Curtis Cacioppo (born 1951 in Ravenna, Ohio) is an American composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. He is of Sicilian ancestry on his father's side, and Anglo-Saxon ancestry on his mother's side.[1] He is distantly related to the avant-garde composer George Cacioppo and the Dixieland trumpeter and bandleader Tony Almerico.
Cacioppo taught at Harvard University for four years, during which time he was also director of undergraduate studies in music. He joined the faculty of Haverford College in 1983, where he is Ruth Marshall Magill Professor of Music. His notable students include Peter McConnell, and Eric Sawyer.
His music is influenced by Native American music,[2] and at Haverford he teaches a social justice course on Native American music and belief.[3] He worked with Navajo elder John Co'ií Cook to preserve the music of the Coyoteway (Ma' ijií hatáál) healing ceremony, which is housed in the Special Collections at Haverford College. Cacioppo has written for many distinguished ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony and the Emerson String Quartet. He received a lifetime achievement award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1997.
Cacioppo, Curt (1986). "Color and Dissonance in Late Beethoven: the String Quartet Op. 135". Journal of Musicological Research. 6 (3): 207–248. doi:10.1080/01411898608574566.
— (1987). "Guns and Beethoven". Piano Quarterly. 36: 68–9.
— (1990). "Poetry to Music: Schumann's Mondnacht Setting". College Music Symposium. 30: 46–56.
— (1992). "Harmonic Behavior in The Rite of Spring". College Music Symposium. 32: 129–142.
— (1993). "Survey of Piano Technic". In Palmieri, Robert (ed.). Encyclopedia of Keyboard Instruments, Volume I: The Piano. Garland. pp. 135–7.
— (1993). "Fingering". In Palmieri, Robert (ed.). Encyclopedia of Keyboard Instruments, Volume I: The Piano. Garland. pp. 393–401.
— (2010). "A Pianist in Dante's Hell: Marino Baratello's Malebolge cycle (published in Italian as "Un pianista nell' Inferno di Dante")". Acoustical Arts and Artifacts: Technology, Aesthetics, Communication. 7: 147–154.
Michelucci, Alessandro (September 5, 2015). "Dedicato all'Italia"(PDF). Cultura Commestibile. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 14, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
Sassmann, Albert (2010). "In der Beschränkung zeigt sich erst der Meister": Technik und Ästhetik der Klaviermusik für die linke Hand allein. Tutzing, Germany: Hans Schneider. ISBN978-3-79521-296-4.
Arciuli, Emanuele (2010). Musica per pianoforte negli Stati Uniti. Turin, Italy: EDT. ISBN978-8-86040-524-1.
Dwarka, Menon (Fall 2010). "A Trip to Venice". Listen Magazine: 62.
De Angelis, Marcello (2001). Diabolus in Musica. Lingua e pensiero nella musica tra sacro e profano, I - Orfeo: Parabola di un Mito. Florence, Italy: Le Lettere. pp. 36–37. ISBN978-8-87166-573-3.
Finane, Ben (April 10–17, 2003). "Curt Cacioppo: Keyboard Fantasies". Time Out New York.
Somers, Paul (January 30, 2003). "American Roots Festival, Part 3: interplay – the 'Indianists'". New Jersey Classical Society Journal.
Horowitz, Joseph (January 8–26, 2003). "American Roots Festival". New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Festival Program Guide.
Espiñeira, Francisco (May 7, 2000). "El sonido de los indios cautiva a Madrigalia: el músico americano Curt Cacioppo...". La Voz de Galicia.
Sachs, Harvey (June 1999). "Una cultura ancora viva: Curt Cacioppo e la musica dei <<Native Americans>>". Amadeus: Il Mensile della Grande Musica.
Vigoda, Ralph (April 27, 1997). "Music of native drums and Tuscan vistas". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Orgel, Paul (1996). Curt Cacioppo's Pawnee Preludes for Piano (DMA dissertation). Temple University/E. Boyer College of Music.
Frör, Oliver (December 19, 1995). "Visionen aus der Neuen Welt: Klaviermusik indianischer und schwarzer Ursprünge bei Steingraeber". Nordbayerischer Kurier.
"Indianisches—eindringlich: ungewohnte pianistische Highlights". Hofer Anzeiger/Frankenpost. November 13, 1995.