The music of Luigi Dallapiccola has been shaped by his many political, musical, and poetic experiences as a young composer in the northeastern corner of Italy and later in Florence during the two world wars, the most tumultuous years of the twentieth century for western Europe. His compositions are full of textual and musical allusions to the past both distant and recent. His music includes allusions to Wagner, Webern, Schoenberg, Bach, Monteverdi, and Berg among many others. Yet his practice of self-borrowing is prevalent as well, especially later in his career. The greatest example of this is his full-length opera Ulisse (1968), which makes reference to at least six of his previous works in addition to its use of compositional techniques typical of Monteverdi, Wagner, and Bach. Preceding this work is a companion instrumental piece entitled Three Questions with Two Answers (1962-63), which introduces the opera's fundamental tone rows and foreshadows some of its most prevalent musical and philosophical themes. The rapport between Dallapiccola's music and that of his predecessors as well as his practice of self-borrowing imply a theme of constant retrospection and self-analysis in his artistic career.

Works: Dallapiccola: Tre laudi (33-45, 242-45), Volo di notte (38-49, 242-45), An Mathilde (193-97, 242-45), Three Questions with Two Answers (224-31), Ulisse (224-52), Il prigioniero (239-45), Cinque canti (242-45), Canti di liberazione (242-45).

Sources: J. S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier (14, 158), The Art of Fugue (157); Dallapiccola: Tre laudi (33-45, 242-45), Volo di notte (38-49, 242-45), Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (72-73, 232-35), An Mathilde (193-97, 242-45), Three Questions with Two Answers (224-31), Il prigioniero (239-45), Cinque canti (242-45), Canti di liberazione (242-45); Monteverdi: Orfeo (245-47).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Elizabeth Elmi