Recently Casa Ricordi acquired a number of compositions by Luigi Dallapiccola (1904-1975). These include Canti di prigionia, Sei cori di Michelangelo Buonarroti il giovane, and the ballet Marsia. On July 3 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona the symphonic fragments from the ballet will be performed by the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya under the direction of Pablo González.

The one-act dramatic ballet Marsia tells the story of the satyr Marsia. Dallapiccola’s only ballet was composed during Second World War II in collaboration with the Hungarian choreographer Aurel M. Milloss. Several years passed before the ballet finally was staged, in Venice in 1948, but a great deal of the music was heard before that thanks to the symphonic fragments drawn from it and premiered in 1947. The music reveals the influence of Impressionism, with references to Ravel and Respighi – lyricism and relentless rhythms alternate with remarkable contrapuntal developments.

Marsia (1943)
Dramatic ballet in one act by Aurel A.Milloss
WP: Venice, La Fenice Theatre, 9/9/1948
3.3.4.2 / 4.3.3.1 Sax T(3) Perc Harp (2) Cel. Piano -Strings
Duration: 35’

Dallapiccola: worklist