Vittorio Rieti

Vittorio Rieti was an Italian-American composer of the 20th century known for his unique and sophisticated neo-classical style. His expansive worklist includes compositions in most secular genres with a special emphasis on chamber music and ballets. Rieti was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1898 to Jewish-Italian parents. He became interested in music at a young age and began composing when he was 12 years old. Two years later, he traveled to Milan, where he studied economics at the University of Milan, and he was also a piano and composition student at the Milan Conservatory under the guidance of Giuseppe Frugatta. After completing his doctorate in economics in 1917, he served briefly in the Italian army before continuing his studies in Rome with Alfredo Casella and Ottorino Respighi. His piano pieces from around this time attracted the attention of Arnold Schoenberg, who helped Rieti secure a publishing contract with Universal Edition. Rieti continued to mature as a composer in the early '20s, and he collaborated with composers Renzo Massarani and Mario Labroca, but not under the rumored name I Tre. He became known internationally in 1924, when Schoenberg programmed Rieti's Concerto for Wind Quintet and Orchestra at the ISCM festival. By 1925 his style had become more neo-classical like that of Igor Stravinsky, who was both a close friend and a major influence. Residing in Paris, Rieti composed Barabau for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballet Russes company, and he also wrote incidental music for Louis Jouvet's theater. In the 1930s, Rieti became associated with a group of composers in Paris called La Sérénade, which focused on new chamber music. The escalation of World War II drove him to the United States in 1940, where his ballet and orchestral music was discovered by Arturo Toscanini, Fritz Reiner, Dimitri Mitropoulos, and choreographer George Balanchine. It was around this time that he composed Symphony No. 4 "Sinfonia Tripartita," Second Avenue Waltzes, and the ballets Waltz Academy and The Mute Wife. He also began teaching composition at the Peabody Conservatory in 1948, followed by appointments at the Chicago Musical College and Queens College in the 1950s. He achieved additional success as an opera composer with The Clock in 1952 and Viaggio d’Europa in 1954; The Pet Shop was premiered at the Mannes School of New York in 1958. From 1961 to 1964, Rieti taught at the New York College of Music, and this period also saw him compose several pieces of chamber music with harpsichord, which can be heard on Marina Minkin and Mark Kroll's 2015 recording Vittorio Rieti: Music for Harpsichord & Instruments. Although he no longer held any academic positions, he continued to make appearances as a guest lecturer, and he remained active as a composer throughout his final years. Rieti passed away in 1994, but his music continues to be recorded and performed and can be found on Rieti: Complete Piano Solo & Duo Works, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 with Giorgio Koukl and Virginia Rossetti.
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