fascist disenchantment and the music of goffredo petrassi alessia angela elda macaluso a ...

241 Pages·2017·7.41 MB·English

by  Alessia Macaluso

FASCIST DISENCHANTMENT AND THE MUSIC OF
GOFFREDO PETRASSI

ALESSIA ANGELA ELDA MACALUSO

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO
THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN MUSIC

YORK UNIVERSITY
TORONTO, ONTARIO

April 2017

© Alessia Angela Elda Macaluso, 2017
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ABSTRACT

Goffredo Petrassi (1904-2003) was one of many Italian composers who navigated the period of
Italian Fascism from the height of its following to its demise. He celebrated the early years of the
regime through music, and benefitted from prestigious official appointments. From this, he was
able to shape and implement cultural policy, and enforced some of the regime’s coercive laws
upon the musical world. After the alliance between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in 1939,
particularly when Italy entered the Second World War, he used music to express his
disillusionment. Petrassi is regarded as one of the most significant composers of his generation,
yet few writings in English address the Fascist era itself in terms of music, much less the
development of Petrassi’s compositional style within its socio-political framework.
This dissertation contends that political events influenced Petrassi’s aesthetic journey,
and that his initial support of and eventual opposition to the regime found expression in his
works. Petrassi believed that art was always a spiritual autobiography (“autobiografia
spirituale”). Hence, the methodology uses primary sources, musical analysis, and comparisons
with composers such as Luigi Dallapiccola (1904-1975) to authenticate that Petrassi’s unique
sound was a product of musical influences adapted to the shifting politics of Fascism. With a
focus on choral music, particularly on Petrassi’s choice of texts, musical selections are
contextualized in relation to socio-political circumstances of the years 1930 to 1950. After
Fascism, Petrassi’s work captured his search for spiritual revival and artistic reinvention. His
response to modernity is examined, as is his effort to compose alongside the avant-garde, which
began an artistic struggle within him.
Drawing on autobiography, personal writings, interview transcripts, as well as my own
interviews, I present a fuller picture of Petrassi than is currently available, as he negotiated
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phases of the political regime in order to survive and maintain some personal integrity.
Accordingly, this dissertation validates Petrassi’s music as an expression of his inner and outer
worlds, and contributes to the understanding of Petrassi’s creative evolution as he responded to
new currents in composition during one of the least studied periods of Italian musical history.
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DEDICATION

With great love, I dedicate my work to my grandparents, Elide and Vincenzo Paolone, and to my
parents, Dr. Sam and Phyllis Macaluso. My soul is forever bound to yours, and I aspire to live
each day in your honour.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is with deepest gratitude that I thank my advisor, Dr. Dorothy de Val for her immeasurable
support and dedication to this work. Together, with my committee members, Dr. Austin
Clarkson and Dr. Brian Grosskurth, countless hours were given to the development of a thorough
and meaningful dissertation, as well as to my own professional growth as an academic. The
guidance of my committee has left an indelible imprint, and I have learned that the mind is
limitless in its ability to think and to create.
To Norma Beecroft, Ennio Morricone, Elide and Vincenzo Paolone: your conversations
breathed life into all I had read about Goffredo Petrassi and of life lived under the regime. I was
moved by your experiences, your candour, and the generosity of your time. Because of you, my
work is elevated and bears an authenticity of which I am so proud and deeply appreciative.
Gratitude is also extended to colleagues, especially to Tere Tilban-Rios for her counsel and
instruction, and to Dr. Mark Chambers for his gracious leadership as our department’s Graduate
Program Director. To friendships, new and perennial, I am thankful for the kindness, patience,
and enthusiasm shown to me. The Ph.D is a matchless journey, and distractions of mirth or
philosophical discourse were always welcomed.
Lastly, but mostly, to my family: Dr. Sam, Phyllis, Sean, Melissa and Katelyn. You are the
pillars in my life and my greatest source of love. I can achieve my heart’s most ambitious dreams
because I have you. “yours is the light by which my spirit’s born: - you are my sun, my moon,
and all my stars.” (E. E. Cummings)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii
Dedication ..................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... v
Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... vi
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. viii
List of Examples ........................................................................................................................... ix
List of Images ................................................................................................................................ x

Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1
The Musical Life of Fascist Italy ....................................................................................... 1
Goffredo Petrassi (1904-2003) .......................................................................................... 2
Purpose ............................................................................................................................... 6
Hypothesis .......................................................................................................................... 8
Methodology .................................................................................................................... 10
Theoretical Framework, Paradigms and Influences ......................................................... 13
Outline of Chapters .......................................................................................................... 15

Chapter Two: Literature Review ................................................................................................. 19
Italian Fascism and Music Culture .................................................................................. 19
Goffredo Petrassi ............................................................................................................. 24
Historiography and Theories of Fascism ......................................................................... 33
Italian Fascism and Aesthetics ......................................................................................... 36
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 40

Chapter Three: Socio-Political Aspects of Italian Musical Life under Fascism .......................... 42
After the Great War ......................................................................................................... 42
Futurism and Modernism as Political and Artistic Influences ......................................... 48
Music as a Political Platform ........................................................................................... 52
Appropriation of Music: The Case of Ottorino Respighi ................................................ 56
Obsequious Behaviour and the Exchange for Fame: The Case of Ildebrando Pizzetti ... 60
Protest Music: The Case of Luigi Dallapiccola ............................................................... 68

Chapter Four: Neoclassicism and a Fascist Spirit: A Career in Music ........................................ 74
The Pursuit of a Musical Career under Fascism .............................................................. 74
Norma Beecroft ................................................................................................................ 76
Ennio Morricone .............................................................................................................. 80
The Pursuit of a Musical Career under Fascism: 1935 and Forward ............................... 83
Contemporary Influences ................................................................................................. 92
Partita per orchestra (1932) ............................................................................................ 96
Salmo IX (1934-36) ........................................................................................................ 108

Chapter Five: Disillusionment with Fascism and World War II: An Aesthetic Turn ............... 125
Catholicism, Spirituality, and Nihilism ......................................................................... 125
Il Manifesto del razzismo italiano .................................................................................. 128
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Coro di morti (1940-41) ................................................................................................. 139

Chapter Six: Desolation and a Search for Spiritual Relief: Serialism as a Panacea .................. 157
The Fall of Mussolini ..................................................................................................... 157
Serialism in Italy ............................................................................................................ 162
Noche oscura (1950-51) ................................................................................................ 170

Chapter Seven: Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 188

Bibliography ……...................................................................................................................... 194

Appendices ................................................................................................................................. 205
Appendix A: Unpublished Correspondence from Petrassi to Beecroft ......................... 205
Appendix B: Unpublished Photographs of Beecroft, Petrassi, and Colleagues ........... 210
Appendix C: Beecroft’s Diploma di studi superiori di perfezionamento ...................... 215
Appendix D: Modified Transcript of My Interview with Beecroft ............................... 216
Appendix E: Unpublished Photographs of Morricone ................................................... 230
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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Petrassi to Beecroft. Typed letter dated 15 November 1958 ...................................... 205

Figure 2: Petrassi to Beecroft. Handwritten letter dated 3 November 1959 ................................ 206

Figure 3: Petrassi to Beecroft. Handwritten letter dated 10 October 1960 ................................ 207

Figure 4: Petrassi to Beecroft. Handwritten letter dated 10 October 1960 ................................ 208

Figure 5: Petrassi to Beecroft. Handwritten letter dated 1 January 1964 .................................. 209

Figure 6: Petrassi to Beecroft. Handwritten letter dated 1 January 1964 .................................. 209

Figure 7: Beecroft’s composition diploma from Santa Cecilia. 30 September 1961, Rome …. 215
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LIST OF EXAMPLES

Example 3.1: Autographed Piano Reduction of Inno a Roma ..................................................... 67

Example 4.1: Partita per orchestra, Gagliarda (mm. 1 to 6) .................................................... 103

Example 4.2: Partita per orchestra, Gagliarda (mm. 6 to 10) .................................................. 104

Example 4.3: Partita per orchestra, Gagliarda (mm. 77 to 85) ................................................ 106

Example 4.4: Salmo IX, I Parte (mm. 1 to 9) ............................................................................ 117

Example 4.5: Salmo IX, I Parte (Figure 35) .............................................................................. 120

Example 4.6: Salmo IX, II Parte (mm. 1 to 3) ........................................................................... 123

Example 4.7: Capriccio (mm. 1 to 3) ........................................................................................ 124

Example 5.1: La Difesa della Razza (5 August 1938), “Razzismo italiano” ............................ 133

Example 5.2: La Difesa della Razza (20 November 1938), “Dopo le deliberazioni del consiglio
dei ministri” ............................................................................................................................... 135

Example 5.3: La Difesa della Razza (5 August 1938) ............................................................... 136

Example 5.4: Anatomical composition of three fetal skeletons from Het eerste anatomische
cabinet of Frederik Ruysch, as illustrated by Cornelis Huijberts (1701) .................................. 147

Example 5.5: Coro di morti (mm. 12 to 15) .............................................................................. 154

Example 6.1: Operation Husky (10 July 1943 to 17 August 1943) ........................................... 159

Example 6.2: Vintage Poster of Repubblica Sociale Italiana .................................................... 161

Example 6.3: Noche oscura (mm. 125 to 130) .......................................................................... 180

Example 6.4: Noche oscura (mm. 143 to 146) .......................................................................... 183
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LIST OF IMAGES

Image 1: Will Eisma, unknown, Virtú Maragno, Norma Beecroft, Goffredo Petrassi, unknown.
Undated. (Photograph) ............................................................................................................... 210

Image 2: Jorge Peixinho, unknown, Norma Beecroft, Goffredo Petrassi, Will Eisma, Virtú
Maragno. Undated. (Photograph) .............................................................................................. 211

Image 3: Goffredo Petrassi, Norma Beecroft, Will Eisma, Virtú Maragno. April 1960, Rome.
(Photograph) .............................................................................................................................. 212

Image 4: Goffredo Petrassi, Norma Beecroft, Will Eisma, Jorge Peixinho. April 1960, Rome.
(Photograph) .............................................................................................................................. 213

Image 5: Rivka Golani, Goffredo Petrassi, Norma Beecroft. Undated. Toronto. (Photograph)
..................................................................................................................................................... 214

Image 6: Norma Beecroft and Goffredo Petrassi. 1985 at the Italian Cultural Institute in Toronto.
(Photograph) .............................................................................................................................. 214

Image 7: Ennio Morricone. 16 February 2016 at The O2 in London, UK. (Photograph) ......... 230

Image 8: Ennio Morricone. 16 February 2016 at The O2 in London, UK. (Photograph) ............ 231