COMPOSER-LEGISLATORS IN FASCIST ITALY: DISTINGUISHING THE PERSONAL AND LEGISLATIVE VOICES OF ADRIANO LUALDI
Abstract
During Italy’s fascist period, the government appointed Adriano Lualdi to the
Chamber of Deputies. The once prominent composer, author, and music critic
represented the Fascist Union of Musicians in the chamber and had roles in the
administration of government-subsidized festivals. Although little is written about the
composer-legislator, what is available depicts him as opportunistic and self-serving.
Previous scholarship claims that he used his position in the fascist bureaucracy to his own
advantage by pushing his aesthetic philosophy through legislation. These claims are
substantiated by Lualdi’s private communications and published works which detail his
opinions on musical aesthetics. Comparing Lualdi’s political records to his publications
shows that his personal opinions on aesthetics did not interfere with legislation to the
degree that past scholarship suggests. I argue that previous scholarship conflates Lualdi’s
legislative voice with his personal voice, offering a distorted, and therefore incomplete
version of Adriano Lualdi as a historical figure.