Wikipedia

Giorgio Valensin

Giorgio Valensin (Francized Georges Valensin; /vælənˈsiːn/; val-ən-SEEN; 1850 – December 1889) was an Italian cellist and composer of the Romantic era. He wrote two symphonies and an opera named La Capricciosa while working as a financier for the city of Florence.

Cavaliere
Giorgio Valensin
Born1850
Livorno, Italy
DiedDecember 1889 (aged 39)
Florence, Italy
Years active1874–1889

He is best known for the minuet from the third movement of his Symphony No. 1, composed in 1879 and dedicated to Jules Danbé. Transcriptions of the minuet became a popular salon and concert piece for piano, and an arrangement by Paul Bazelaire brought the minuet into the standard cello repertoire.

Biography

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Valensin was born in Livorno, then part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, in 1850.[1] He was born into an aristocratic family[2][3][4] of Italian Jews and studied in France.[1] He returned to Italy in 1870 and settled in the Tuscan countryside.[1] He was elected at a young age to lead the financial commission of the Municipality of Florence and was a friend of the mayor, Francesco Guicciardini.[1][5] He was appointed a knight of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and given the title of cavaliere.[1]

Cover page of the Minuet, transcribed for piano by Jules Danbé (1879)

He studied cello and began composing Romantic music in the 1870s while working as a banker.[6][7] His opera La Capricciosa was performed during the carnival at the Teatro delle Logge in Florence on 28 February 1874.[1][3][8] The lyrics of the opera were based on a book of the same name by the Livornese author Angelo Consigli (1835–1908).[3][9]

By the late 1870s, Valensin was active in Paris, where his Symphony No. 1 was published by Éditions Richault [fr]. He dedicated the symphony to the conductor and violinist Jules Danbé, who included the minuet from the symphony into his own concert repertoire at Le Grand Hôtel in Paris in 1879. Danbé transcribed the minuet for solo piano,[10] and a four-hand arrangement by Renaud de Vilbac followed in 1880.[11] Both were published as part of the "Répertoire des concerts Danbé", and another piano transcription by Georges Pfeiffer appeared in 1885.[12] After Paul Bazelaire arranged the symphony's minuet for cello,[13] it entered the standard cello repertoire.[14][15][16] Bazelaire also transcribed the music for three cellos.[17][18] In 1913, Ross Jungnickel arranged the Célèbre Menuet for piano trio.[19]

Minuet from Symphony No. 1 (1929)

The minuet for solo cello was recorded by Hungarian cellist Judith Bokor in 1924.[20] The Boston Symphony Orchestra played the Symphony No. 1: Minuet for strings on 16 and 19 June 1928 under the baton of Alfredo Casella.[21] A rendition by Emanuel Feuermann accompanied by Michał Taube [he] was recorded in April 1927,[22] and another rendition was released by Pathé Records in 1929 on a vinyl record that included music by Jean-Philippe Rameau and Simon-Luc Marchand [fr] (1709–1799).[2] János Starker, accompanied on piano by Gerald Moore, recorded a version of the minuet arranged by Gregor Piatigorsky at Abbey Road Studios on 7 June 1958.[23][24]

He died in December 1889, aged 39.[1] He was buried on 2 January 1890.[2] His funeral was widely attended by members of Florentine high society and included Alessandro d'Ancona.[1]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 S. Curiel, A. di; Racah, Rabbi Leone (1888). Il Corriere Israelitico: Periodico per La Storia, Lo Spirito ed il Progresso del Giudaismo (in Italian). Trieste: Tipografia Morterra & Comp. pp. 203–204. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Pathé 9832 Marchand arranged Bazelaire, Valensin, Rameau arranged Hussonmorel, Georges & Joseph Tzipine". Pathé Records. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Valensin Giorgio Cavaliere ( - 1.1890 Florenz)". rme.rilm.org (in German). Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Giorgio Cavaliere Valensin (1844-1890)". data.bnf.fr. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Gazzetta ufficiale del regno d'Italia (in Italian). 1883. p. 3928. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  6. ↑ The Musical World. J. Alfredo Novello. 1874. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  7. ↑ Protonotari, Francesco (1901). Nuova antologia di lettere, scienze ed arti (in Italian). p. 15. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  8. ↑ Fétis, François Joseph (1903). Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique (in Italian). Firmin Didot. p. 551. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "Consigli Angiolo (1835 - 8.1908 Livorno)". rme.rilm.org (in German). Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  10. ↑ Danbé, Jules (1840-1905) Compositeur (1879). "Menuet de la 1ère symphonie composée par Georges Valensin / transcrit pour piano par J. Danbé ; [orn. par] Æ". Gallica (in French). Bibliothèque nationale de France.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Danbé, Jules (1840-1905) Compositeur (1880). "Menuet de la 1ère symphonie composée par Georges Valensin / transcrit pour piano par J. Danbé ; [transcription à 4 mains par Renaud de Vilbac] ; [orn. par] Æ". Gallica (in French). Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved 28 May 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Pfeiffer, Georges (1835-1908) Compositeur (1885). "Menuet de J. Danbé / transcrit pour le piano par Georges Pfeiffer ; [d'après le Menuet de la Symphonie de Valensin] ; [orn. par] Æmmerique". Gallica (in French). Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved 28 May 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ "Menuet". Bibliothèque nationale de France. Édition Maurice Sénart & Cie. 1920. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  14. ↑ Pacific Coast Musical Review. A. Metzger. 1921. p. 8. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  15. ↑ The Musician. Hatch Music Company. 1923. p. 5. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  16. ↑ Price, Nancy (25 February 2016). Cello and Double Bass Ensemble Music. pp. 87, 190. ISBN 978-1-329-92715-5. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  17. ↑ Catalogue of (printed) music. Music. Accessions, pt.[1]-94. London, England: British Museum dept of Printed Books. 1884. p. 211. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  18. ↑ The Flutist. E. Medicus. 1920. p. 391. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  19. ↑ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1913). Catalogue of Title-entries of Books and Other Articles Entered in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, Under the Copyright Law ... Wherein the Copyright Has Been Completed by the Deposit of Two Copies in the Office. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 14835. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "HUNGARIAN CELLIST JUDITH BOKOR (1899-1972) CDR". WELCOME TO CLASSICAL MUSIC CDs. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  21. ↑ "Performance History Search". archives.bso.org. Boston Symphony Orchestra Archives. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "The Emanuel Feuermann Edition | Heritage Records". Heritage Records. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  23. ↑ "ERC091 A Cello Recital Played by Janos Starker and Gerald Moore ‎ – The Electric Recording Co". theelectricrecordingco.com. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  24. ↑ "A Cello Recital | Warner Classics". www.warnerclassics.com. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
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