Quirino Principe (born 19 November 1935 in Gorizia) is an Italian philosopher of music, Germanist, translator and dramatist.[1] actor.[2]
Principe holds a degree in Philosophy from the University of Padua.[3]
He taught on the musicology courses of the "G. Verdi" Conservatory of Milan.[1]
Further teaching engagements have included those at the University of Trieste[1] (lecturer in history of modern and contemporary music), at Roma Tre "Ostiense" University (lecturer in philosophy of music)[1][4] and at Verona Accademia per l'Opera Italiana (where he has taught librettology, history of theatre, dramaturgy, and stylistics of poetry since 2007).[4][5][6]
Considered by music critic Paolo Isotta as "the greatest living expert on Mahler",[7] Principe wrote two extensive monographs on Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss which are regarded as "fundamental" by Enciclopedia Treccani:[1]
Other books he authored in the fields of musicology, literary analysis, and music pedagogy are:
Many poems of his have been published in monographic collections, such as
In addition there are some theatrical works by Principe, such as:
Various poems of Principe's have been set to music by composers such as Bruno Bettinelli, Sonia Bo, Massimo Di Gesu.[15]
Principe has translated many works from German (including books by Ernst Jünger[16] and the complete Cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach).[17]
Principe has been an advocate of writer J. R. R. Tolkien: he contributed to Italian knowledge of The Lord of the Rings by editing the Italian translation of the book from its second edition (1970) onwards.[3][18]
He has contributed since 1992 to the Sunday cultural supplement of Il Sole 24 Ore.[6][19]
In 1996 the President of the Austrian Republic awarded Principe the 1st Class Cross of Honour for Science and Art.[20]
In 2006 he was elected a member of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.[1][4][21]
In 2009 the President of the Italian Republic bestowed on him the title of Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.[22]