Carlo Buonamici

Carlo Buonamici (30 June 1875 — 30 September 1920) was an Italian-born American pianist and music educator who was chiefly active as both a concert pianist and piano pedagogue in the city of Boston from 1896 until his death in 1920.[1]

Life and career

Born and raised in Florence, Italy, Carlo Buonamici was the son of pianist and composer Giuseppe Buonamici.[2] He received his initial musical training from his father who was his principal piano teacher in his youth. He was trained further at the Würzburg Music Conservatory from 1891-1894 where he was a piano student of Henryk van Zeyl.[1][2] Van Zeyl had studied the piano with Franz Liszt.[3][4] Buonamici graduated from the conservatory in 1894 after winning the conservatory's first prize in piano performance.[1][5] He made his professional concert debut in Würzburg while a student in that city.[1]

In 1895 Buonamici returned to Italy where he served his required year of compulsory military service in the Italian Army. After completing his military duties,[1] He immigrated to the United States in 1896 where he ultimately settled in Boston.[2][1] He was a prominent piano pedagogue in Boston. In 1898 he co-founded the Fox-Buonamici School in Boston with the concert pianist Felix Fox.[6] One of his pupils was the pianist Margaret Cravens who was known for her close friendship with the poet and critic Ezra Pound.[7] Other students of note included concert pianist George Copeland,[8] the soprano and Juilliard School voice teacher Florence Kimball;[9] concert pianist, Vassar College professor, and founder of Chicago's Lake Forrest School of Music Marta Milinowski;[10][11] pianist and singer Erva Giles who had a career during the early years of American radio and made recordings for the Victor Talking Machine Company and Brunswick Records during the 1920s;[12] composer and pianist Grace Cotton Marshall who published her music under the pseudonym G. Marshal-Loepke;[13] and the concert pianist John Adams Warner; the latter of whom became a police officer after having a career as a concert pianist, ultimately serving as state superintendent of the New York State Police.[14] In addition to teaching at his own piano school, he taught music at Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut.[1]

Buonamici was active as a concert pianist in Boston for many years; performing in many recitals and concerts. He performed as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions;[1] including in the 1901-1902 season when he performed Liszt's Hungarian Fantasy.[15] In 1908 he toured Europe as a concert pianist.[1]

Buonamici served in the Italian Army during World War I from 1916 until the Armistice of 11 November 1918.[2]

Buonamici died suddenly while at work at Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut on 30 September 1920 at the age of 45.[1][16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Obituary: Carlo Buonamici". The Musical Courier: 31. October 7, 1920.
  2. ^ a b c d "The World of Music: Carlo Buonamici". The Etude. XXXVIII (12): 793. December 1920.
  3. ^ Walker, Alan (1987). Franz Liszt: The Final Years, 1861–1886. Cornell University Press. p. 237. ISBN 0801484537.
  4. ^ Huneker, James (July 24, 2020). Franz Liszt. BoD – Books on Demand. p. 198. ISBN 9783752332209.
  5. ^ Emma Louise Trapper, ed. (1917). "Buonamici, Carlo". Musical Blue Book of America. Musical Blue Book Corporation. p. 161.
  6. ^ Waldo Selden Pratt, ed. (1920). "Fox, Felix". Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Volume 6. Macmillan. p. 209.
  7. ^ Pound, Omar S.; Spoo, Robert E.; Doolittle, Hilda. Ezra Pound and Margaret Cravens: A Tragic Friendship, 1910-1912. Duke University Press. p. 5. ISBN 9780822308621.
  8. ^ "GEORGE COPELAND, A DEBUSSY EXPERT". The New York Times. June 17, 1971. p. 44.
  9. ^ Allen Hughes (November 26, 1977). "Florence Kimball Teacher, Dies at 87". The New York Times.
  10. ^ "Marta Milinowski". Duo-Art Music. 14 (4). The Aeolian Company: 10. January 1928.
  11. ^ "Marta Milinowski, Pianist And Vassar Professor, 85". The New York Times. October 6, 1970. p. 50.
  12. ^ "Giles, Erva". Who is who in Radio. ho is who In Radio, Incorporated. 1930. p. 29.
  13. ^ "Grace Cotton Marshall". Music Lovers' Cyclopedia. Doubleday. 1912. p. 860.
  14. ^ Blickstein, Edward; Benko, Gregor. "Ruckus in Rathskeller, 1899–1900". Chopin's Prophet: The Life of Pianist Vladimir de Pachmann. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810884977.
  15. ^ Thomas Tapper, ed. (June 1, 1902). "From Boston Concert Rooms". The Musical Record and Review. Oliver Ditson and Company: 73.
  16. ^ "Throng at Funeral of Carlo Buonamici". The Boston Daily Globe. October 4, 1920. p. 2.