Maria Borghesi

Italian Reception of J. S. Bach (1950-2000)

Is Italy a Bach-loving country? Starting from this question, Borghesi recounts the stages, protagonists and features of the Italian reception of J. S. Bach. The author reconstructs the musicological debate around the German composer, discusses the role of Bach's works in education and the editorial market, tracing back the activities of performers, musical institutions and record companies. Special attention is devoted to Bach's Lutheran sacred music and its dissemination in the Italian Catholic culture.

The volume constantly finds a balance between the identification of larger trends and the investigation of specific case studies. It therefore provides the much-needed history of a little-known component of Italian musical culture in the second half of the twentieth century.