Notes for: July 12, 2022
Opera lovers know Donizetti as one of the great masters of 19th-century Italian bel canto opera. What might come as a surprise, though, is that he also wrote a number of non-operatic works, including many symphonies, string quartets, and cantatas.
Young Donizetti showed his gifts early. Born into extreme poverty in Bergamo, in northern Italy – his father was the caretaker of the local pawn shop – Gaetano was taken under the wing of Simon Mayr, a noted opera impresario who ran a school in Bergamo. Mayr took the boy into his school, recognized his talent, and nurtured him for years. When Gaetano was fourteen, Mayr wrote a piece for five of his students in which Gaetano was assigned the role of “the little composer” and was given the line, “I have a vast mind, swift talent, ready fantasy – and I’m a thunderbolt at composing.” It proved to be prophetic.
Gaetano’s first attempt at opera didn’t come until he was about 19. In the meantime, while still a student he busied himself writing church music, quartets, choral music, piano pieces, and other chamber pieces. He often took part in music-making at the salon of Lady Marianna Pezzoli Grattaroli in Bergamo. The charming Trio for Flute, Bassoon and Piano on today’s program may have been written for a performance there.
Once he began writing operas, Donizetti wrote quickly, producing as many as four operas a week. Over his lifetime he composed some 70 operas that ranged from farcical one-act romps, to great comedies like L’Elisir d’Amore, to powerful dramas such as Lucia di Lammermoor. (When he was told that Rossini had composed The Barber of Seville in two weeks, he replied, “That does not surprise me, he has always been lazy.”) By the time of his death at 51 from syphilis-related dementia, one of every four Italian operas performed in Italy was by Donizetti.
Today’s Trio is a hint at what was to come. The lovely Larghetto is songful, with a simple aria-like melody that is passed back and forth among the three instruments. The flute and the bassoon in particular make for an appealing combination. The mood is placid throughout except for one brief minor-key interruption. The second movement of the Trio is a lively Allegro. The piano takes the lead in a cheery movement filled with bouncy rhythms. While the Trio is a youthful work, it already points to the lyrical, bel canto style that would make Donizetti famous.