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Alfredo  CAMPOLI

 

 Alfredo Campoli è nato il 20 ottobre del 1906 ed è stato un grande violinista italiano che viene ricordato in tutto il mondo per il tono sensuale che sapeva trarre dal suo strumento e per la incredibile durata della sua attività.

 Ha iniziato a studiare il violino all'Accademia Santa Cecilia di Roma quando aveva solo 5 anni sotto la guida paterna.

 Quando aveva11 anni la sua famiglia si trasferì in Inghilterra dove Campoli ha passato il resto della sua vita e nel 1923 fece il suo debutto alla Wigmore Hall di Londra.

 Nel 1930 ha fondato un'Orchestra con la quale suonava nei ristoranti e negli alberghi.

 Nel post guerra iniziò la sua vera carriera concertistica e nel 1953 ha debuttato a New York. Da allora ha girato il mondo tenendo ovunque applauditi concerti fino al suo ritiro dalle scene.

 Ha anche partecipato a dei film e ha scritto diverse colonne sonore.

 Campoli era un appassionato giocatore di bridge ed è morto il 27 marzo del 1991 poco prima di recarsi al suo Bridge Club in Princes Risborough non lontano da Thame, la cittadina una trentina di km. ad  Est di Oxford, nella quale viveva.

Alfredo Campoli was an Italian (some would say English) violinist born on October 20, 1906 (Heifetz was 5 years old.)

He is remembered for the exquisite, sensuous tone he drew from the violin as well as the span of his repertoire.

He began violin lessons with his father, a teacher at the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome, at age 5 (some sources say age 6.) His family moved to England in 1917. He made his London debut at Wigmore Hall in 1923, though he had already played publicly in London - and entered several competitions - from age 13 and had been playing professionally since then. In the 1930s, he formed the Salon Orchestra and the Welbeck Light Quartet in order to make a living during the Depression, playing in restaurants, hotels, and small halls. He concertized only sporadically during this period.

After the war, he re-established his concert career. His U.S. debut came in New York in 1953. On that occasion, he played Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnol with the New York Philharmonic under George Szell. He toured Russia in 1956 and continued touring the world until his retirement.

During his 55-year career, he played in over 1000 radio broadcasts and made more than 100 recordings.

He also appeared in several films. Arthur Bliss wrote his violin concerto for him and he premiered it in 1955. There are many soundtracks of his playing – no videos yet - on YouTube. Campoli played an 1843 Rocca and the Dragonneti Stradivarius (1700).

Alfredo Campoli was a keen bridge player, and died just before a game in the Bridge Club in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, a few miles from his home in Thame, Oxfordshire.

He died on March 27, 1991, at age 84.