a dramatic use of rhythmRhythmRhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
- a disciplined and, at the same time, extremely complex master of counterpointCounterpointIn music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
- the adoption of "classical" composing forms (see, just as an example, the use of form in the Prelude, choral, double fugue and finale op. 19).
Calligaris’ composing career soared after the welcoming reception of Renzo’s piano notebook, with commissions from various musical institutions (the Symphonic dances, Op. 26, for example, by the Teatro Bellini in Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
). A prolific composer (his last works are Poema for tenor or soprano and piano op. 49, and the Sonatas op. 50 and 51 for piano and flute and piano and violin respectively), Calligaris has been able to produce steadily without making any concession on the quality, rigour, beauty and originality of his music. This ‘no-compromise’ approach is thought to be an important element of his music's success.
Beside the production for piano (which ultimately led to a fruitful cooperation with pianist and director Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
), Calligaris wrote for a variety of instruments (voice, cello, trumpet, organ, clarinet, flute, violin, horn) and for both chamber and symphonic orchestras. The majority of his compositions have been recorded by several artists. In 2007, Sergio Calligaris has been awarded the International Prize "Giuseppe Verdi" in recognition of his activity as both performer and composer.
Calligaris' composition are published by Carisch. In 2008 and 2009 Carisch has issued four anthological volumes entitled Piano Parnassum, which collect most of his works for piano (the remaining two volumes will be published in the forthcoming months).
- A complete list of all Calligaris’ compositions (with musical excerpts) can be found at: Catalogue
- Reviews of Calligaris’ work can be found at: Reviews
- Interviews with the composer are available at: Interviews
The Teacher
Sergio Calligaris taught both in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(Cleveland Institute of Music
Cleveland Institute of Music
The Cleveland Institute of Music is an independent music conservatory located in the University Circle district of Cleveland, Ohio, United States and is overseen by president Joel Smirnoff and Adrian Daly, dean....
, California State University of Los Angeles) and in 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...
(Conservatorio di Napoli, Pescara and L’Aquila). He has been member of juries in several prestigious piano competitions.
- Sergio Calligaris' full biography is available at: Biography
External links
- Sergio Calligaris’ official web-site: http://www.sergiocalligaris.com/