Born July 25, 1883, in Turin; died Mar. 5, 1947, in Rome. Italian composer, pianist, conductor, and musicologist.
Casella was a professor at the Conservatory of St. Cecilia in Rome in 1915. As a conductor and pianist (a member of the Trio Italiano in the 1930’s) he performed in many countries (Russia in 1907 and 1909; the USSR in 1926 and 1935). In 1917 he founded the National Music Society in Rome (since 1923, the Corporation for New Music, a branch of the International Society for Contemporary Music). He is an exponent of modernism and neoclassicism in music.
His operas (The Snake Woman and Tale of Orpheus, both staged in 1932), ballets, symphonies, and piano transcriptions contributed to a revival of interest in classical Italian music. Casella also wrote on musicology, including an essay on the evolution of the cadence, and monographs on I. F. Stravinsky and J. S. Bach. He has prepared editions of many classical piano works.
The Casella International Piano Competition has been held in Naples since 1952.