A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Pinsuti, Ciro
PINSUTI, Ciro (Il cavaliere), native of Sinalunga, Siena, where he was born May 9, 1829. He was grounded in music and the piano by his father; at ten he played in public; at eleven, being in Rome, he was made honorary member of the Accademica Filarmonica, and was taken to England by Mr. Henry Drummond, M.P., in whose house he resided until 1845, studying the pianoforte and composition under Cipriani Potter, and the violin under H. Blagrove. In 1845 he returned home, and entered the Conservatorio at Bologna, where he attracted the notice of Rossini, and became his private pupil. In 1847 he took his degree at Bologna, and remained there another year under Rossini's eye. In 1848 he went back to England and started as a teacher of singing, dividing his time between London and Newcastle, where he founded a Musical Society which still exists. Since that time Mr. Pinsuti's head-quarters have been in London, though he keeps up his connection with Italy by frequent visits. Thus he brought out his first opera, 'Il Mercante di Venezia,' at Bologna, Nov. 8, 1873, and a second, 'Mattia Corvino,' at the Scala at Milan, March 24, 1877. Both operas have been very successful in Italy, and the theatre at Sinalunga is now the 'Teatro Ciro Pinsuti.' In 1859 he composed the Te Deum for the annexation of Tuscany to the Italian kingdom, and was decorated with the order of SS. Maurice and Lazarus. In 1878 King Humbert further created him a knight of the Italian crown. In 1871 he was selected to represent Italy at the opening festival of the International Exhibition, and contributed a hymn in A♭ to words by Lord Houghton, beginning, 'people of this favoured land."
In London Mr. Pinsuti is well and widely known. Since 1856 he has been professor of singing at the Royal Academy of Music. In addition to a large circle of pupils of all ranks, many eminent artists have profited by his counsels, as Grisi, Bosio, Patti, Ronconi, Graziani, Mario, etc. His works are largely diffused, and his charming part-songs, full of melody and spirit, are great favourites with the singing societies of England. The list of his published compositions embraces more than 230 songs, English and Italian, 35 duets, 14 trios, 45 part-songs and choruses, and 30 PF. pieces, the Te Deum and the opera 'Il Mercante di Venezia' already mentioned. [App. p.749 "date of death, March 10, 1888."][ G. ]