Nicolas Flagello

Nicolas Oreste Flagello (March 15, 1928 – March 16, 1994) was an American composer and conductor of classical music. He was one of the last American composers to develop a distinctive mode of expression based wholly on the principles and techniques of late romanticism.

Biography Early life Nicolas Flagello was born in New York City, into a musical family. His father Dionisio was an amateur oboist, his mother Genoveffa was a vocalist and his maternal grandfather Domenico Casiello was a composer who is reputed to have studied with Giuseppe Verdi. His brother Ezio Flagello was a bass who sang at the Metropolitan Opera. After his family emigrated to the United States from Salerno, Nicolas continued to enjoy strong family ties with his Italian relatives which created a lasting impression on him. At the age of three, he undertook piano lessons with a maternal aunt, and soon began voice lessons, studies on the violin and lessons on several woodwind instruments. By the age of seven he appeared in public recitals as a pianist and also vocalized as a boy-soprano earning the nickname "Il Poccolo Caruso".

In the 1930s, Flagello embarked upon an Old World apprenticeship with the Italian-American composer Vittorio Giannini, who introduced his young student to the grand European tradition of composition with an emphasis on such composers as Palestrina, Puccini, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and Strauss. Over time, the apprenticeship evolved into a close personal and professional relationship between the two composers which lasted until Giannini's death in 1966. Several years later in the 1960s he also acquired teaching responsibilities at the Curtis Institute of Music with the assistance of Vittorio Gianinni.

Flagello's compositions include approximately seventy-five works which have been grouped into: an early period ending in 1958, a transition period (1958-1958), and a mture period (1959-1985).

As a conductor, he made many recordings with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma and the Orchestra da Camera di Roma, focusing on repertoire from the Baroque to the 20th century. His collaborators included the internationally acclaimed operatic diva Leontyne Price, Jeanette Scovotti and several leading Italian vocalists including Carlo Bergonzi and Mario Sereni. He also conducted at the Chicago Lyric Opera and the New York City Opera.

In the mid-1980s, his career was cut short by a degenerative disease, at which time a number of his works were left without orchestration. Many of these works were later orchestrated by composer and editor Anthony Sbordoni. Since his death Flagello's music has generated a greater following, and many of his major works have been recorded. His opera Beyond the Horizon premiered in New York City in September 2024. He was married to Dianne (Danese) Flagello, and was the father of two sons, Donis G. Flagello and Vittorio P. Flagello. Dianne Flagello has carried on his legacy since his death by founding the publishing company Maelos Music, and the website Flagello.com, to publish and publicize his works. His granddaughter is American composer Gala Flagello.

Reviews At first, Nicolas Flagello's compositions were not eagerly embraced by his critics. This was partially due to his unambiguous disapproval of the emphasis placed upon the use of quasi-mathematical compositional techniques by composers of the Modernist tradition in New York City during his tenure at the Manhattan School of Music.

Flagello's recordings as a conductor on Paul Kapp's Serenus label also resulted in favorable reviews in 1964. Arthur Cohn praised Flagello's, "stimulating ingenuity in using harmonic materials.." and defended his orthodox compositional approach by noting that, "It is not necessary to be a revolutionary. If a music manifests fresh melodicism, expressed by freed triadic prose and certified by rhythmic ripeness, it needs no apology.." The music critic for The New Records publication Enos E. Shupp Jr concurred by proclaiming, "If this is not great music, we will gladly turn in our typewriter and quit."

Selected recordings Symphony No. 1; Theme, Variations, and Fugue; Sea Cliffs; Piper Intermezzo (Slovak Radio SO, D. Amos, cond) Naxos 8.559148 Cello Capriccio (G. Koutzen, cello); Contemplazioni di Michelangelo (N. Tatum, soprano); Lautrec; Remembrance (M. Randolph, soprano; Orch. Sinf. di Roma, N. Flagello, cond) Phoenix PHCD-125 Piano Sonata; Prelude, Ostinato, and Fugue; Violin Sonata; Declamation; Nocturne et al. (S. Nagata, violin; P. Vinograde, piano) Albany TROY-234 Piano Concertos Nos. 2, 3 (T. Rankovich, piano); Credendum (E. Oliveira, violin); Overture Burlesca; A Goldoni Overture (Slovak Phil, Kosice, D. Amos, cond) Artek AR-0002-2 Piano Concerto No. 1 (T. Rankovich, piano); Dante's Farewell (S. Gonzalez, soprano; National RSO of Ukraine, J. M. Williams, cond); Concerto Sinfonico (New Hudson Sax Qt, Rutgers SO, K. Johns, cond) Naxos 8.559296 Symphony No. 2; Odyssey; Valse Noire; Concerto Sinfonico (U. of Houston Sax Qt, Wind Ensemble, D. Bertman, cond) Naxos 8.573060 Violin Concerto (E. Oliveira, violin); Mirra Interlude and Dance; Symphonic Aria; The Sisters: Interludio; Songs (S. Gonzalez, soprano; National RSO of Ukraine, J. M. Williams, cond) Artek AR-0036-2 Passion of Martin Luther King; The Land; L'Infinito (E. Flagello, bass-baritone; N. Flagello, cond) Naxos 8.112065 Harp Sonata (E. Goodman) BIS CD-319

Principal works

Operas The Wig (1954); libretto by composer, after Pirandello Mirra (1955); libretto by composer, after Alfieri Rip Van Winkle (1957); operetta for children, libretto by Christopher Fiore The Sisters (1958); libretto by Dean Mundy The Judgment of St. Francis (1959); libretto by Armand Aulicino The Piper of Hamelin (1970); opera for children, libretto by composer, after Browning Beyond the Horizon (1983); libretto by composer and W. Simmons, after O'Neill

Orchestral works Beowulf (1949) Suite for Amber (1951) Symphonic Aria (1951) Overture Burlesca (1952) Interlude and Dance fm. Mirra (1955) Theme, Variations, and Fugue (1956) Missa Sinfonica (1957) Concerto for String Orchestra (1959) Lautrec Ballet Suite (1965) A Goldoni Overture (1967) Symphony No. 1 (1968) Serenata (1968) Symphony No. 2 (for winds and percussion; 1970)

Instrumental works with orchestra Piano Concerto No. 1 (1950) Concerto Antoniano for Flute and Orchestra (1953) Piano Concerto No. 2 (1956) Violin Concerto (1956) Capriccio for Cello and Orchestra (1962) Piano Concerto No. 3 (1962) Credendum for Violin and Orchestra (1973) Concerto Sinfonico for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra/Band (1985)

Vocal and choral works with orchestra The Land (song cycle, Tennyson, bass-baritone and chamber orchestra; 1954) Tristis est Anima Mea (SATB, orchestra; 1959) Dante's Farewell (monodrama, soprano and orchestra, text by J. Tusiani; 1962) Contemplazioni di Michelangelo (soprano and orchestra; 1964) An Island in the Moon (soprano/tenor and orchestra, Wm. Blake, 1964) Te Deum for All Mankind (SATB, orchestra; 1967) Passion of Martin Luther King [oratorio] (bass-baritone, SATB, orchestra; 1968) Remembrance (soprano, flute, strings/stg. qt., E. Bronte, 1971) Canto (soprano, orchestra, poem by composer, 1978)

Piano Etude, Homage to Chopin (1941) Three Dances (1945) Symphonic Waltzes (1958) Prelude, Ostinato, and Fugue (1960) Piano Sonata (1962) Concertino for Piano, Brass, and Timpani (1963)

Chamber music Chorale and Episode for Brass Dectet (1944) Lyra for Brass Sextet (1945) Episodes for Woodwind Quintet (1957) Burlesca for Flute and Guitar (1961) Sonata for Violin and Piano (1963) Valse Noire for Saxophone Quartet (1964) Suite for Harp and String Trio (1965) Declamation for Violin and Piano (1967) Philos for Brass Quintet (1969) Nocturne for Violin and Piano (1969) Ricercare for 19 Brass and Percussion (1971)

Miscellaneous Divertimento for Piano and Percussion (1960) Harp Sonata (1961) Introduction and Scherzo (1964) for Accordion Electra (1966) for Piano, Harp, and Percussion Marionettes (1968) for Harp Odyssey (1981) for Band Numerous songs for voice and piano