Arturo Rossato
Basso ostinato. Romanzo musicale
edited by Oreste Palmiero

(Essays, 9)

XXX, 272 pp.; 21 x 15 cm

Arturo Rossato (Vicenza 1882 – Milan 1942) has virtually disappeared from collective cultural memory. Yet, as his life and huge output are studied, his major role on the Italian music and drama scene emerges as indisputable. A fertile and versatile author, Rossato had his strong point in a quite original literary style; his biting pen excelled at sketching characters and events typical of Italian dialect drama before and after 1900. This can be noticed not only in his stage works, but also in his production as a journalist and a memorialist. An example of the utmost interest in the latter field is offered here. Basso ostinato, which the author calls a “musical novel”, is a string of remembrances about musicians, librettists, poets, and publishers whom Rossato met in person, and interacted with, over his long career—from Mascagni to Puccini, from Alfano to Franchetti, Zandonai, and Tito Ricordi II, up to Casella and Malipiero, and including the lesser-known Lattuada, Giachetti, Schinelli, Robbiani, Catalano. It is chock-full of enjoyable episodes, all original and unpublished, all narrated in Rossato’s own brilliant and ironic style. Basso ostinato will surely arouse readers’ and scholars’ interest, also thanks to its hitherto unknown biographical facts about many musicians, who appear here like veritable comedy characters.

Oreste Palmiero is active as a musician, a scholar, and a librarian. He graduated in flute at the Vicenza Conservatory and in music history (1998) at the Padua University under Giulio Cattin. He was a committee member for the “Centro Studi Tomaselli” chaired by Cesare De Michelis, has given papers and lectures, and produced monographs, essays and articles, especially devoted to the private papers of writer Antonio Fogazzaro and other intellectuals. Among his books: Giuseppe Apolloni (1822-1889) musico vicentino (Vicenza: Accademia Olimpica 2000); “Io ti baciavo in sogno”. Fogazzaro e i musicisti (id. 2004), and Antonio Fogazzaro – Giuseppe Giacosa. Carteggio (1883-1904) (id. 2010), which was awarded the Vittoria Aganoor Pompilj national prize. In 2010 he obtained a grant of the “Per conoscere Dino Buzzati” competition, awarded by the Dino Buzzati International Association. More recently (2016) he edited the Carteggio Verga-Giacosa for the Fondazione Verga, Catania.