Giovanni Sgambati

Giovanni Sgambati (Rome, 1841 – Rome, 1914) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor whose name is associated with the revival of non-operatic music in Italy during the second half of the nineteenth century. Born and died in Rome, he devoted almost his entire life to the city, which was the centre of his activity as a performer, teacher and promoter of music.

His training began in childhood, when he made his debut as a pianist at the age of six and soon began to compose. After the death of his father in 1849, the family moved to Trevi, where he studied with Natalucci, a pupil of Zingarelli. Back in Rome in 1860, he built a reputation as a pianist and perfected his counterpoint with Giovanni Aldega. In 1862 he met Liszt, who immediately recognised his talent and seriousness. A friendship developed between the two, along with a relationship of pupil and protégé that lasted until the death of the Hungarian master, and which proved decisive for Sgambati, who in turn spread the music of Liszt and of other foreign composers. Around 1866–1867 he presented the Dante Symphony in Italy and conducted the premiere of the first part of Christus.

A tour of Germany with Liszt in 1869 brought him closer to Anton Rubinstein and to the music of Wagner, whom he met in Rome in 1876; the latter praised his two piano quintets and recommended them to the house of Schott. As a pianist he achieved international renown, performing in England and other countries. In 1881 he turned down a teaching post at the Moscow Conservatory, apparently because he did not wish to uproot himself from Rome, where he had put down roots. There, together with Ettore Pinelli, he founded the Liceo Musicale di Santa Cecilia, which came into being informally around 1869 as a free school for impoverished piano students in his own home, and which received official status in 1877. He continued to teach there until his death.

His historical importance is beyond dispute, although his output has been far less well preserved than that of his younger contemporary Martucci. His early pieces, such as the lively scherzo of the first quintet, show a personality of their own, and some later preludes reveal harmonic boldness. Nevertheless, his music often runs the risk of an easy and repetitive charm, and his major instrumental works, perhaps with the exception of the early quintets, do not quite convince as a whole. Even so, his efforts prepared the ground for a more enduring Italian instrumental music, and his Requiem, used at royal funerals, retains a sober dignity.