Leopoldo Pieroni: La contessa d’Amalfi, Fantasia for Flute and Piano

About this edition

Leopoldo Pieroni’s La contessa d’Amalfi, Op. 14, is a fantasia for flute and piano on themes from Errico Petrella’s opera. This edition includes the score and separate flute part. Artistic direction by Maurizio Bignardelli; revision by Aurelio Scotto.

Introduction

Leopoldo Pieroni (Florence, 1847–1919) belongs to the history of nineteenth-century flute playing in Florence. A flautist, composer and teacher, he performed as a soloist and orchestral musician and taught at the city’s Institute for the Blind. Alongside his teaching publications, he wrote salon pieces for the amateur musicians of his time.

The fantasia draws on melodies from Petrella’s La contessa d’Amalfi, a serious opera in four acts first performed at Turin’s Teatro Regio in 1864. It is dedicated to the flautist Giuseppe Fumi. The solo writing is lively and brilliant without being excessively virtuosic, reflecting the domestic music-making and salon culture of the period.

The printed edition contains an Italian introduction by Maurizio Bignardelli with bibliographical notes. The account above summarises that introduction.