February 3, 1904:
Luigi Dallapiccola is born in Pisino d’Istria in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Pazin, Croatia), the son of Pio Dallapiccola, a teacher of classical languages and school headmaster, and Domitilla Alberti.
June 28, 1923:
Luigi Dallapiccola (19) enters the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini in Florence, seeking a diploma in piano.
April 1, 1924:
Giacomo Puccini (65) travels to Florence to see Arnold Schoenberg (49) conduct his Pierrot Lunaire. “Who can say that Schoenberg will not be a point of departure to a goal in the distant future? But at present--unless I understand nothing--we are as far from a concrete artistic realization of it as Mars is from Earth.” Also present, and quite overwhelmed, is a conservatory student named Luigi Dallapiccola (20).
November 10, 1924:
Luigi Dallapiccola (20) receives a diploma in piano from the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini in Florence.
May 18, 1929:
Due Canzoni di Grado for voice, female chorus, and chamber orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (25) to words of Marin are performed for the first time, at Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini in Florence.
January 20, 1931:
Dalla mia terro for voice, chorus, and orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (26) to words of folk poetry is performed for the first time, in Palazzo di Parte Guelfa, Florence.
June 12, 1931:
Due Liriche del Kalevala for solo voices, chorus, and percussion by Luigi Dallapiccola (27) are performed for the first time, in Florence.
April 7, 1932:
Estate for male chorus by Luigi Dallapiccola (28) to words of Alcaeus (tr. Romagnoli) is performed for the first time, in Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome.
September 12, 1932:
Tre Studi for soprano and chamber orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (28) to words from the Kalevala is performed for the first time, in Venice.
January 22, 1933:
Partita for orchestra with solo soprano by Luigi Dallapiccola (28) is performed for the first time, in Teatro Comunale, Florence.
September 8, 1934:
Rapsodia for solo voice and chamber orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (30), to words of the Chanson de Roland, is performed for the first time, in Venice.
October 22, 1934:
Divertimento in quattro Esercizi for soprano and five instruments by Luigi Dallapiccola (30) to anonymous 13th century words is performed for the first time, in Geneva.
April 6, 1935:
Sei cori di Michelangelo Buonarroti il Giovane (Set II) for chorus and 17 instruments by Luigi Dallapiccola (31) is performed for the first time, in Rome. See 26 April 1938.
September 4, 1935:
Concerto op.24 for chamber ensemble by Anton Webern (51) is performed for the first time, in Prague. Among the listeners is Luigi Dallapiccola (31).
January 23, 1936:
Musica per tre pianoforti by Luigi Dallapiccola (31) is performed for the first time, in Geneva. The composer is one of the three pianists.
March 30, 1936:
Musica per tre pianoforti (Inni) by Luigi Dallapiccola (32) is performed for the first time, in Geneva.
May 14, 1937:
Sei Cori di Michelangelo Buonarrotti il Giovane (Set III) for chorus and orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (33) is performed for the first time, in Teatro Comunale, Florence. See 26 April 1938.
September 8, 1937:
Tre Laudi for soprano and 13 instruments by Luigi Dallapiccola (33) to 13th century texts, is performed for the first time, in Teatro Goldoni, Venice.
December 17, 1937:
Sei Cori di Michelangelo Buonarroti il Giovane (Set I) for chorus by Luigi Dallapiccola (33) is performed for the first time, in Trieste. See 26 April 1938.
April 26, 1938:
Sei Cori di Michelangelo Buonarroti il Giovane for chorus by Luigi Dallapiccola (34) is performed completely for the first time, over the airwaves of Radio Prague. See 6 April 1935, 14 May 1937, and 17 December 1937.
April 30, 1938:
Luigi Dallapiccola (34) marries Laura Coen Luzzatto, a librarian at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence.
June 17, 1938:
Das Augenlicht, for chorus and orchestra by Anton Webern (54) to words of Jone (pseud. Hildegard Humplik), is performed for the first time, in Queen’s Hall, London. It is very successful. In the audience is Luigi Dallapiccola (34) who is strongly impressed.
October 26, 1938:
Luigi Dallapiccola (34) is expelled from the National Fascist Party. The reason given is that he is Jewish. He is not.
December 17, 1938:
Luigi Dallapiccola (34) appeals his expulsion from the National Fascist Party on the grounds that he is not, in fact, Jewish. See 26 October 1938.
January 8, 1939:
Luigi Dallapiccola (34) assumes the chair in composition at the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini in Florence.
February 15, 1939:
Luigi Dallapiccola’s (35) appeal of last 17 December is accepted. He is to regard the letter of 26 October “as never having been sent.” (Sala, 294) He may pick up his membership card in the National Fascist Party whenever he wishes.
April 10, 1940:
The first song of Canti di Prigiona by Luigi Dallapiccola (36) to words of Queen Mary Stuart for accompanied chorus is heard for the first time, over the airwaves of Belgian Radio, Brussels. See 11 December 1941.
May 18, 1940:
Volo di notte, an opera by Luigi Dallapiccola (36) to his own words after Saint-Exupéry, is performed for the first time, at the Teatro della Pergola, Florence. The response is eight curtain calls and a relatively positive press.
June 20, 1940:
Goffredo Petrassi, superintendant of Teatro La Fenice, and Mario Corti, artistic director of the Biennale d’Arte, officially inform Luigi Dallapiccola (36) that the work they commissioned, Canti di prigionia, will not be performed because the Contemporary Music Festival has been suspended.
May 1, 1941:
Piccolo Concerto per Muriel Couvreux for piano and chamber orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (37) is performed for the first time, in Teatro delle Arti, Rome, the composer at the keyboard.
December 11, 1941:
Canti di prigionia for chorus, two pianos, two harps, and percussion by Luigi Dallapiccola (37), to words of Mary, Queen of Scots, Boethius, and Savonarola, is performed completely for the first time, in Teatro delle Arti, Rome. See 10 April 1940.
March 9, 1942:
While returning to Italy from Hungary by train, Luigi Dallapiccola (38) must stop over in Vienna. Here he meets Anton Webern (58) at the home of Alfred Schlee. “A mystic, a short man, who talks with some inflection of the Austrian dialect, kind, but capable of bursts of anger, cordial to the point of treating me like an equal.”
September 11, 1943:
World War II: Australian forces enter Salamaua, Northeast New Guinea.
The Italian defenders of Rome sign a truce giving the Germans free reign in the city. Italians on Rhodes surrender to the Germans. German troops occupy Florence. Luigi Dallapiccola (39), whose wife is Jewish, takes refuge at the villa of a friend north of Fiesole. There he will complete Sex Carmina Alcaei. French forces occupy Ajaccio, Corsica. British troops arrive at Brindisi on the Adriatic and Catanzaro in Calabria.
November 6, 1943:
The composer Igor Markevitch arrives by bicycle at the villa north of Fiesole where Luigi Dallapiccola (40) is staying. He tells Dallapiccola, whose wife is Jewish, that the roundup of Jews has begun.
November 12, 1943:
Luigi Dallapiccola (40) and his Jewish wife leave the villa where they are hiding north of Fiesole, and head for Como. They intend to make a quick dash to Switzerland if necessary. Instead, they will return to Fiesole.
December 9, 1943:
Luigi Dallapiccola’s (40) Jewish wife decides to go into hiding in Florence, so as not to place her husband in jeopardy. He visits her secretly every night at dusk.
November 10, 1944:
Sex carmina Alcaei for soprano and eleven instruments by Luigi Dallapiccola (40) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Italian Radio originating in Rome. The work was dedicated to Anton Webern on his 60th birthday (last 3 December). See 13 January 1949.
February 26, 1946:
Ciaccona, Intermezzo e Adagio for cello by Luigi Dallapiccola (42) is performed for the first time, in Teatro Nuovo, Milan.
March 3, 1946:
Sonatina canonica on “Capricci” of Niccolò Paganini for piano by Luigi Dallapiccola (42) is performed for the first time, in Università per Stranieri, Perugia.
June 24, 1946:
Due liriche di Anacreonte for soprano and four instruments by Luigi Dallapiccola (42) is performed for the first time, in Brussels. See 13 January 1949.
December 19, 1946:
Rencesvals for voice and piano by Luigi Dallapiccola (42) to words from Le chanson de Roland is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Belgian Radio originating in Brussels. The musicians are Pierre Bernac and Francis Poulenc (47).
February 9, 1947:
Six sonnets composés au secret op.266 for mixed voices by Darius Milhaud (54) to words of Cassou is performed for the first time, in Basel. Also premiered are the Due Studi for violin and piano by Luigi Dallapiccola (43), the composer at the keyboard.
July 7, 1947:
Cinque frammenti di Saffo for voice and 15 instruments by Luigi Dallapiccola (43) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Turin Radio. See 13 January 1949.
November 3, 1947:
Due pezzi per orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (43) are performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the BBC, originating in London.
March 12, 1948:
Frammenti Sinfonici dal Balletto “Marsia” for orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (44) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Belgian Radio, originating in Brussels.
September 9, 1948:
Marsia, a ballet by Luigi Dallapiccola (44) to a scenario by Milloss, is performed for the first time, at Teatro La Fenice, Venice.
December 3, 1948:
Quattro liriche di Antonio Machado for voice and piano by Luigi Dallapiccola (44) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Belgian Radio originating in Brussels.
January 13, 1949:
The first complete performance of Liriche greche for solo voice and instruments by Luigi Dallapiccola (44) takes place in Rome. See 10 November 1944, 24 June 1946, and 7 July 1947.
December 1, 1949:
Il prigioniero, an opera by Luigi Dallapiccola (45) to his own words after Villiers de l’Isle Adam and C. de Coster, is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of RAI. See 20 May 1950.
January 23, 1950:
Tre episodi dal Balletto “Marsia” for piano by Luigi Dallapiccola (45) is performed for the first time, in Turin. See 9 September 1948.
February 22, 1950:
Luigi Dallapiccola (46) wins the prize for best film score at the Second International Congress of Art Films in Brussels for his music to the film L’esperienza del cubismo, shown for the first time during this congress.
March 13, 1950:
Tre Poemi for soprano and chamber ensemble by Luigi Dallapiccola (46) to words of Joyce, Michelangelo, and M. Machado is performed for the first time, in Teatro Verdi, Trieste.
May 20, 1950:
Il prigioniero, an opera by Luigi Dallapiccola (46) to his own words after Villers de l’Isle Adam and de Coster, is staged for the first time, at the Teatro Comunale, Florence. See 1 December 1949.
October 30, 1950:
Luigi Dallapiccola’s (46) sacra rappresentazione Job, to his own words after the Bible, is performed for the first time, in the Teatro Eliseo, Rome.
March 9, 1952:
Tartiniana for violin and orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (48) is performed for the first time, in a broadcast originating in Zürich.
November 29, 1952:
Piano Sonata no.1 op.22 by Alberto Ginastera (36) is performed for the first time, in Pittsburgh. Also premiered is Quaderno musicale di Annalibera for piano by Luigi Dallapiccola (48).
April 28, 1953:
Goethe-Lieder for female voice and three clarinets by Luigi Dallapiccola (49) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
June 7, 1954:
Piccola Musica Notturna for orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (50) is performed for the first time, in Hanover.
October 2, 1954:
Luigi Dallapiccola’s (50) Variazioni per orchestra is performed for the first time, in Louisville.
October 16, 1955:
Metastaseis for 61 instruments, the third part of Anastenaria by Iannis Xenakis (33), is performed for the first time, in Donaueschingen. Also premiered is An Mathilde, a cantata for female voice and orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (51) to words of Heine. See 15 December 2000.
October 28, 1955:
Canti di Liberazione for chorus and orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (51) to words of Castellio, the Bible, and St. Augustine is performed for the first time, in Cologne.
March 6, 1956:
Tartiniana Seconda for violin and piano by Luigi Dallapiccola (52) is performed for the first time, in Vienna, the composer at the keyboard. See 15 March 1957.
November 30, 1956:
Cinque canti for baritone and eight instruments by Luigi Dallapiccola (52) to ancient Greek texts (tr. Quasimodo), is performed for the first time, at the Library of Congress, Washington.
March 15, 1957:
Tartiniana Seconda for violin and chamber orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (53) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Italian Radio originating in Turin. See 6 March 1956.
October 11, 1957:
Concerto per la notte di Natale dell’anno 1956 for soprano and chamber orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (53) to words of Jacopo da Todi is performed for the first time, in Tokyo.
November 17, 1959:
Requiescant for chorus and orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (55) to words of Wilde, Joyce and the Bible is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Norddeutscher Rundfunk, originating in Hamburg.
September 17, 1960:
Dialoghi for cello and orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (56) is performed for the first time, in Teatro La Fenice, Venice.
March 25, 1961:
Piccola Musica Notturna for chamber ensemble by Luigi Dallapiccola (57) is performed for the first time, in Colden Auditorium, New York. See June 7, 1954.
November 10, 1962:
Preghiere for baritone and chamber orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (58) to words of Mendes (tr. Jacobbi) is performed for the first time, in Herz Hall, Berkeley, California.
February 5, 1963:
Three Questions with Two Answers for orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (59) is performed for the first time, in New Haven, Connecticut.
October 30, 1964:
Parole di San Paolo for mezzo-soprano and eleven instruments by Luigi Dallapiccola (60) is performed for the first time, in the Library of Congress, Washington the composer conducting.
November 27, 1964:
Quattro liriche di Antonio Machado for voice and chamber orchestra by Luigi Dallapiccola (60) is performed for the first time, in Braunschweig.
October 1, 1967:
Symphony no.7 by Roger Sessions (70) is performed for the first time, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Present is Luigi Dallapiccola (63), there to receive an honorary degree. The two are hosted by Ross Lee Finney (60).
October 6, 1967:
Luigi Dallapiccola (63) receives an honorary doctorate from the University of Michigan.
February 23, 1968:
Luigi Dallapiccola (64) is named a corresponding member of the Institut de France.
August 18, 1968:
Luigi Dallapiccola (64) is awarded the Distinguished Service Cross of the German Republic in Bonn.
September 29, 1968:
Ulisse, an opera by Luigi Dallapiccola (64) to his own words after Homer, is performed for the first time, at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin. The response is unfavorable, and in some parts of the press, hostile. Later productions will fare better.
April 18, 1969:
Luigi Dallapiccola (65) is named an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London.
October 30, 1970:
Sicut umbra for mezzo-soprano and twelve instruments by Luigi Dallapiccola (66) to words of Juan Ramón Jiménez is performed for the first time, at the Library of Congress, Washington.
January 4, 1971:
“Exhortatio” from Tempus destruendi/Tempus aedificandi for chorus by Luigi Dallapiccola (66) is performed for the first time, in Beit HaHayal Auditorium, Jerusalem. See 29 August 1971.
August 26, 1971:
Tempus destruendi/Tempus aedificandi for chorus by Luigi Dallapiccola (67) is performed completely for the first time, in Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. See 4 January 1971.
October 15, 1972:
Commiato for soprano and chamber ensemble by Luigi Dallapiccola (68) is performed for the first time, in the Festsaal der Staatgemeinde, Murau, Austria.
July 5, 1973:
Luigi Dallapiccola (69) is awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Durham.
November 24, 1973:
Luigi Dallapiccola (69) is awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Edinburgh.
December 27, 1973:
Luigi Dallapiccola (69) is named a Cavalier of the Great Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
February 19, 1975:
Morning. Luigi Dallapiccola dies of a pulmonary edema in the Ospedale San Giovanni di Dio in Florence, Republic of Italy, aged 71 years and 16 days. His mortal remains will be laid to rest in Trespiano Cemetery, Florence.
November 4, 1979:
Con Luigi Dallapiccola (†4) for percussion, four pick-ups, three ring modulators, and loudspeakers by Luigi Nono (55) is performed for the first time, in Teatro alla Scala, Milan.
November 10, 1994:
A suite from the opera Ulisse by Luigi Dallapiccola (†19) is performed for the first time, in Turin, 33 years after it was composed, conducted by Luciano Berio (69).