Luigi Dallapiccola

Abstract Dallapiccola composed the first section of the Canti, Preghiera di Maria Stuarda (Prayer of Mary Stuart), as an independent piece in 1938; it was first performed under the direction of Léonce Gras in Brussels on 10 April 1940. After that performance, the composer added the Invocazione di Boezio (Invocation of Boethius), completing it on 14 July, and also the Congedo di Girolamo Savonarola (Girolamo Savonarola’s Farewell), which he finished on 13 October 1941. The complete Canti had their first performance in Rome on 11 December 1941, Fernando Previtali conducting. Preghiera di Maria Stuarda is dedicated to Paul Collaer, music director of the Belgian Radio and a strong supporter of new music. Invocazione di Boezio is inscribed to the conductor Ernest Ansermet, and Congedo di Girolamo Savonarola to Sandro and Luisa Materassi, Sandro, a violinist, being Dallapiccola’s recital partner from 1930 into the 1970s.