Emre Araci – Giuseppe Donizetti. Il Pascià bergamasco

edited by Nicola Verderame
preface by Giuliano Regonesi
introduction by Paolo Fabbri

For the first time in Italian the biography of Giuseppe Donizetti, composer from Bergamo and Ottoman pasha. An artist straddling two worlds, who left an indelible mark on Turkish culture.

THE BOOK: Giuseppe Donizetti, older brother of the better-known Gaetano, arrived in Istanbul from his native Bergamo in 1828 to take on the role of “general instructor of Ottoman imperial music”. He acquired fame and prestige by organizing opera seasons and musical performances in the Pera neighborhood (today Beyoğlu), then inhabited by Europeans. The rediscovery of the one who Gaetano called “my Turkish brother” is due to the conductor and composer Emre Araci, who in this book, accompanied by a rich iconographic apparatus, traces the human and professional adventure of a unique musician in his genre, who had the privilege, unexpected for a Westerner, of becoming the sultan’s private music teacher. Giuseppe Donizetti also composed the first two national anthems of the empire, the march Mahmudiye, dedicated in 1829 to Mahmud II, and the Mecidiye, of 1839, commissioned by his successor on the throne imperial Abdülmecid I. He left an indelible mark on Ottoman music and culture. For his merits he was initially awarded the rank of colonel and the title of Bey; he was subsequently promoted to major general, finally receiving the title of pasha. He remained in Turkey until his death in 1856. He is buried in the crypt of the Saint Esprit Cathedral in Istanbul. To him, the famous Franz Liszt dedicated the Grande Paraphrase de la marche de Donizetti composed pour Sa Majesté le Soultan Abdul Mejid-Khan.

Emre Aracı is the best-known contemporary Turkish composer. A multifaceted artist who combines the activity of a scholar with that of an orchestra conductor, he has earned international fame by adapting the music of his country to European sensibilities. He has taught in the most prestigious universities in Europe and the United States. Particularly famous was one of his concerts in 2007, during which the maestro directed the performance of the works of “Donizetti pascià” at the Donizetti Theater in Bergamo.

Nicola Verderame (Campi Salentina, 1984) historian of the Ottoman Empire and translator of contemporary Turkish fiction. He taught Turkish language at the University of Salento and Turkish philology at the L’Orientale University of Naples, where he graduated in Islamic Studies (2008). He obtained a Research Master in Turkish Studies at Leiden University (2011) and a PhD in Contemporary History at Freie Universitaet Berlin (2018). He is the author of academic articles on translation theory, late Ottoman history and contemporary Turkish literature. For his translations he received the Benno Geiger Prize 2017 and the National Translation Prize of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities in 2018.

Giuliano Regonesi (Bergamo, 1964) After studying at Bocconi University in Milan, he worked in the family business and invented an innovative technology to produce cold sheet piles. In addition to the factory in Italy, it therefore opens factories in various countries around the world. Today he lives in Turkey, where he also founded Noor Technologies, patenting a cutting-edge system for sanitizing the air. A cosmopolitan entrepreneur, he has always promoted with great conviction the cultural links between Italy and the countries in which he operated: Donizetti’s music and life in Istanbul represent an extraordinary example of the fruitfulness of these relationships. For Sandro Teti Editore Regonesi has already published History of the metallurgical industry in Lombardy.

Paolo Fabbri (Ravenna, 1948) Italian musicologist and academic. Known above all for his studies on Gioachino Rossini and for his studies on the libretto and the relationship between metric and music, he is full professor of History of Modern and Contemporary Music at the University of Ferrara and is the director of the Donizetti Foundation in Bergamo. He collaborated on the critical edition of Gioachino Rossini’s works with Bruno Cagli, Philip Gossett, Alberto Zedda and Patricia B. Brauner and on the direction of the national edition of Gaetano Donizetti’s works. In 1989 he was awarded the Dent Medal (Royal Musical Association) and is an honorary member of the American Musicological Society. In 2003 he founded Musicalia. International yearbook of musicological studies, of which he is director. He collaborates with the main Italian and international specialist magazines in the sector.

author: Emre Araci
edite and translated by: Nicola Verderame
preface: Giuliano Regonesi
introduction: Paolo Fabbri
title: Giuseppe Donizetti. Il Pascià bergamasco
price: 24,00 €
pages: 376
ISBN: 9788831492386