My favorite things Italy

by on March 29, 2007 at 6:44 am in The Arts | Permalink

Sitting here in the Frankfurt Airport, on my way, I’m not going to rehash the Ghiberti-Brunelleschi feud, so let’s stick to the twentieth century:

Painter/artist: There is Morandi, Lucio Fontana, and the Arte Povera group, all of whom remain underrated.  The Futurists are dated, but early de Chirico hits the spot.  This category is strong.  For sculptors throw in Manzu, Burri, Merz, Marini, and many others.

Composer: Puccini I’ve never loved.  Scelsi is an acquired taste but for me his drones hold up.  Busoni bores me once you get past the Bach transcriptions.  I’ll opt for Berio, most of all the songs, Sinfonia, and Points on the Curve to Find, all excellent and surprisingly accessible.

Pianist: Maurizio Pollini started steely and evolved to poetic; try his Stravinsky/Webern disc, and his Chopin Nocturnes.  Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli is pure rippling glitter, try his Ravel/Rachmaninoff disc.

Conductor: Only rarely is Toscanini’s stuttering whiplash listenable, try his Tchaikovsky #1 with his then son-in-law Vladimir Horowitz.  Abbado wins this category, his Beethoven symphonies are the best available.

Maria Callas performance: I am torn between Norma and Barber of Seville, the latter with Tito Gobbi, another notable Italian.

Author: Baron in the Trees and Invisible Cities are my favorite Italo Calvino.  When I courted Natasha, she was impressed that I had a working knowledge of The Cloven Viscount at my disposal.  Alberto Moravia has compelling psychological portraits, Eco’s The Name of the Rose is fun.

Playwright: Pirandello and Dario Fo.

Film: Most of neo-realist cinema bores me.  I do admire Umberto D, most of Pasolini (Arabian Nights as my favorite), and I’ll pick Visconti’s The Leopard as my favorite, with Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns a close second.  Satyricon is my favorite Fellini, but otherwise he leaves me cold.  Sadly Italian cinema has been getting worse for thirty years.

The bottom line: The twentieth century brought a remarkable cultural renaissance in Italy.  This is not as widely recognized as it ought to be.

16 comments submit to reddit

DVH March 29, 2007 at 8:28 am

May I recommend Sciascia, for authors? The Day of the Owl stands out for me.

And can I be the first to pedantically wonder whether you should qualify Maria Callas as a Spaniard singing in Italian?

Chris Weber March 29, 2007 at 8:38 am

And here I was thinking Callas was Greek-American.

josh March 29, 2007 at 9:02 am

Filter,
Could be that our appreciation of great things increases with time or at least that Tyler reserves his judgment until things can be seen better in the light of history.

J March 29, 2007 at 9:41 am

Did you really just use ‘courted’ in a sentence?

dnw March 29, 2007 at 11:08 am

For conductors, you may wish to check out Victor de Sabata. He has many of Toscanini’s positive qualities but adds flexibility and abandon.

Swimmy March 29, 2007 at 11:21 am

Two words: Lucio Fulci.

Yes, I have terrible taste.

jcm March 29, 2007 at 11:42 am

Sorry for the misspelling you also need to add to the Cinema art works
Affaire Berlines and Night Clerk by Linna Weistmueller

Bruce G Charlton March 29, 2007 at 12:20 pm

I am surprised to see Maria Callas included – whatever her nationality – since I have always regarded her as a cult diva, rather than a great singer; and someone who ‘you had to see’ (in other words it was the personality, rather than the singing, which made an impact). Tyler seems too young (and straight) to be part of the cult.

Callas had an un-beautiful voice, containing sour tones. IMHO a beautiful voice is necessary before any other aspects of musical perfomance can be considered in an opera singer. Callas simply doesn’t register on the list of great singers (perfomers, yes – no doubt – but not singers).

I wouldn’t like to say who was the best Italian soprano, but Mirella Freni has often moved me to tears – which is good enough in my book.

dearieme March 29, 2007 at 3:51 pm

I’m with gtm: “Bicycle Thieves” and “The Leopard”. Is there a category for the railway station in Milan?

asg March 29, 2007 at 10:28 pm

Dario Fo?! Are you joking?!

Matt Schiavenza March 30, 2007 at 4:51 am

As an Italophile I’m biased but both Cinema Paradiso and Mediterraneo are excellent films from the past 20 years and Il Postino I’d say is awfully good as well.

Lawrence Whiteberg April 28, 2007 at 4:57 am

Yay for “The Leopard”. Best … movie … ever. At one point I even had the delusion that Lancaster’s nobleman only cried with one eye (in the ballroom scene), because he was so aristocratic, but I was probably wrong.

getinpls August 8, 2007 at 11:43 am

to say who was the best Italian soprano, but Mirella Freni has often moved me to tears – which is good enough in my book. Farming World of Warcraft Gold is the bane of many players lives, with the new epic flying mounts costing over 5000 wow gold you are talking some serious grinding time. Fortunately in the World of Warcraft’s The Burning Crusade Expansion the new Outlands has a host of areas which can offer you a surprising amount of cheap wow gold, if you have your wits about you that is.World of Warcraft gold, WoW accounts & items are available on all servers. Make sure you check your server for sales on WOW gold, buy wow gold, accounts & items. Why risk buying WoW gold from unknown sellers & stores when Team-VIP delivers instantly?

Todd September 27, 2007 at 11:32 pm

大阪 デリヘル–大阪デリヘル店中心の関西風俗情報紹介サイト
デリヘル 大阪–大阪デリヘル中心の関西風俗情報紹介サイト
大阪 ホテヘル–大阪ホテヘル中心の関西風俗情報紹介サイト
ホテヘル 大阪–大阪ホテヘルの関西風俗情報紹介サイト

東京 デリヘル–東京デリヘル中心の関東風俗情報サイト
デリヘル 東京–東京デリヘル中心の関東風俗情報サイト
東京 ホテヘル–東京ホテヘル中心の関東風俗情報サイト
ホテヘル 東京–東京ホテヘル中心の関東風俗情報サイト

横浜 デリヘル–横浜デリヘル中心の関東風俗情報サイト／横浜・川崎・相模原・平塚・伊勢原エリア等の風俗情報
デリヘル 横浜–横浜デリヘル中心の関東風俗情報サイト／横浜・川崎・相模原・平塚・伊勢原エリア等の風俗情報
横浜 ホテヘル–横浜ホテヘル中心の関東風俗情報サイト／横浜・川崎・相模原・平塚・伊勢原エリア等の風俗情報
ホテヘル 横浜–横浜ホテヘル中心の関東風俗情報サイト／横浜・川崎・相模原・平塚・伊勢原エリア等の風俗情報

渋谷 デリヘル–渋谷デリヘル、ホテヘルなど渋谷風俗情報ページ
デリヘル 渋谷–渋谷デリヘル、ホテヘルなど渋谷風俗情報ページ
渋谷 ホテヘル–渋谷デリヘル、ホテヘルなど渋谷風俗店情報ページ
ホテヘル 渋谷–渋谷デリヘル、ホテヘルなど渋谷風俗店情報ページ

池袋 デリヘル–豊島区・池袋のデリヘル、ホテヘルなど豊島区・池袋風俗情報ページ
デリヘル 池袋–豊島区・池袋のデリヘル、ホテヘルなど豊島区・池袋風俗情報ページ
池袋 ホテヘル–豊島区・池袋のデリヘル、ホテヘルなど豊島区・池袋風俗情報ページ
ホテヘル 池袋–豊島区・池袋のデリヘル、ホテヘルなど豊島区・池袋風俗情報ページ

新宿 デリヘル–新宿風俗デリヘル・ホテヘル中心の関東風俗情報サイト／新宿エリア等の風俗情報
デリヘル 新宿–新宿風俗デリヘル・ホテヘル中心の関東風俗情報サイト／新宿エリア等の風俗情報
新宿 ホテヘル–新宿風俗デリヘル・ホテヘル中心の関東風俗情報サイト／新宿エリア等の風俗情報
ホテヘル 新宿–新宿風俗デリヘル・ホテヘル中心の関東風俗情報サイト／新宿エリア等の風俗情報

表札–表札・マンション表札・オリジナル表札・手書き表札・店舗看板の製作販売の通販サイト
表札オーダーメイド–オーダーメイド表札の製作と販売
銘板–銘板の製作と販売
特注表札–特注表札の製作と販売
手作り表札–手作り表札の製作と販売
表札マンション–マンション用表札の製作と販売
表札ステンレス–ステンレス表札の製作と販売
断熱塗料–塗るだけで断熱効果・防音効果・結露を抑制できる断熱塗料GAINA（ガイナ）
uguisu–うぐいす
php–php manual
アダルトレンタルサーバー–アダルト、風俗店専用レンタルサーバー
アダルトレンタルサーバー–アダルト、風俗店専用レンタルサーバー

wow gold guide March 6, 2009 at 1:21 am

Want to go to tibet tour? You can rely on us! We are expert in Tibet Tours. based in Tibet 15 years experience, 600 private groups operated! So join us for your wondrous tibet travel! Are you interested in mysterious Lhasa Tibet Adventure Travel? Why not take our Lhasa tibet trekking? You can appreciate the holiness of Lhasa tibet tour guide with our well-connected itinerary and leave a memorable recollection over life. These are China Lhasa packages with personal local and private vehicle with driver + hotels + entrance fees and meals as listed for your party based on minimum 2 travelers. Adventure in tibet tour.Sects and Characteristics, For single person, please email us for new quotations. Lhasa tour For any questions, please feel free to contact our customer team with our prompt and personalized travel services. Tibet Tour Base

Elizabeth February 28, 2011 at 3:46 pm

I love to travel all over the place. My favorite place so far has been Italy. I went there on my honeymoon and would love to go back.

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: