Puccini and Mascagni as Seen by Viafora
in Musical America
Last week, we introduced Gianni Viafora and his “Gallery of Celebrities” in Musical America.[1] Today we showcase his drawings of Puccini and Mascagni and compare them with contemporary photographs of the composers. We leave you to compare the skill and amusing refinement with which this all-but-forgotten artist depicts his subjects. We also include several texts from Musical America, a remarkable, though little-explored documentary resource, dealing with lesser-known elements of the composers’ lives. And, for the first time, we provide links to entire articles sampled below, no subscription required!
Giacomo Puccini
24 Vol. No. 1 (22 July 1916): 7; Vol. 29 No. 8 (21 December 1918): 1.
Note that Puccini is pictured lake-side, across from which is depicted his villa on Torre del Lago. Note also the tiny singing duck, perched on the end of the composer’s hunting rifle!
Puccini the Hunter
“…duck shooting, which he pursued with more energy than his composing…”
Watch this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYqIdOI_Rdw
Please use your browser’s back arrow to return to this post.
(Warning: If you do not you will be watching random videos for days to come, over which we have no control!)
An anecdote:
“Personalities,” Vol. 13 No. 13 (4 February 1911): 20.
Vol. 13 No. 7 (24 December 1910): 8.
To read the entire article, click here: “Puccini at Home”
* * *
Pietro Mascagni
Vol. 24 No. 14 (5 August 1916): 7; Vol. 24 No. 2 (13 May 1916): 29.
Vol. 23 No. 25 (22 April 1916): 19.
Two anecdotes:
“What the Gossips Say,” Vol. 6 No. 6 (22 June 1907): 14; “Echoes of Music Abroad,” Vol. 15 No. 24 (20 April 1912): 12.
Vol. 16 No. 11 (20 July 1912): 27; Vol. 15 No. 24 (20 April 1912): 29.
To read both articles, click here: Mascagni’s (in)fidelity
Mascagni at the piano…
More Viafora coming soon…
RIPM search tip: For more on Viafora and his drawings in Musical America, access the RIPM Preservation Series: European and North American Music Periodicals, as fill in the following fields: Periodical: Musical America (New York, 1898-1899, 1905-1922 [-1964]), Keyword(s): Viafora.
Click here to subscribe to RIPM’s Curios, News, and Chronicles!
When is our next posting? To find out, follow us on Twitter and Facebook!
***
RIPM is an international non-profit organization preserving and providing access to music periodicals published in more than twenty countries between approximately 1760 and 1966, from Bach to Bernstein. Functioning under the auspices of the International Musicological Society, and the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres, RIPM produces four electronic publications: Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals, Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals with Full Text, RIPM European and North American Music Periodicals (Preservation Series), and RIPM Jazz Periodicals (Preservation Series, forthcoming).
[1] See H. Robert Cohen, “Viafora’s ‘Gallery of Celebrities’ in Musical America (1915-1920),” Music Cultures in Sounds, Words and Images: Essays in Honor of Zdravko Blažeković, (Vienna: Hollitzer Verlag, 2018): 535-569.