Raffaele Caravaglios (28 December 1864, in Castelvetrano – 29 November 1941, in Naples) was an Italian bandmaster.
Biography
He was born in Castelvetrano (in the province of Trapani) from Giuseppa Margiotta, a housewife and Francesco Caravaglios, a violin and trumpet teacher and bandmaster. The Caravaglios were native of Spain: in 1856 Raffaele’s grandfather, who was a composer for bands and orchestras, was called from Castelvetrano to substitute the master, and later appointed as local band master.
As a young boy he made concerts, accompanied by his father, in various towns in Sicily: when he was fourteen he was orphaned and admitted to the Royal College of music in Palermo, where he studied and got the diploma in violin and composition when 18 years old. While he was conducting one of Wagner’s pieces during the rehearsal for an exhibition, he received the congratulations by the author himself who was in Palermo at that time and visiting the Conservatory.
In 1884 he was appointed as the director of the School of Music in Camporeale, where he met his future wife, Maria Antonietta Cipolla.
Two years later, in 1886, as he wanted to go back to his town, he accepted the entrusting of the direction of the Band of Castelvetrano, and simultaneously the bands of Alcamo and Trapani. In 1892, together with the band of Alcamo, took part in the National Exposition of Bands which took place in Palermo every year.
On this occasion, the execution of the pieces performed by the musicians, under the conduct of maestro Caravaglios, let the band win the first prize (Diploma of Honour) and the Gold Medal during a competition among the 38 music bands of Sicily. Since then it is honoured to have the privilege to be called “Premiato Complesso Bandistico città di Alcamo".
Thanks to the fame he acquired with so many contests won as conductor, in 1896 he was appointed as the master of the municipal band of Naples, where he conducted the orchestra of teatro San Carlo during the intermezzos of operas being performed. The opening concert was so successful that received the approval of Neapolitan press: it was followed by the famous concerts held at the Public Garden, which became a standing appointment since 1899.
He had also the title of “Officer of Academy” by the French Government, for his promotion of French music in Italy; then there were invitations and honours from Germany and Scotland.
Moreover, Caravaglios taught instrumentation at the Conservatory San Pietro a Maiella in Naples and at the Music School of Real Albergo dei Poveri. He was the director of Liceo Musicale "Giuseppe Verdi" and the honorary president of the Musical Institute "Riccardo Wagner".
In 1922, during a concert in Rome, he simultaneously directed the four bands of the capital: the newspapers wrote then that Caravaglios was the greatest instrumental director for bands in Italy.
Among his estimators there were the greatest masters of classical and lyrical music: Libero Bovio, Pietro Mascagni, Malipiero, Wagner, Richard Georg Strauss and other famous personalities like Antonio Cardarelli and Matilde Serao); E.A. Mario dedicated him the first copy of the transcription for bands of La leggenda del Piave.
He died in Naples, where spent most of his life, on 29 November 1941. His grave is inside the local cemetery. The Neapolitan Public Garden bears his name; Castelvetrano, his native town, has entitled a street to him, and Alcamo too. Besides, two bands, one in Camporeale and another in Castelvetrano, are named after him.
Works
Author of symphonies, hymns, holy music and operettas, he mostly devoted himself to the transcription of pieces of music for bands; this is the list of his works:
1880 Bifronte, canon inverse
188.? Danza degli zoppi: americanata di Raffaele Caravaglios; Bologna: C. Venturi
1880-1900 Minuetto per pianoforte di Raffaele Caravaglios; Bologna: C. Venturi
1882 Sinfonia, for orchestra
1882 Intermezzo, andantino, for 15 instruments
1889 Studio e lavoro, a symphony for Band
1890 Fantasia eroica, for Band
1890 Disillusione, original fantasy in score for band by R.Caravaglios; Palermo: Luigi Sandron
Disillusione: original fantasy by Raffaele Caravaglios; instrumentation by Stefano Gatta; La Loggia: Scomegna, 2013
1892 Quartetto, for flutes
1892 Un matrimonio a mezzanotte, opera (Libretto of G.E. Fazio), performed at the Civic Theatre of Alcamo
1893 La figlia del Matador, opera (Libretto of G.E. Fazio). It was represented 130 times in Tunisia.