Pietro Spada facts for kids
Pietro Spada (born July 29, 1935 – died December 31, 2022) was a talented Italian pianist and music expert. He was known for playing music by less famous composers in a very skilled and lively way. His recordings of piano music by John Field are especially well-liked.
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Early Life and Music Studies
Pietro Spada was born in Rome, Italy. He was the second of three sons. Even though his parents were lawyers and not musicians, their home was always full of music. Many famous musicians visited, like violinist Gioconda de Vito and singers Giacomo Lauri-Volpi and Tito Schipa. Pietro's great-grandfather, Jacopo Ferretti, wrote the words for Rossini's opera la Cenerentola. He also worked with other composers like Donizetti.
Pietro started learning piano at age 12 with Vito Carnevali. Soon after, he went to the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome. He studied there with Tito Aprea and finished with top honors in 1956. Later, he received special coaching from Italian pianist Carlo Zecchi, who became a close friend. He also attended lessons with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. Spada also studied composition with Vincenzo di Donato, Carlo Pinelli, and Andrea Mascagni. He finished his studies at the Milan Conservatory with Giorgio Federico Ghedini.
Performing and Teaching
Spada performed in many countries around the world. These included Japan, Germany, North and South America, Russia, and England. He even toured with the Hallé Orchestra under Sir John Barbirolli. Spada played under many famous conductors. Some of them were Charles Bruch, Dean Dixon, Antal Dorati, Arthur Fiedler, and Jascha Horenstein.
In 1966, Spada became a Guest Professor of piano at Florida State University. The next year, he joined the piano team at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Later, he taught at Indiana University in Bloomington. At these universities, he both taught students and performed concerts. In 1970, he decided to return to Italy. He then taught at the Turin Conservatory and the Rome Conservatory. His longest time as a piano professor was at the Naples Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella. There, he did a lot of research on old music papers before leaving teaching.
Music Research and Recordings
While living in the United States, Pietro Spada received a special grant. This allowed him to research Muzio Clementi, a famous composer. He created a complete collection of Clementi's symphonies that still exist. He continued his research, publishing and recording many keyboard pieces. These pieces had never been heard before. They were by composers like Paisiello, Donizetti, and Field.
Spada, along with Massimo Boccaccini, started a publishing company called Boccaccini & Spada Editori. Through this company, he published many compositions. These were by great classical composers and had never been published before. Famous musicians like Abbado, Muti, and Pavarotti have performed music from Spada's editions.
Pietro Spada made his first recording in 1960. He recorded a huge amount of music on CDs. This included a set of three discs in 1988. These discs contained all of Ferruccio Busoni's arrangements of Bach's music. He was also known as a Steinway Artist. This means he was a famous pianist who played Steinway pianos.
Personal Life
Spada got married in 1967. He had a son, Marcantonio M. Spada, who was born in Rome in 1970. Pietro Spada passed away on December 31, 2022, at the age of 87.
See also
In Spanish: Pietro Spada para niños
