This album is a live recording from March 2017 at the Oper Graz, featuring the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra and the Graz Opera Choir.
Composer Biography
Luigi Dallapiccola, the composer, was born in 1904 in a town on the Istrian peninsula that was then part of Austria-Hungary, a border region of cultures.
Compositional Technique
Dallapiccola was the first Italian composer to adopt Arnold Schönberg's twelve-tone technique, earning him the title 'Alban Berg of Italy'.
Compositional Technique
This opera, The Prisoner, is not based on a single twelve-tone row but on three: the series of prayer, hope, and freedom.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Dallapiccola believed that fascism, imprisonment, and torture were recurring themes that could never be overcome, influencing many of his works.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Dallapiccola stated that the basic idea behind all his music theatre works is 'man's struggle against something that is much stronger than he is'.
Composer Biography
As a 13-year-old, Dallapiccola experienced imprisonment when his family was forced to move to Graz in 1917, considered 'politically unreliable' by authorities.
