# niccolò castiglioni



## proclo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccolò_Castiglioni


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## proclo

Here one of his master piece :





he did like in particular the extreme High register , brilliant orchestrations and harmonic texture.


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## proclo




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## SilverSurfer

Thank you, proclo, I knew the name but don't remember having listened to his music (maybe yes, in one of the several Italian compilations I have), so I'll try now.
BTW, that Roger Wilco of the second video is/was a poster in CF also.


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## GioCar

I met him a few times when I was young. 
I remember him climbing with difficulty the stairs of the conservatory concert hall here in Milan, he always had a problem with walking (scoliosis?), and I also remember when he died lonely in 1996. His death in his house in Milan was discovered only after a week or so... 
A very nice and simple person, a master craftsman in the noblest sense. Maybe he was a bit "out of fashion" for the period. I found this quotation by him "Il rumore non fa bene. Il bene non fa rumore" (Noise is no good, Good doesn't make noise) which summarizes effectively his aesthetics.

Here's Gymel (1960) for flute and piano


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## ptr

Have heard a few of his works, Sinfonia con Giardino and Sinfonia con rosignolo, I think both are quite enjoyable!

/ptr


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## dgee

A very fine composer! Has been championed by Olly Knussen in the UK and some good recordings available. Some lovely piano miniatures too


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## proclo

To better understand the poetic of the Italian composers of that generation it is worth to read " Fase seconda " by Mario Bortolotto. Once chapter is devoted to Castiglion's music. The other composers are : Franco Donatoni, Luigi Nono, Silvano Bussotti, Aldo Clementi, Franco Evangelisti, Luciano Berio and if I well remember also Salvatore Sciarrino that was the youngest of the group.


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## GioCar

I haven't read this book by Bortolotto but I read some of the others... A great essayist indeed.
I don't know whether his books have been translated in English or other languages.

My next buy, thanks :tiphat:


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## SilverSurfer

Thank you all; I'm through a "Castiglioni week-end", as I find very stimulating to discover a new composer, provided the first works heard please me, such as Concerto for orchestra (I began with the shortest one, just in case...).
I have not found that Sinfonia con Giardino, but I liked most of the works available on Youtube, specially the ones already mentioned and these other 2:






And, my preferred:


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## proclo

SilverSurfer said:


> Thank you all; I'm through a "Castiglioni week-end", as I find very stimulating to discover a new composer, provided the first works heard please me, such as Concerto for orchestra (I began with the shortest one, just in case...).
> I have not found that Sinfonia con Giardino, but I liked most of the works available on Youtube, specially the ones already mentioned and these other


I have never heard about "Sinfonia con Giardino" ...I guess it is a mistake. Glad that you are enjoying his music ! Between the Italian composers of that generation\period he was probably the most gifted. He is not as popular as Nono or Berio or Donatoni because mainly he was a solitary man with a very weird personality. I think this is very much reflected in his music : he was not following any "new trend" or trying to please the critic or be in "his time"...he had a unique voice.


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## SilverSurfer

Hello, proclo, I agree, his use of high registers (tubular bells at the end of rosignolo and other works) makes him sound very peculiar.
But Giardino is not a mistake, probably ptr heard it live:

http://finland.it/public/default.aspx?contentid=186193&nodeid=40252&culture=it-IT

Or through RAI3:

http://www.radio3.rai.it/dl/radio3/concerti/ContentItem-2c8a2ad9-b269-4423-b976-889cd67751b2.html


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## proclo

SilverSurfer said:


> Hello, proclo, I agree, his use of high registers (tubular bells at the end of rosignolo and other works) makes him sound very peculiar.
> But Giardino is not a mistake, probably ptr heard it live:
> 
> http://finland.it/public/default.aspx?contentid=186193&nodeid=40252&culture=it-IT
> 
> Or through RAI3:
> 
> http://www.radio3.rai.it/dl/radio3/concerti/ContentItem-2c8a2ad9-b269-4423-b976-889cd67751b2.html


oohh.. great ! I v never heard this piece...good to know ! Thanks indeed.


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