Luigi Piccioli

Luigi Piccioli (1812โ€“1862) was an Italian musician, singer, voice instructor, and professor of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.

He became famous for his guitar playing, and toured throughout Europe. In Russia he was a professor and music director at the Court of Saint Petersburg. His brother was the lawyer and orator Giuseppe Piccioli.[1]

Composer Peter Tchaikovsky, when he was 17, was instructed in Italian opera and language by Piccioli, who claimed to be aged 50 at the time.[2] This made Tchaikovsky to form an enduring passion for Italian music.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] In 1856 Piccioli encouraged the young Tchaikovsky to write his first published composition, a short Italian-style song or canzonetta called Mezza Notte, for soprano or tenor and piano.[10][11][12]

Piccioli also taught many others including Russian baritone Bogomir Korsov.[13] In the early 1860s, Piccioli was part of the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society.[14]

References

  1. ^ Maisen, Pietro (1870). Gallipoli e suoi dintorni illustrati da Pietro Maisen Valtellinese (in Italian). Tip. Municipale. p. 84. Retrieved 2025-06-07.
  2. ^ Poznansky, Alexander (1999-04-22). Tchaikovsky Through Others' Eyes. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-253-33545-6.
  3. ^ Wiley, Roland John (2009). Tchaikovsky. OUP USA. p. 19. ISBN 9780195368925.
  4. ^ Publishing, Britannica Educational (2009-10-01). The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time. Chicago: Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-61530-056-3.
  5. ^ Poznansky, Alexander (1991). Tchaikovsky. New York, NY: Schirmer Trade Books. p. 60-61. ISBN 0-02-871885-2. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  6. ^ Holden, Anthony (1995). Tchaikovsky. London: Bantam Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-593-02468-3.
  7. ^ Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilich; Orlova, Aleksandra Anatolevna (1990). Tchaikovsky: a self-portrait. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-19-315319-6.
  8. ^ Nice, David (1997). Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Pavilion Books, Limited. p. 16. ISBN 1-86205-043-0.
  9. ^ Hopkins, Anthony (1989). Great Composers. Marshall Cavendish Books. p. 246. ISBN 9781854352019.
  10. ^ Grove, George; Sadie, Stanley (1981). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London Hong Kong: MacMillan Publishing Company. p. 607. ISBN 978-0-333-23111-1.
  11. ^ Brown, David (1993-01-01). Tchaikovsky Remembered. London: Faber and Faber. p. xx. ISBN 978-0-571-16866-8.
  12. ^ Warrack, John (1973). Tchaikovsky. New York: New York : C. Scribner's Sons. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-684-13558-8.
  13. ^ Macy, Laura Williams (2008). The Grove Book of Opera Singers. New York (N.Y.): Oxford University Press. p. 255. ISBN 978-0-19-533765-5.
  14. ^ Taylor, Philip (2007-06-14). Anton Rubinstein. Bloomington: Indiana University Press (Ips). p. 88. ISBN 978-0-253-34871-5. OCLC 72161870. Retrieved 2025-06-07.