Concerto Giannetto (1991)
VITTORIO RIETI
Born 28 January 1898, Alexandria, Egypt.
Died 19 February 1994, New York City, USA.
In 1991, at the age of 93, Vittorio Rieti was asked by Janet Packer to write a violin concerto. It had been 24 years since Rieti wrote his second violin concerto. Within four months, Rieti completed Concerto Giannetto, a twelve-minute work scored for solo violin and full symphony orchestra. “Giannetto” is the Italian word for “Janet.”
Concerto Giannetto adheres to the traditional concerto form of three movements: fast, slow and fast. However, a poignant violin cadenza precedes the first movement, allowing the listener to become acquainted with the solo violin before the entrance of the orchestra. The first movement alternates energetic accented melodies with sweeter relaxed material, affording opportunity for dialogue between solo violin and solo winds. A second violin cadenza serves as a transition between the first and second movements. The slow movement is imbued with Rieti’s characteristic lyricism tinged with melancholy. Its two parts are a chorale-like Adagio and a gently rocking barcarolle. The third movement is all high spirits and wit. Its brevity is reminiscent of a comment once made about Rieti’s music: “the audience is almost always sorry it is over - it was going along so well...”
Samuel Rechtoris, who was a close friend of Rieti in his final years, has written: “Vittorio Rieti enjoyed describing himself as a citizen of the world. Born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1898, he traveled to Milan at sixteen and received a doctorate in economics from Bocconi University in 1917, specializing in the economy of Turkey. He soon redirected his life and by 1925 had composed the music for George Balanchine’s first ballet, Barabau. Traveling widely throughout Europe, he developed relationships of mutual respect with other composers: Schoenberg, Berg and Webern in Vienna; Casella and Respighi in Rome; Lambert and Walton in London; and numerous artistic luminaries in Paris. His friendship with Stravinsky, begun in the 1920s, continued for over half a century. After fifteen productive years in Rome and Paris, political conditions in Europe compelled Rieti to immigrate to New York City in 1940. He began a distinguished teaching career in the United States by succeeding Nadia Boulanger at the Peabody Conservatory in 1948. He later held positions at Chicago Musical College and Queens College. Rieti’s orchestral works were championed by Ansermet, Kubelik, Mengelberg, Mitropoulos, Monteux, Reiner, and Toscanini. His ballets continue to be frequently performed, La Sonnambula (Night Shadow) having received more than two thousand performances. Of all the musicians, dancers and theatrical figures who worked with the legendary Sergei Diaghilev, Rieti was the last survivor.
Vittorio Rieti, who came within six years of living in three centuries, took pleasure in reflecting that his compositions have, for eight decades, been performed regularly in all corners of the world. Now that he is no longer with us, the responsibility falls on intelligent and capable performing musicians to acquaint themselves with his music and offer it to us, and on those listeners who enjoy his music to demand its performance.”
—Janet Packer
