Carmen Carrozza

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Carmen Carrozza (July 20, 1921 – June 17, 2013) was one of America's premier concert accordionists, before he retired from performing after suffering a stroke.

Reggio di Calabria, Calabria, Italy, in 1921 and emigrated to the United States of America with his family at age 9, settling with them in Chappaqua, New York. He played piano and violin, but soon became enamored with the accordion
's flexibility, how it could fit perfectly into an orchestra or sound like an orchestra itself.

Carrozza studied under

Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He has also appeared with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Andre Kostelanetz,[3] premiering in 1975 the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Op. 308,[4] written by Alan Hovhaness and narrated by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in Washington, D.C., and for former New York City Mayor John Lindsay in New York.[clarification needed] He has concertized throughout Europe and was presented with a gold medal in Italy after an outstanding performance at the Teatro di Pavia. One of the high points in Carrozza's career was a concert in The Town Hall in New York City where he performed all original accordion works by many outstanding American composers including Robert Russell Bennett, Paul Creston, Virgil Thomson and many others.[5]

Carrozza retired from touring in the 1980s, but in the summer of 1994 he was called back to the road, playing three weeks of festivals with Jörgen Sundeqvist in Sweden. He was surprised they knew so much about him. "They had music I wrote when I was knee-high and recordings I had forgotten about myself."[This quote needs a citation]

Carrozza was president of the American Accordionists' Association (AAA), a national organization dedicated to the development of the accordion. He continued to promote the accordion through educational workshops at schools, college and private music studios until his death. In addition, he was the director of the Northern Westchester School of Yorktown, New York. Until his death, he resided in Thornwood, New York, with his wife Jean. He had two grown children, Carmen and Marianne.

References

  1. ^ Carmen Carrozza's obituary, The Journal News, June 19, 2013, via legacy.com
  2. ISBN 978-0313253362
    .
  3. New York Magazine [1]
  4. ^ See Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (1859) by Edward FitzGerald
  5. ISBN 978-0252036750
    .

External links
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