The Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola (1904-1975) is best known for his twelve-tone compositions, often of highly lyrical and expressive nature.

Luigi Dallapiccola was born on Feb. 3, 1904, at Pisino in Istria. The town (now Pazin; after World War I, part of Italy) belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire during his childhood. In 1917 the Dallapiccolas and other Italian families of that community were deported to Graz, Austria, for political reasons. There Dallapiccola had his first opportunity to hear major operas, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni and Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger and The Flying Dutchman. At this time he decided definitely to become a musician, although his father, a professor of classical languages, insisted that he complete a classical education also.

In 1921 Dallapiccola graduated from high school. The next year he went to Florence, where he entered the harmony class of the conservatory in 1923. Two years later he composed three...