Le opere pianistiche di Pizzetti degli anni Quaranta

The essay explores a field in Ildebrando Pizzetti’s catalogue — his solo piano compositions — which scholars have so far devoted little attention to. After a brief examination of Pizzetti’s piano output as a whole, two very extensive and complex compositions are the main case studies: Sonata 1942 (1942–43) and Canti di ricordanza (1943). As well as retracing their genesis, the works are analysed in terms of form and compositional techniques and framed in the broader context of Pizzetti’s musical poetics. A major element of stylistic continuity is the use of the ancient Greek modality, which Pizzetti had experimented with since he composed music for Gabriele d’Annunzio’s La Nave (1905–07), and which re-emerges with a new meaning in the piano pieces of the 1940s. Both pieces reveal a notable difference when examined from the point of view of piano writing: while Sonata 1942 seems almost devoid of any reference to a more traditional piano writing, Canti di ricordanza often refers to a typical early twentieth-century virtuoso piano texture.