Luigi Mozzani was born in Faenza
(old Romagna region) in March 9 1869, in an extremely poor family, native of
Ancona. His father was a cobbler and his mother a weaver. The family's state of
poverty induced the young Luigi to abandon his studies since the very first
year, when he was six. A baker, who played the trumpet, teached Luigi the first
musical notions [1]. Soon Luigi was able to obtain a
job in the citizen band of Faenza, as clarinettist.
The tradition narrates that a summer evening Luigi heard a guitar playing for
the first time. He remained so impressed that he strongly desire to learn how to
play it. His first lent guitar was very old and rickety, but Luigi was able to
repair it. So he started studying on it following the methods in fashion at that
time (Carulli, Giuliani) [2].
In the meantime he studied also oboe to find an employment. He studied at the Corservatory of Bologna since he was 22, receiving his diploma in oboe with full Marcos. He toured extensively already in those years in Africa, Japan and in other European countries, including Russia where he was very successful [3]. Then he lived in America for two years (1894-1896). In New York he published the three volumes of his "Studies for guitar" in 1896, edited by F.A. Mills. These studies are renowed as "Mozzani's Method", but they are really a collection of exercises, chords, arpeggios and scales dedicated to advanced players. Each of them developes an instrumental technique in all the guitar tonal and harmonic extension.
At the end of Nineteenth century,
shortly after a lucky European tournče, Luigi Mozzani established himself at
Parigi where he contacted the greatest active guitarists at that time: Alfredo
Cottin, Gelas and Miguel Llobet. In France he wrote "8
Pieces for solo guitar" that were published after his death by Bčrben
(1963). During his stay in Paris, Mozzani started to interest in the making of
the guitar, too.
Established himself at a good state, he came back to Italy. He stayed at first
in Faenza, where he established his first workshop for guitar making. In 1899 he
published various pieces for guitar among which the famous "Preghiera".
Afterwards he take up residence in Bologna, nearby the poet Giosuč Carducci's house. There he prepared a model of guitar after Guadagnini.
Mozzani continued to deal with guitar making without abandoning the concert activity. He toured in England, where he lived for around six months, in France, in Germany and in Austria [4]. In the 1906 he presented anonymously a Serenata at the musical contest of the Italian magazine Il Plettro, organized by Mr Alessandro Vizzari (guitarist and publisher). This composition won the first prize with golden medal and then it was published with its caption: the notorius Feste Lariane, air with variations. This piece, despite today its paternity should be attributed to Manuel Ferrer [see [5], [6]], in effects gave him a great reputation, expecially abroad.
Between 1905 and 1908 Mozzani toured expecially in Germany and Austria. He stayed in Munich by Mr Buek, president of a guitar Society. There he visited a collection of guitar-lyras, built many years before by Austro-German makers (the Viennese Knaffl and Schenck, Raab, etc) and improved subsequently by the maker Friederich Schenck. Mozzani was keen on these instruments, expecially for their costruction and also for the use of the "extra-low" and for the technique of execution. He was also very fond of the "Wappen" guitars (see e.g. Der Gitarrenfreund Munich 1931).
During the first decade of the 1900 Mozzani settled definitely to Cento (in province of Ferrara). There he made various models of guitar with the cooperation of local craftsmen. He alternated between the craft, the concerts and the didactics. He tried to change the model of guitar-lyras conceiving a device able to regulate the inclination of the neck through a system of wood screws. This innovative solution was patented in 1912.
In the 1908 he published in Berlin the virtuosistic "Colpo di vento" (Wind Gust), "Mazurka" and "Valzer lento". Then he had to abandon Germany, because of the political turmoil.
Between 1910 and 1924 he made many bowed instruments and all the types of string instruments necessary for constituting a plectrum orchestra. He was in strict collaboration with plectrum orchestras yet present in Italy. Inside his crafstmen there was the skilful Mario Maccaferri, who will continue cleverly the work of guitar making and commerce. In 1914 Mozzani started again his concert activity, that brought him in almost all Italian cities. His daughter Juliet's illness (cerebro-spinal meningitis) and her death in 1916, shocked Luigi who felt finished and decided to abandon the concert activity. So he did for the next 15 years.
However Mozzani did not give up keeping his hands in good shape: he projected some tools at this aim, too. He manufactured a wooden "counterbore" with metallic parts for the left hand fingers and a pocket stringed tablet of hollow wood for training the right hand. He made also a travel guitar that was portable into a small case, dismantling it.
In 1927, after an agreement with the municipality of Cento, his laboratory was transformed into the "Italian School of Luthery Luigi Mozzani" and after it was transferred to Bologna. One could enter this school only through a contest.
Since 1934 however the school was closed for political reasons. Luigi Mozzani could take up again his craft in a workshop at first in Cento and finally in Rovereto. His guitars were sold in almost the world. Until 1939 Luigi kept on performing publicly. He recorded three 78 rpm with much of his music, that are still preserved but not good enough to appreciate his guitar art. Mozzani was able to open again a School only in 1942 in Rovereto. There he died the subsequent year, in 1943.
The last Mozzani school was still active until 1947 under the guidance of his wife Alfonsina and a trustworthy instructor. That the Municipality decided to stop their activity. The most part of the materials was resaled or dispersed, the heirs drew up a contract with the Farfisa musical house, allowing the making of guitars with the Marco "Mozzani". Many instruments made by Mozzani and his manuscripts, partially unpublished, that containing his experiments, still kept and are at times exposed in local expositions.
Very precise the judgment of Angelo Gilardino in his Manual (volume of the history of modern and contemporary guitar), [7]):
As a whole, the Mozzani's compositive work, being in no way inferior to the Tárrega's one, reflects a particular moment of the Italian music at the end of Nineteenth century, of which it offers an agreeable guitar synthesis, nothing like an amateurish one at all: in him also you feel the aspect of the rebirth, a jointly humble and rigorous presentiment, like a gasp that, not being able to define itself in a conscience, is expressed however in a sweet and together severe attitude. Here is the rustic Italy of the popular singing, the bourgeois Italy of the Veristic epoch and of the "Ideal".
Basic Bibliography
- Giuseppe Strocchi - Liutai Romagnoli, 15 biografie
fine '800 - inizi '900, Estratto dall'edizione del 1913, (it contains the entry
"L. Mozzani" p. 56-78), Editrice Turris, 1996.
See also: Giovanni Intellisano - "Luigi Mozzani - Un Liutaio e la sua arte", (pagg. 296), Arts & Craft, Cento (Ferrara) 1990. Back to text - Vincenzo Saldarelli: "Uno strumento come la chitarra" I e II, 1985 La Musica (1985), n.3 pp. 6-7; n.4 pag. 47. Back to text
- Ino Savini: "Luigi Mozzani, oboista, chitarrista e liutaio, Faenza, Ottobre 1985. Back to text
- Romolo Ferrari: "La vita e le opere di Mozzani" in "L'Arte Chitarristica" no. 1 to 10, 1947. Back to text
- Matanya Ophee: "Who did what, and with which, and to whom" (Short Study in Basic Guitar History" in "Guitar International" - June 1984. Back to text
- Preface by Angelo Gilardino in L. Mozzani: Opere per chitarra, edited by Angelo Gilardino, Bčrben, 1995. Back to text
- Angelo Gilardino: Manuale di Storia della chitarra Vol. II, Edition Bčrben, Ancona (1987) Back to text