When and how did Il Fronimo originate? |
When, in October 1972, Ruggero Chiesa put his name
under the first editorial of Il Fronimo, the situation regarding the guitar in
Italy and abroad was radically different from what it is now.
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What does Il Fronimo mean? |
The title of the journal is a reference to the famous
treatise in dialogue by Vincenzo Galilei published in 1568 and 1584. Fronimo was an
imaginary lutenist, a repository of musical knowledge (in ancient Greek fronimo
means sage). In his conversations with Eumazio (the Italian form of
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The objectives |
Il Fronimo was founded to provide its readers with the historical and analytical means to study and discuss guitar music and topics related to the instrument with critical insight. This clearly cultural perspective, however, was not the only objective envisaged by Ruggero Chiesa when he started the journal in 1972. Then and now, the developments in the guitar world call for something that can be a meeting point of different ideas, a means to express opinions and to record the results of historical research, and a guide for all those interested in the guitar who wish to broaden their minds and to relinquish the old commonplaces. |
, meaning "he who learns well") Fronimo provided answers
to the questions this character asked him about all different kinds of musical topics. Our
journal did not have the pretension to be such an illuminate source of information but was
simply intended to launch a constructive dialogue on such a vast and at the same time
specific field as that related to the guitar and the lute. It is therefore no coincidence
that Il Fronimo, after the collaboration with Suvini Zerboni came to an end, is now
being published by [the recently established publishing house] Il Dialogo.