Goffredo Petrassi

Goffredo Petrassi (1904-2003) was an Italian composer and teacher, born in Zagarolo near Rome. His early music was neoclassical, shaped by Bartók, Hindemith and Stravinsky, and later moved towards post-Webern techniques. He wrote eight Concerti for Orchestra (1933-1972) and taught composition in Rome to several generations of composers. Petrassi studied with Vincenzo di Donato and Alessandro Bustini and earned diplomas in composition and organ at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory, where he taught composition from 1939 to 1959.