Nino Sanzogno

Nino Sanzogno was an Italian conductor who mastered the standard operatic repertoire while specializing in modern works. He was raised in Venice, and attended the Liceo Musicale, where he studied composition with Gian Francesco Malipiero and violin with Hermann Scherchen, with whom he later studied conducting. He led the Gruppo Strumentale, La Fenice, and the RAI Milan Symphony Orchestra, before giving his first performance at La Scala in 1939. Among the major works he performed there were Alban Berg's Lulu, Francis Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites, Darius Milhaud's David, Dmitry Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, William Walton's Troilus and Cressida, Sergei Prokofiev's The Fiery Angel, and Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. He founded the opera company Piccola Scala, which concentrated on 18th century operas. As a composer, Sanzogno wrote concertos for viola and cello, as well as symphonic works and chamber music.