Daniele Amfitheatrof

Daniele (Alexandrovich) Amfitheatrof (Russian: Даниил Александрович Амфитеатров, October 29, 1901 in Saint Petersburg, Russia – June 4, 1983 in Venice, Italy) was a Russian-born Italian-naturalised composer and conductor.

Amfitheatrof was born in Saint Petersburg, into a family that was distinguished in various areas of the arts and culture. His father, Aleksander Amfiteatrov, was a noted writer. His mother Illaria (née Sokoloff), an accomplished singer and pianist, had studied privately with Rimsky-Korsakov. His brother, Maksim (Massimo) was an internationally renowned cellist, called the "Cellists' Caruso", who worked with Arturo Toscanini and Fabrizio De André.

The composer's early life was one of extreme hardship. In January 1902, at the age of three months, he was removed to Siberia, where his father was imprisoned for publishing anti-Tsarist articles. In 1904 the authorities returned the family to St. Petersburg, after which time they emigrated to Italy.

At the age of six, Daniele commenced private music studies with his mother. In 1914 he was accepted as a student by Ottorino Respighi in Rome. Shortly thereafter, however, the family returned to Russia, where Alexander Amfitheatrof was appointed as political advisor to Alexander Kerensky during the few months that he was Prime Minister prior to the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. In spite of the political and social upheavals of the time, young Daniele received formal instruction in harmony under Nikolai Shcherbachov and Jāzeps Vītols at the Petrograd Conservatory between 1916 and 1918. In 1921, he was permitted to travel to Prague, Czechoslovakia for further study in counterpoint under Jaroslav Kricka.

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