Short bio Franco Alfano
Birthday:
1875 in Posillipo, Italy
Died:
1954 in San Remo, Italy
Active:
1890s - 1940s
Genre:
Classical
Period:
20th Century, Modern
Full biography Franco Alfano
Franco Alfano (8 March 1875 - 27 October 1954) was an Italian composer and pianist , known for his contributions to Italian opera. He was born in Naples, Italy into a family of silver engravers. He studied at the Conservatory of Naples, where he received a diploma in piano and composition.
Alfano began his career as a composer with the opera Miranda in 1898. However, he is best known for his completion of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot. Puccini died before he could complete the final scene of the opera, and Alfano was chosen from a group of composers to finish the work. The completion was controversial, with some criticizing Alfano's work as being inferior to Puccini's. Despite this, his version of Turandot remains the most commonly performed version of the opera.
Alfano also wrote several other operas, including Risurrezione (1904) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1936), as well as chamber music, instrumental works, and piano pieces. His work has been described as being influenced by both Puccini and the French impressionist composers.
Alfano's career was interrupted by World War II, during which he went into hiding to avoid persecution by the Italian Fascist government. He resumed his career after the war and continued to compose until his death in 1954.
Compositions featuring Franco Alfano
| # | Name | Duration | Genre | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sì, lo so, for voice & piano (from "Cinque nuove Liriche tagoriane") | 3:23 min | Vocal Music | 1948 |
| 2 | Il giorno non è piu, for voice & piano (from Due Liriche) | 3:22 min | Vocal Music | 1948 |
| 3 | Venne e mi sedette accanto, for voice & piano (from Sette Liriche) | 2:29 min | Vocal Music | 1947 |
| 4 | Si addensano le nubi, for voice & piano (from Sette Liriche) | 4:51 min | Vocal Music | 1947 |
| 5 | Liriche (7), for voice & piano | Vocal Music | 1947 | |
| 6 | String Quartet No. 3 in G minor | 27:25 min | Chamber Music | 1945 |
| 7 | Piano Quintet in A flat major | 27:57 min | Chamber Music | 1945 |
| 8 | T'amo, diletto mio, for voice & piano (from 2 Liriche di Tagore) | 4:16 min | Vocal Music | 1943 |
| 9 | Nuovi poemi, for voice & piano | 6:20 min | Vocal Music | 1939 |
| 10 | Perché siedi là?, for voice & piano (from "Nuove Liriche tagoriane") | 3:22 min | Vocal Music | 1936 |
| 11 | Nenia & Scherzino, for violin & piano | 6:41 min | Chamber Music | 1936 |
| 12 | Non nascondere il secreto del tuo cuore, for voice & piano (from "Nuove Liriche tagoriane") | 3:44 min | Vocal Music | 1936 |
| 13 | Nuove Liriche tagoriane, for voice & piano | Vocal Music | 1936 | |
| 14 | Concerto for violin, cello & piano | 28:29 min | Chamber Music | 1932 |
| 15 | Symphony No. 2 | 40:34 min | Symphony | 1931 |
| 16 | Liriche di Tagore (3) for voice & piano | 10:21 min | Vocal Music | 1928 |
| 17 | Cyrano de Bergerac, opera | 122:19 min | Opera | 1926 |
| 18 | String Quartet No. 2 in C major ("In Tre Tempi Collegati") | 22:06 min | Chamber Music | 1925 |
| 19 | Sonata for cello & piano | 31:32 min | Chamber Music | 1925 |
| 20 | Sonata for violin & piano in D major | 28:49 min | Chamber Music | 1923 |
| 21 | Non partire, amore mio, for voice & piano (from 6 Songs) | 2:13 min | Vocal Music | 1919 |
| 22 | Poemi di Tagore (3), for voice & piano | 11:46 min | Vocal Music | 1918 |
| 23 | String Quartet No. 1 in D major | 33:07 min | Chamber Music | 1914 |
| 24 | Symphony No. 1 ("Sinfonia Classica") | 32:51 min | Symphony | 1910 |
| 25 | Risurrezione, opera | 111:49 min | Opera | 1904 |
| 26 | Danses roumaines (4), for piano, Op. 9 | 11:33 min | Keyboard | 1899 |
| 27 | Piéces (2), for piano, Op. 5 | 6:35 min | Keyboard | - |
| 28 | Pièces (4), for piano, Op. 3 | 12:21 min | Keyboard | - |
| 29 | Nostalgie for piano | 4:02 min | Keyboard | - |
| 30 | Sakùntala, opera in 3 acts | 109:00 min | Opera | - |
| 31 | Pieces (4) for piano, Op. 3/4, Causerie | 3:28 min | Keyboard | - |
| 32 | Pieces (4) for piano, Op. 3/3, Fable | 4:07 min | Keyboard | - |
| 33 | Sonata for violin in D major | Chamber Music | - | |
| 34 | Pieces (4) for piano, Op. 3/2, Romanzetta | 2:56 min | Keyboard | - |
| 35 | Pieces (4) for piano, Op. 3/1, Mazurka | 2:32 min | Keyboard | - |
| 36 | Danses napolitaines (4), for piano, Op. 8 | 11:22 min | Keyboard | - |
| 37 | Don Juan de Manara, opera | Opera | - | |
| 38 | Pax, for organ | 5:20 min | Keyboard | - |
| 39 | Danses de Cléo de Mérode (5), for piano | 14:18 min | Keyboard | - |
| 40 | Melodia dei miei vent' anni, for piano | 3:22 min | Keyboard | - |
| 41 | Antica ninna-nanna partenopea, for voice & orchestra | 2:45 min | Vocal Music | - |
Albums featuring Franco Alfano
| # | Сover | Name album | Year | Music label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Franco Alfano, Elmira Darvarova, Mary Ann Mumm, Craig Mumm, Samuel Magill – Complete String Quartets(CD, Album) | 2023 | Naxos |
| 2 |  |
Franco Alfano - Orazio Maione – Quatre Pièces Op. 2, Quatre Pièces Op. 11, Cinq Pièces Lyriques Op. 14, Quatre Pièces Lyriques Op. 16, Trois Pièces Lyriques Op. 24, Amour... Amour... (Valse), Petite Mazurka(CD, Album) | 2021 | Aulicus Classics |
| 3 |  |
Franco Alfano, Anne Sophie Duprels | Matthew Vickers | Leon Kim, Orchestra e Coro Del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Francesco Lanzillotta – Risurrezione(2×CD, Album) | 2021 | Dynamic (4) |
| 4 |  |
Franco Alfano, Orazio Maione – Piano Works(CD, Album) | 2017 | Naxos |
| 5 |  |
Rabindranath Tagore Music By Franco Alfano, Karim Al-Zand, Frank Bridge, John Alden Carpenter, Karol Szymanowski - Paul Busselberg, Aidan Soder, Calogero Di Liberto – Tagoriana (Songs On Poetry By Rabindranath Tagore)(CD, Album) | 2014 | Albany Records |
| 6 |  |
Respighi, Casella, Aöfano, Malipiero, Pizzetti, Castelnuovo-Tedesco – L'infinito 20th Century Italian Songs For Mezzo-soprano And Piano(CD, Compilation, Stereo) | 2012 | Urania Records (4) |
| 7 |  |
Franco Alfano, Elmira Darvarova, Scott Dunn, Mary Ann Mumm, Craig Mumm, Samuel Magill – Violin Sonata; Piano Quintet(CD, Album) | 2011 | Naxos |
| 8 |  |
Alfano - Plácido Domingo, Sondra Radvanovsky, Arturo Chacón Cruz, Rod Gilfry, Orquestra De La Comunitat Valenciana, Cor De La Generalitat Valenciana, Patrick Fournillier, Michal Znaniecki – Cyrano De Bergerac(Blu-ray, Multichannel) | 2011 | Naxos |
| 9 |  |
Duo Alterno - Tosti, Malipiero, Ghedini, Casella, Bucchi, Alfano – La Voce Crepuscolare - Notturni E Serenate Del '900(CD, Album) | 2010 | Stradivarius |
| 10 |  |
Franco Alfano : Samuel Magill, Scott Dunn, Elmira Darvarova – Cello Sonata / Concerto For Violin, Cello And Piano(CD, Album) | 2009 | Naxos |
| 11 |  |
Cyrano De Bergerac(DVD, DVD-Video, NTSC, Stereo) | 2009 | Naxos |
| 12 |  |
Cyrano De Bergerac (II)(CD, Album, Reissue) | 2007 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 13 |  |
Cyrano De Bergerac (I)(CD, Album, Reissue) | 2007 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 14 |  |
Franco Alfano – Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt, Israel Yinon – Symphonies 1 & 2(CD, Album) | 2005 | cpo |
| 15 |  |
Duo Alterno - Franco Alfano – Liriche Da Tagore(CD, Album) | 2004 | NUOVA ERA |
| 16 |  |
Franco Alfano, Orchestre National De Montpellier, Friedemann Layer – Risurrezione(2×CD, Album) | 2003 | Accord |
| 17 |  |
Franco Alfano - Uhl · Sadnik · McNamara · Newerla · Pauly · Kiel Opera Chorus · Kiel Philharmonic Orchestra · Markus Frank (3) – Cyrano De Bergerac(2×CD, Album, Box Set, ) | 2002 | cpo |
| 18 |  |
Cyrano de Bergerac(2×LP, Album, Box Set, ) | 1976 | MRF Records |
| 19 |  |
Franco Alfano, Elio Boncompagni, Magda Olivero, Giuseppe Gismondo, Antonio Boyer, Anna Di Stasio, Fernanda Cadoni – Resurrezione | 1972 | Historical Recording Enterprises |
| 20 |  |
Resurrezione (Resurrection)(2×LP, Mono) | - | Not On Label |
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