author
Giannotto Bastianelli
1883–1927
An early 20th-century Italian musicologist, critic, and composer, he wrote with sharp opinions and a strong sense of musical change. His books and journalism helped shape debates around modern Italian and European music.
1 Audiobook
Pietro Mascagni, con nota delle opere e ritratto
by Giannotto Bastianelli
About the author
Born in Fiesole on July 20, 1883, Giannotto Bastianelli became known as an Italian musicologist and music critic, while also working as a composer and pianist. Reliable reference sources describe him as an active figure in Florence’s cultural world and link him with important literary and musical journals of his time.
He contributed to publications including La Voce and Il Marzocco, later helped found the journal Dissonanza with Ildebrando Pizzetti, and also worked as music critic for newspapers such as La Nazione and Il Resto del Carlino. Among the works associated with him are studies of music and musicians, including a book on Pietro Mascagni and writings on the crisis and renewal of European music.
Bastianelli died in Tunis on September 22, 1927. Though not widely remembered today, he appears in major Italian reference works as part of the lively generation of critics and thinkers who argued about the future of music in the early twentieth century.