(July 22, 1873 – November 9, 1957)
Ettore Pozzoli was born in Seregno, in the province of Milano.
After learning the rudiments of music from his father, in 1884 he was admitted to the Milano Conservatory, where he first studied clarinet under Romeo Orsi. In 1885 he abandoned the clarinet and began piano studies under Disma Fumagalli; two years later he embarked on studies in counterpoint and fugue under Michele Saladino. Continuing his studies in piano under Vincenzo Appiani, Pozzoli graduated in 1894; in 1896 he received his second diploma in composition, after studying under Vincenzo Ferroni.
Pozzoli went on to perform as a concert pianist, while also dedicating his energies to composition. In 1899 he began his teaching career as professor of solfeggio, music theory and melodic dictation at the Milano Conservatory. From then on, Pozzoli would focus his efforts on teaching and the diffusion of music culture, and went on to become a dedicated educator and theorist, although he continued as a composer and a revisor of compositions. Among his earliest publications are three course books,
Solfeggi (1903),
Parlati (1904), and
Cantati (1905), seminal works in sung and unsung solfeggio training.
From 1917 to 1927 Pozzoli revised and edited numerous collections of piano studies by authors that included Henri-Jérôme Bertini, Carl Czerny, Ferdinand Beyer, Charles-Louis Hanon, and Louis Köhler.
As a composer, Pozzoli mainly focused on works for piano, and had a predilection for descriptive impressionist sketches based on late Romantic harmonics. This is clear in both the collections of his shorter works, including
Pagine minuscole (1922),
Piccole scintille (1931), and
Sette piccoli schizzi (1941), and in his longer works, such as
Riflessi del mare,
3 characteristic pieces for piano (1929). Pozzoli also composed the oratorio
La figlia di Jefte, as well as a mass for organ, motets, and several orchestral works.
Ettore Pozzoli died in Milano on November 9, 1957.