Discover

'Piero Coppola' (born October 11 1888 in Milan, died March 17 1971 in Lausanne, Switzerland) was an Italian conductor, pianist and composer.
Coppola's parents were both singers.^[1] He studied at the Milan Conservatory, graduating in piano and composition in 1910. By 1911 he was already conducting opera at La Scala opera house in Milan. That year he heard Debussy conduct his own compositions ''Ibéria'' and ''Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune'' in Turin, an experience that "had a decisive influence on his career".^[2]
He then worked in Brussels before spending the duration of World War I in Scandinavia.
After the War, Coppola moved to France. Between 1923 and 1934 he was the artistic director of ''La Voix de son Maître'', the French branch of The Gramophone Company. In 1924 he was asked by Sylvia Beach to make a recording of James Joyce reading from ''Ulysses'': Coppola replied that the recording would have to be made at Beach's expense, would not have the HMV label on it and would not be listed in the catalog.^[3] In the late 1920s and 1930s Coppola conducted recordings of many works of Debussy and Ravel, including the first recordings of Debussy's ''La mer'' and Ravel's ''Boléro''. Coppola's conducting enjoyed the admiration of Debussy, although the composer never actually heard Coppola perform any of his works. His work in French repertoire has been widely praised. His recordings of Debussy have been described as "without rival for the period", with his 1938 recording of ''Nocturnes'' eulogized as a "masterpiece"^[4] and among the early recordings "closest to Debussy's thought".^[5] His recording of Ravel's ''Le Tombeau de Couperin'' won the ''Grand Prix du Disque'' in 1932. Coppola also conducted the first recording of Prokofiev's ''Third Piano Concerto'', with Prokofiev himself as soloist.
From 1939 onwards Coppola worked in Lausanne. He composed two operas, a symphony, and some shorter works.
Piero Coppola is no relation to Carmine Coppola or to Carmine's son Francis Ford Coppola.^[6]

Contents

Recording premieres

Writings

References

Recording premieres

★ Debussy, ''La mer'', orchestra, 1928^[7]

★ Ravel, ''Shéhérazade'', Marcelle Gerar (soprano), orchestra, The Gramophone Company, November 1928, Paris

★ Ravel, ''Boléro'', orchestra, The Gramophone Company, January 8 1930, Paris^[8]

★ Prokofiev, ''Third Piano Concerto'', Sergei Prokofiev (piano), London Symphony Orchestra, HMV, June 27-28 1932, London

★ Ravel, ''Daphnis et Chloé'' suite number 1, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, The Gramophone Company, 1934, Paris

Writings

★ Dix-sept ans de musique à Paris, 1922-1939, , Piero, Coppola, Slatkine, ,

References

1. Piero Coppola

2.
3. Shakespeare and Company, , Sylvia, Beach, University of Nebraska Press, ,
4. The Societe des Concerts Du Conservatoire, 1828-1967, , Dallas Kern, Holoman, University of California Press, ,
5. Debussy in Performance, , James R., Briscoe, Yale University Press, ,
6. Coppola: A Biography, , Peter, Cowie, Da Capo Press, ,

7.
8.