Nuccio D’Angelo
Nuccio D’Angelo received his earliest musical training at the tender age of six from a musician uncle, who initiated him into an especially joyous relationship with music and the guitar that would be open to all forms of experimentation. In fact, in addition to his classical music studies, between his fourteenth and nineteenth birthday he also dedicated himself to improvisation in popular music and jazz, among other genres. At the end of his boyhood years he became fascinated with composition and has continued to practice it ever since.
Nuccio D'Angelo
Crucial in his career were his studies between 1976 and 1983 at the Conservatory of Florence, where he still resides. His compositional language took shape in Florence, where he studied with Gaetano Giani-Luporini, at the same time that he perfected his guitar performance and interpretation skills under the guidance of Alvaro Company. In 1984 he graduated magna cum laude in guitar and wrote one of his most striking works, the Due canzoni lidie. In the past years this piece has been recorded several times and was been featured in the finals of the 1988 Radio France Guitar Competition as well as listed in the repertoire of the …cole Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris. It continues to be played all over the world and to be presented in many guitar competitions.
In Nuccio D’Angelo’s career, the compositional and interpretive experience are complementary and interconnected. In his concerts he alternates his own compositions with pieces taken from the Spanish and South American repertoires. Thanks to the youthful experiences that have led him to appreciate and practice many musical genres, from time to time he revisits and reworks pieces in various genres (popular music, jazz), or scrutinizes non-Western forms of making music. Some examples include his Suite barocca (1991) based on themes by Sanz, Corbetta, and Murciaãfor orchestra of guitars and percussion premiered in 1991 by the Guitar Symphonietta conducted by Leo Brouwer; a Raga for prepared piano (imitating the sounds of a sitar); a jazzy Ballad for piano (which may be performed as written or, if preferred, with improvisations on the given material); two Quintets (1993 and 1994) dedicated and inspired by the style of Astor Piazzolla; and a reworking of Piazzolla’s Cafe 1930.
Always along the line of exploring stylistic mixtures, for his CD Homages he invited jazz performers such as double bass players Lello Pareti and Pippo Pedol, the percussionist Alessio Riccio, and the pianist Peppe Porcelli. The latter has requested Mr. D’Angelo’s collaboration in his CDs Isola and Rilevamenti da un sestante.
The Electric Suite a tribute to the electric guitar but intended for an acoustic instruments a result of these experiences and musical outlook. This piece explores and evokes various effects and harmonies inspired by the electric guitar and the many genres in which it is used. Nuccio D’Angelo often endows his pieces with characteristic melodic cells and special harmonic colors. It is possible to understand such features as non-strict structural elements, allowing for free invention and providing recognizable features to related pieces. Modern formal elements and traditional parameters such as rhythm, harmony, and melody coexist and interact in his compositions.
Internally his pieces alternate diverse stylistic and instrumental elements, used according to the emotional states to be conveyed, where inspiration, taste, and atmosphere substantially occupy the main role and are not controlled by the chosen structures.
Over his professional career Nuccio D’Angelo has been a guest of festivals presented by numerous concert associations in Italy, and he has performed both as a soloist and chamber ensemble player in Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland, and the United States. His works, appreciated by many great musicians such as Leo Brouwer, Reginald Smith Brindle, and Terry Riley, have been published by …ditions Max Eschig, Ricordi, and Lemoine, and frequently appear in recitals by well-known guitarists.
He has won first prizes in composition at the Festival of Contemporary Music promoted by the Onyukai Association (Tokyo, 1984) with Due canzoni lidie, and the Andres Segovia competition in Spain with Magie. He has also received special prizes at The European International Competition for Composers sponsored by the Ibla Foundation (New York, 1996) and La Chitarra d’oro per la composizione (Alessandria, 1997).
He teaches guitar at the Mascagni Musical Institut in Livorno, and has led courses in guitar and composition in Canada, Germany (Hamburg), Italy (many cities), Monaco (Marktoberdorf), Spain, and the United States. His music has been appreciated by many important musicians such as L. Brouwer, T. Riley, R. Smith-Brindle, A. Pierri and played and recorded by famous guitarists: “Due Canzoni Lidie” was recorded many times in the last years and played by many guitarists in concert and in guitar competions. N. D. held in 2005 the guitar chair and in 2006 a compositon course at the Indiana University of Bloomington (Indiana – U.S.A.).
email:nucciodangelo@ libero.it
website: www.nucciodangelo.it
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