User:BuckyAdopt/Giovanni Piazza

Giovanni Piazza (Rome, November 27, 1937 — Rome, April 13, 2022) was an Italian musician and teacher.

Biography
Giovanni Piazza, the second child of Ugo Piazza, a physician and poet from Faenza, entered the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in 1953 and obtained a diploma in horn performance under Domenico Ceccarossi. He then studied Composition for eight years with Gianluca Tocchi, Armando Renzi, and Virgilio Mortari. After completing his military service, he enrolled in the conducting course held by Franco Ferrara at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, starting with the summer course Ferrara taught at the Vacanze Musicali in Venice. He always followed Maestro Ferrara, even during the summer, at the Accademia Chigiana and in Venice. In Berlin, he studied conducting with Richard Kraus and discovered the practice of Gehörbildung (ear training), which was completely unknown in Italian conservatories.

In the library of the Musikhochscule, he found the books of the German Orff-Schulwerk, which influenced his educational and pedagogical-musical choices and led him to promote Orff-Schulwerk in Italy.

He taught at the experimental composition school of the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome. With the Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, he produced music and musical arrangements for theater, multimedia shows, and dance for many years. He collaborated with the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (1980-85), RAI (1982-89), and the Ministry of Public Education (since 1998).

Teaching Approach
Giovanni Piazza developed the Italian adaptation of the Orff Methodology starting from the early 1970s, characterized by a completely new and highly relevant psycho-pedagogical approach to Orff instruments.

Approaching music involves making music with the voice, body, and instruments, rather than starting by learning the notes, which are merely the graphic representation of our sound inventions and are a consequence, not a premise. According to Giovanni Piazza, the initial learning of music, including the introduction to reading and writing notation, always arises from musical experience and therefore stems from an exploratory and experimental approach rather than abstract and theoretical premises.

Music is inseparable from other expressive activities (language, gesture and movement, dance): musical activities are collective, open to improvisation and elementary composition practices, characterized by the "elementarità" found in both musical models and the instruments used.

Giovanni Piazza aimed not to create an anthology of music for children but to design a methodological path capable of envisioning the image of a creative teacher while also working independently.

Over the years, he conducted seminars in Italy, gathering educators who identified with his pedagogical approach.

In collaboration with two Roman Popular Music Schools (Insieme per Fare and Scuola popolare di musica donna Olimpia), he initiated the course "Methodology and Practice of Orff-Schulwerk," which gained national significance. Some years later, in collaboration with the Scuola popolare di musica donna Olimpia, it transformed into the "Orff-Schulwerk Project."

In May 2001, the association "OSI- Orff Schulwerk Italiano" (OSI) was established. The growing popularity of external seminars, led by the teachers of the "Project," fostered relationships with other national music associations. In 2005, the OSI Organizational Forum was established, with the participation of associations interested in collaboration that manifested in decentralized activities.

Music

 * "Tre per due" ("Three for Two"), easy pieces for piano for six hands, Mainz, Schott, 1998.
 * "Drei mal zwei - Tre per due" ("Three Times Two - Three for Two"), 10 easy pieces for piano for six hands, Mainz, Schott, 1998.
 * Tre pezzi per pianoforte a 4 mani e strumentario Orff ("Three Pieces for Piano for Four Hands and Orff Instruments"), I/Partitura and II/Partitura, Bescia, OSI-MKT, 2003.
 * "Il Cow-boy misterioso" ("The Mysterious Cowboy"), on poems by Roberto Piumini, for interactive choir with two children's voices and piano, integrated with various instruments and body percussion, Brescia, OSI-MKT, 2007.
 * "L’Ippopo..." ("The Hippopo..."), 19 easy pieces for piano based on poems and original drawings by Toti Scialoja, Brescia, OSI-MKT, 2008.

Writings

 * Orff-Schulwerk-Musica per bambini ("Orff-Schulwerk - Music for Children"), Italian edition based on the didactic work of Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman, Milan, Suvini Zerboni, 1979.
 * Educazione dell'orecchio ("Ear Training"), Milan, Ricordi, 1987.
 * Musica a scuola con lo strumentario Orff ("Music in School with Orff Instruments"), vol. I, Gli strumenti ritmici ("Rhythmic Instruments"), Villafranca, Amadeus, 1991.
 * Musica a scuola con lo strumentario Orff ("Music in School with Orff Instruments"), vol. II, Gli strumenti a barre ("Bar Instruments"), Villafranca, Amadeus, 1991.
 * Pentajazz - Diversi usi delle pentafonie per un approccio didattico al jazz immediato e creativo ("Pentajazz - Various Uses of Pentatonics for an Immediate and Creative Approach to Jazz Education"), Brescia, OSI-MKT, 2003. With accompanying CD.
 * L’Orff-Schulwerk in Italia. Storia, esperienze e riflessioni ("Orff-Schulwerk in Italy: History, Experiences, and Reflections"), Turin, EDT/SIEM, 2010.