Life
His training took place within the complex climate of the Fin de siècle, where Realism and Decadentism coexisted, while his artistic maturity expressed itself in the early 20th century, an era marked by the coexistence of Symbolist and Decadent aesthetics and the disruption of avant-garde movements like Futurism.
Edgardo Cassani was born in Parma in 1868 and showed early talent for the clarinet. At just eleven years old, he entered the Royal School of Music in Parma, where he studied under Virginio Ferrari. His skill earned him the affectionate nickname “Maestrino” (Little Master), and in 1886, the year of his graduation, he obtained honors and a special prize destined for the best clarinet student.
That same year he became a teacher in the clarinet class, a position he solidified in 1890 by winning the national competition. He remained at the Parma Conservatory until 1935, training generations of instrumentalists, including Ferruccio Gonizzi, who became a renowned virtuoso in his own right.
Alongside his teaching activity, he was a conductor for the Concert Society and the Artistic Circle, holding positions at the San Giovanni Theatre as well. His conducting talent and versatility as a musician made him a point of reference for the musical life of his city.
In addition to his career as a performer and teacher, he pursued composition, dedicating himself to theatrical works, symphonic pieces, and music for band. His production, lively and original, contributed to revitalizing the Italian musical landscape at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He died in his hometown in 1936.
Aneddoto
The “Maestrino” of the Conservatory
From his first years of study, his classmates and Maestro Ferrari called him “Maestrino” because of his natural authority and extraordinary skill on the clarinet.Works
Among Cassani's works are the Grandioso ballo fantastico in tre quadri and the operetta Il trionfo della scienza, which he directed himself at its premiere. In 1891 he composed Tramelogedia ossia l’arte di far libretti, to a libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, performed at the Teatro Regio in Parma with an orchestra of professors and students, conducted by the young Amilcare Zanella.
In 1896 he presented the operetta Il maestro di cappella at the Teatro della Varietà, and in the same year Il trionfo della scienza alias Sofonikìa at the San Giovanni Theatre. In 1897, the operetta Gilda e Florindo ossia Studie ed amori, written with librettists Veracini and Campolonghi, was staged at the Teatro Regio in Parma.
He also composed the Fondo della banda della Guardia Nazionale, the mazurka for band La Moraccina, and other pieces reflecting his attention to both the orchestral repertoire and the popular and band tradition typical of the Emilian region.
Briciole di storia
May Day for the First Time in Italy
Following the decisions of the Second International, May 1st, 1890, was celebrated in Italy for the first time in an organized form as Workers' Day. The goal was a single, worldwide shared demand: an eight-hour working day. The Crispi government, fearing unrest, placed the country on alert, but the day passed mostly peacefully. In Voghera, the largest agricultural strike ever seen took place, while in cities like Milan and Turin, thousands of workers marched in procession. It was the first major show of strength for the Italian socialist movement, a public debut that demonstrated the growing mobilization capacity of the working masses.
Pubblico dominio (Commons)
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