Description

GILBERTO CREPAX (DOLO, 3 JULY 1890 – MILAN, 8 DECEMBER 1970)

 

 

 

 

His father Pietro was a clarinettist in the town band, while his mother, Teresa Regazzo, of humble origins, was a housewife. It was his father himself who introduced him to the study of music at a very young age, enrolling him at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, where in 1909 he graduated in cello and where, among his teachers, he had the cellist Prospero Montecchi. In 1910 he took part in a competition for a position as cello teacher at the Parma Conservatory and evidently made a favorable impression on the examination commission which immediately realized the candidate’s qualities, so much so that in 1920 he obtained the position, moving on four years later to Milan Conservatory. During the First World War, in which he had enlisted as a volunteer, he met Arturo Toscanini, who was organizing concerts for the troops at the time, and Gabriele D’Annunzio, both leading figures in the panorama of music and art. There were sporadic relationships with D’Annunzio, practically only when his brother later began to hold concerts as a member of the Vittoriale quartet, while Toscanini soon realized the innate talent and potential of the young cellist. Subsequently he also met Alfredo Casella and Gian Francesco Malipiero, with whom he established a solid friendship, and already at the time of the competition he had availed himself of the collaboration and help of Ermanno Wolf Ferrari, thanks to whom he gradually began to make his way in the difficult and difficult world of Italian artists. The real turning point, however, came thanks to maestro Toscanini who in 1921 called him to be part of the orchestral ensemble that would take La Scala on the famous tour of the United States; this important implicit recognition of his abilities effectively determined his artistic career, even if, when the maestro asked him to stay in the United States, he did not accept, causing the anger of Toscanini who was certainly not accustomed to protests or refusals. Once the American period ended, Crepax began his concert activity in Italy, which he always accompanied with teaching, participating in numerous successful ensembles. We remember the trio Vidusso-Abbado-Crepax, Calace-Gilberto and Attilio Crepax, with whom he brought considerable success to the Society of the Quartet of Milan, playing pieces by Grieg and Schumann, and Casella-M. Corti-Crepax which he contributed to create. He also participated in the Ferro Quartet, with which he toured abroad, reaching as far as Budapest and Berlin, and the Strub Quartet, with which he participated in some performances in Milan. He also had the opportunity to play at the La Fenice theater in Venice, where he had moved during the Second World War. Upon returning to Milan he had the bitter surprise of finding his home completely destroyed by the bombings and, with it, irreparably lost an immense archive of memories and reviews. At the end of the war he began his regular teaching activity at the Milan Conservatory, an activity which he had never neglected. Among his students should be remembered M. Amfiteatrov, A. Ianigro and C. Gusella, who later took over from him at La Scala as cellist. He also joined the La Scala orchestra, where he played until the end of his career. He concluded his career in Milan with the recording of two albums with the Quartetto della Scala.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Boccherini / de Giardini, Puccini – Quartetto della Scala – Quartet In D Major, Opus 6, No. 1 / Sonata A Tre In E Flat Major – Crisantemi

Label: Urania Records – URLP 7074

Format: Vinyl, LP, Mono

Country: US

Released: 1953

Genre:  Classical

Quartet In D Major, Opus 6, No. 1

Composed By – Luigi Boccherini

A1 Allegro Vivace

A2 Adagio

A3  Minuetto in Rondo (Allegro)

Sonata A Tre In E Flat Major

Composed By – Felice de Giardini

B1a Allegro Moderato

B1b Siciliana

B1c Allegro Con Brio

B2 Crisantemi

Composed By – Giacomo Puccini

Copyright © – Urania Records, Inc.

Cover, Design – Robert Galster

Ensemble – Quartetto della Scala

Sleeve Notes – Harold Lawrence

Viola – Tommaso Valdinocci

Violin [First Violin] – Enrico Minetti

Violin [Second Violin] – Giuseppe Gambetti

Violoncello – Gilberto Crepax

Recorded in Italy

Made and Printed in U.S.A.

Matrix / Runout (A runout): E2KP-9280-1S

Matrix / Runout (A label): E2KP—9280

Matrix / Runout (B runout): E2KP-9281-2S

Matrix / Runout (B label): E2KP—9281