Pittsburgh violinist and teacher who escaped Mussolini’s Italy
Violinist Lucio Rossetti of Plum was once forced to play Italy’sfascist anthem for Benito Mussolini backstage after a concert that the fascist dictatorattended in Lucca.
“Give that man a medal!” said Mussolini — an amateur violinist himself — patting Mr.Rossetti on the back.
“He didn’t keep the medal,” said Gizell Larson, Mr. Rossetti’s daughter. “He was very antifascist. “
Mr. Rossetti, a retired violinist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as well as a revered teacher and champion of the musicians union, diedThursday from complicationsdue to age. He was 106.
Born Jan. 2, 1912, in Lettopalena, Italy, Mr. Rossetti first immigrated to the U.S. around age 9. During the Great Depression his parents sent him back to Italy, where he attended the Boccherini Conservatory. It was during his senior year that Mussolini demanded he play Italy’s fascist anthem.
“In Italy, my biggest musical thrill was playing in a student orchestra under the baton of Pietro Mascagni, composer of [the famous opera] Cavalleria Rusticana,” Mr. Rossetti once told The Pittsburgh Press.
Mr. Rossetti returned to the U.S. shortly after that and just days before being drafted into the Italian army. In 1934, he joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, then under the baton of Antonio Modarelli. Mr. Rossetti would perform with the orchestra for 43 years, with conductors including Otto Klemperer, Fritz Reiner, Leopold Stokowski, Charles Munch, William Steinberg, Andre Previn and others.
When he received a draft notice from the U.S. government in the 1940s, Mr. Rossetti took a second job at a defense plant, allowing him to defer. He worked from midnight to 8 a.m. and then attended PSO rehearsals beginning at 10 a.m.
“He always insisted on parking at least 2 miles from rehearsals and performances, and he was rigorously active until only about four years ago,” said Ms. Larson of Neenah, Wis. “Growing up in this house, we could always tell when dad had a good concert or loved the conductor. He’d come home late at night from concerts and not be able to sleep, he’d be so energized and full of excitement.”
Mr. Rossetti performed with other professional ensembles in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, and he was a strong supporter of the musicians union. Although he was retired for longer than he actually performed with the symphony, he continued to pay his dues and his account is settled through the end of 2018.
His final professional engagement as a violinist was to accompany famed opera singer Luciano Pavarotti. When Mr. Rossetti told the tenor that it would be his last performance, Mr. Pavarotti reportedly said, “Oh, but you must play on!” Mr. Rossetti was 75 at the time.
After retiring from the PSO, Mr. Rossetti taught violin, guitar and accordion. He lived on a 52-acre farm that he called“a little bit of heaven” in Plum, where he grew most of his own food. He was extremely health-conscious and wanted his family to be able to subsist on their own, accordingto Ms. Larson.
Robert Biondich, a former Pittsburgher who studied with Mr. Rossetti for more than 10 years, said that he could teach any instrument with strings or keys. “He was a jokester, he really was,” Mr. Biondich said, recalling a time when Mr. Rossetti showed him a “special pen” from his friend in the FBI that would help him to determine whether Mr. Biondich had practiced the right music.
Another former student, Randy Koslosky of Plum, said that Mr. Rossetti required students to write something every lesson. He said Mr. Rossetti was focused on teaching students how to be better musicians and how to approach the creative process, rather than just focusingon notes on a page.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Rossetti is survived by his wife of 78 years, Rose Nese of Plum; two other daughters, Nita Laskey of Burke, Va., and Juliet Cimino of Washington D.C.; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A brief visitation will be held prior to a memorial Mass on April 16 at St. Januarius Church in Plum. Memorial contributions may be sent to Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra Scholarship Fund, Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh 15222.
“Playing in an orchestra is hard work, and sometime I regret becoming a musician,” Mr. Rossetti told The Pittsburgh Press in 1976. “But after great performances under Reiner, I thanked God I had become a musician. You learned. You were inspired. Every time you did a piece, you did it better.”