Memoirs of an Artist & Other Writings - Charles Gounod

MEMOIRS OF AN ARTIST & OTHER WRITINGS

Two hundred years after his birth, Charles Gounod continues to speak to us not only through the immortal melodies of his operas, but also through his writings, not all of which are known or published in Italy. While his incomplete autobiography, Mémoires d'un artiste, was known in a translation dating back to 1935, his other essays have never been translated or published in Italy. This book, which can be considered a true tribute to the French composer on the bicentenary of his birth, has collected and translated, along with his Memoirs of an Artist and the Autobiographie de Charles Gounod et de la routine en matière d'art , nearly all of the articles he published, which reveal his ideas on aesthetic matters, as well as his musical tastes, starting with Mozart's beloved Don Giovanni, which, for the French composer, was a true revelation. In these pages, one can find, in addition to anecdotes about his own life, opinions on contemporary composers such as Wagner, on English music criticism, on the public, and on the systems of English music publishing compared with those of France.

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Riccardo Viagrande, who graduated in Piano from the Francesco Cilea Conservatory in Reggio Calabria and in Composition from the Arcangelo Corelli Conservatory in Messina, where he also earned Master's Degrees in Composition and Wind Conducting with top marks and honors, is the author of numerous musicological essays, both highly regarded internationally, and a substantial body of musical compositions for orchestra and chamber ensemble, many of which have been published. He graduated in Modern Literature with top marks and honors and earned a PhD in Italian Studies from the University of Catania. He has collaborated with the Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo and the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, writing program notes, and with the magazine Gbopera. A secondary school literature teacher, he recently earned a degree in European Languages ​​and Cultures, also with top marks and honors.