Mauro Giuliani: Introduction, Theme with Variations, and Polonaise, Op.65

Mauro Giuliani

 (27 July 1781 – 8 May 1829) was an Italian guitarist, cellist, singer, and composer.

He was a leading guitar virtuoso of the early 19th century.

 Introduction, Theme with Variations, and Polonaise, Op.65

The Variations (on the Aria “Nel Cor Più Non Mi Sento” by Paisiello), and Polonaise, Op.65, are a version of a work which exists for guitar and string quartet (Gran Quintetto for guitar and string quartet, Op.65)

1. Introduction – 00:00
2. Theme with Variations– 01:38
3. Polonaise – 11:35

His first instrumental training was on the cello—an instrument which he never completely abandoned—and he probably also studied the violin. Subsequently, he devoted himself to the guitar, becoming a very skilled performer on it in a short time. The names of his teachers are unknown.
Giuliani was acquainted with the highest figures of Austrian society and with notable composers such as Rossini and Beethoven, and cooperated with the best active concert musicians in Vienna (Giuliani arrived in Vienna from Italy in about 1806). In 1815 he appeared with Johann Nepomuk Hummel (followed later by Ignaz Moscheles), the violinist Joseph Mayseder and the cellist Joseph Merk, in a series of chamber concerts in the botanical gardens of Schönbrunn Palace. This exposure gave Giuliani prominence in the musical environment of the city. Two years earlier, on 8 December 1813, he had played (probably cello) in an orchestra for the first performance of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony.

Giuliani defined a new role for the guitar in the context of European music. His 150 compositions for guitar with opus number constitute the nucleus of the nineteenth-century guitar repertory. He composed extremely challenging pieces for solo guitar as well as works for orchestra and Guitar-Violin and Guitar-Flute duos. Today, Giuliani's concertos and solo pieces are performed by professionals and still demonstrate the ability of the guitarist to play the piece, as well as Giuliani's natural ability as a composer for the classical guitar.