Elena Barbara Giuranna (18 November 1899 – 30 July 1998) was an Italian pianist and composer. She taught at the Rome Conservatory from 1937 until 1970, and also edited 18th-century music. She composed works for stage, orchestra, chamber ensemble and piano, and arranged the works of Paisiello, Vivaldi, and Cimarosa. She was an elected member of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.
Life Elena Francesca Paola Maria Giuseppa Barbera was born in Palermo, Italy and studied piano at the Palermo Conservatory with Guido Alberto Fano. She also studied composition at the Naples Conservatory with Camillo De Nardis and Antonio Savasta. She continued her education in composition at the Milan Conservatory with Giorgio Federico Ghedini. She made her piano debut in 1923, playing with the Naples Symphony Orchestra. In 1924 she married conductor Mario Giuranna.
After completing her studies, Giuranna taught at the Rome Conservatory from 1937 to 1970 and worked as an editor of 18th-century music. She was a music consultant to RAI in Rome from 1948 to 1956, and she was elected a member of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in 1982. She won the international prize of the City of Trieste for a concerto in 1967, and in 1990 a concert was given in her honour by the International Leonard Bernstein Academy.
She died in Rome.
Works Giuranna composed works for stage, orchestra, chamber ensemble, chorus, violin, and piano. Giuranna also published arrangements of 18th-century music including Paisiello, Vivaldi, and Cimarosa. Selected works include:
Theatrical works La trappola d’oro (ballet), 1929 Jamanto (op, 3, Giuranna), opera 1941 Mayerling (op, 3, V. Viviani), Naples, S Carlo, 1960 Hosanna (op, 1, C. Pinelli), Palermo, Massimo, 1978 Choral: 3 cori, male chorus, 1940
Other works 3 canti alla Vergine, Soprano voice, female chorus, small orchestra, 1949 Missa sinite parvulos, children's chorus, harp, organ, 1992 Notturno, 1923 Apina rapita dai nani della montagna, (tr. "Apina kidnapped by the mountain dwarves") suite after A. France, small orchestra, 1924 Marionette, 1927 X legio (Tenth Legion), Poema eroico per grande orchestra/Heroic Poem for Large orchestra, 1936 Toccata for orchestra, 1937 Patria 1938 Concerto for orchestra no.1, 1942 Episodi, wind, brass, timpani, piano, 1942 Concerto for orchestra no.2, 1965 Musica per Olivia, for small orchestra, 1970 Adagio e Allegro da concerto, 9 instruments, 1935 Sonatina, piano, 1935 Toccata, piano, 1937 Sonatina, harp, 1941 Solo per viola, 1982
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