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Salvatore Passantino
Italian composer, born in Palermo in 1992, graduated in composition with honors and mention at the Palermo Conservatory.
At the age of 24, the Teatro Massimo in Palermo commissioned him to write the operas Haus and Minuscolo. He regularly receives commissions from various institutions, including the Società Aquilana dei Concerti, the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, the Coccia Theater of Novara and the Luglio Musicale Trapanese.
His works have been performed in international halls and theaters, including the Bozar of Brussels, the Tchaikovsky hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the organ hall of the Kazan Conservatory, the Condopoga Palace of Arts, the Teatro della Pergola in Florence , the Politeama Garibaldi in Palermo, the Pergolesi Theater in Jesi the Giglio Theater in Lucca and the Auditorium of the Renzo Piano Park in L'Aquila.
He has won several prizes in competitions, including the first prize in the international composition competition In Clausura organized by Sonzogno and SIAE and the first prize at the international composition competition “Giancarlo Aliverta” 2023. His latest opera, “Il Brutto Anatroccolo”, premiered at the Teatro Carlo coccia in Novara on March 10, 2024
Ostination
Ostination is a sonata for two violins and harpsichord, structured as a Passacaglia in D minor. The title reflects
the presence of a recurring musical theme, an ostinato, which serves as the basis for a series of 21 variations
and a final coda.
It is a work of great inventiveness and virtuosity, exploring the expressive potential of early instruments in
an innovative and engaging way. The catchy rhythm, the recurring theme, the increasingly elaborate
variations, capture the listener's attention from beginning to end.
The theme of the passacaglia itself undergoes variations: we find it in its inverse form, with a consequent
change of mode from major to minor, and in its augmented form, in the final variation.
The variations follow one another in an increasingly pressing and surprising way, creating an atmosphere of
growing tension. The climax comes in the grand finale, where the theme is presented in long values, followed
by a powerful recapitulation of all the instruments in unison.