MUSIC OF VERDI

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30042, 29 January 1963, Page 16

MUSIC OF VERDI

Copyright Expires

•n» New Year in Italy was marked, emidet the traditional celebrations, by the freeing from copyright of the works of Italy’s greatest composer. From January 1. the Milan publishing house of Ricordi tost its exclusive rights in Italy over the printing and performance of most of the operas of Verdi. A measure aimed at prolonging the copyright for a further year was defeated in the Italian Senate, says the Rome correspondent of “The Times." The private Bill was applicable to all works about to fall out of copyright on January L but Verdi was the most important artist concerned.

The somewhat hasty approval of the bill in the Chamber aroused criticism elsewhere, and its effect was reversed by the decision of a Senate commission to defer the question to general debate, with the stipulation that the validity of the aims of toe bill as a whole should be put into question. The reason for this stipulation, added by a Communist, Senator Caruso, was that a bill taking care of the one practical difficulty involved—transferring financial responsibility for toe home in Milan for aged musicians from a part of the proceeds of the Verdi royalties to toe State —had already gained Parliamentary approval. The Communist intervention followed a sustained Socialist opposition to further prolongation led uncompromisingly by Senator Busoni. He made clear to the

Government—■which his party supports in Parliament—that a situation of monopoly could no longer be allowed to continue.

Conductor's Criticism

The existence of a monopoly which in itself might have been disagreeable to the Italian Left Wing—and for that matter to certain Christian Democrats—was made more vulnerable to attack by toe unsatisfactory condition of existing printed scores of Verdi’s works, which have been subjected to international criticism on the basis of the studies on the subject published by Mr Denis Vaughan, the Australian conductor.

The house of Ricordi seems to have acknowledged the substance of much of toe criticitsm of its published scores. Reports from Milan say it has agreed to print critical editions of the works of Verdi and Puccini. A spokesman of Ricordi said recently that access to toe manuscript sources held in the Ricordi archives was free.

This is naturally an important point to other music publishers. Already the head of the house of Schott is

understood to have expressed keen interest in deepening his knowledge of the original Verdi sources.