Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini facts for kids
Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini (born October 7, 1929, in Bologna – died July 11, 2017, in Bologna) was a famous Italian organist, harpsichordist, music expert, and composer. He was known for his amazing musical skills and for helping people appreciate old musical instruments.
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His Life and Music
Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini started his music journey by studying the organ, piano, and how to write music. He learned from great teachers at the Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini in Bologna and in Paris. In 1951, he finished his studies at the University of Padua. His final paper was about the words used in the sacred songs of Johann Sebastian Bach.
He taught organ at the Bologna Conservatory and also worked as a librarian there. Later, he became a professor of organ at the Monteverdi Conservatory in Bolzano. He also taught music history at the University of Parma. In 1971, he became a professor and director at the Institute of Musicology at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He was also a guest professor at universities in the U.S.A.
Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini was a very active concert organist. He played in many concerts both in Italy and in other countries. He and Liuwe Tamminga were the official organists at the famous Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna. He also helped start a music magazine called "L'Organo" in 1960, which is still published today. He regularly taught at summer music courses in the Haarlem, Netherlands, and at the "Academy of Organ Music" in Pistoia.
A Passion for Old Organs
Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, along with other famous musicians like Marie-Claire Alain and Gustav Leonhardt, helped bring back old ways of playing music on Baroque organs and harpsichords. He was a key person in Italy who pushed for the restoration of old organs. This means bringing them back to their original condition using the old methods and techniques.
Thanks to his efforts, many historical organs were fixed. For example, the two organs in the Basilica San Petronio in Bologna were restored. One was built between 1471 and 1531, and the other in 1596. These restorations helped people in Italy understand how special and valuable these old instruments are.
He was one of the most successful concert organists of his time. He played on important organs all over Europe. He also made many recordings and won several awards. Some of his awards include the "Premio della discografia Italiana" and the "Choc de la musique" for a CD he made with Liuwe Tamminga. He also received honorary degrees from universities in Edinburgh, London, Bologna, and Rome.
Amazing Instrument Collection
During his life, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini collected a unique set of musical instruments. These instruments were made between the 16th and 20th centuries. He had about 70 instruments in total. About half of them were from the harpsichord family. He also had clavichords, pianos, organs, wind instruments, and even automatic musical instruments.
He later gave this amazing collection, along with a large library, to a foundation in Bologna. The collection is now shown in the buildings and Church of San Colombano, Bologna. The goal is to keep the collection safe, display it, and even add more instruments. There are also study areas in the library, guided tours, and a workshop to fix and care for the instruments. They also hold talks and concerts using these historical instruments. Some of the most important instruments in his collection include a spinet from around 1540 and harpsichords from 1679 and 1686. He also had a very special instrument from 1746 that combined a harpsichord and a piano!
He often served as a judge for music competitions in Italy and other countries. For example, he was a judge for the International Organ Competition in Bruges in 1991 and 1994. He also wrote many papers about music and helped publish important musical works by composers like Girolamo Frescobaldi and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Music Recordings
- 1991 – Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, The Organs of San Petronio Basilica, with Liuwe Tamminga (Tactus)
- 1991 – Masters from the Po Valley and Flanders. The Historic Organs of the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna, with Liuwe Tamminga (Tactus)
- 1993 – Giuseppe Gherardeschi, Mass for Organ, with the S. Michele Arcangelo Choir of Corsanico (Fonè)
- 1996 – Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini and his collection of harpsichords (Ermitage)
- 2004 – The Gaetano Callido Organ (La Bottega Discantica)
His Own Music
- Passacaglia on a theme by Hindemith (1953)
What He Wrote
- Studies on the Texts of the Sacred Cantatas of J. S. Bach, Padua-Kassel, 1956
- The Situation of Ancient Organs in Italy: Problems of Survey and Protection, with Oscar Mischiati (in "L'organo" 1969)
- Introductory Notes on the History of Temperament in Italy (in "L'organo" 1980)
- J. S. Bach Music in Italy in the 18th and 19th Century (in AA.VV., Bachiana et alia musicologica: Festschrift A. Dürr, Kassel, 1983)
- Giovanni Ferrini and his Harpsichord (in Thomas Steiner, ed., Instruments à claviers – expressivité et flexibilité; actes des rencontres internationales harmoniques, Lausanne, 2002, 13–32)
- Tagliavini Collection, Catalog of Musical Instruments, 2 vols., Bologna 2008, with John Henry van der Meer
