Maestro Alessandroni passes away at Swakop

by Adam Hartman

WORLD-renowned maestro Allessandro Alessandroni died after a short sickbed of cancer at his home at Swakopmund on Sunday, a week after his 92nd birthday.

He was a composer, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and choir director - a “maestro”, accor­ding to his wife, Margaret Courtney-Clarke.

Courtney-Clarke, a well-known photographer, said it was the arts which connected her and Allesandroni, whom she met at a benefit concert in Italy in 2000. They had first lived in Italy before moving to Swakopmund to her father's home in 2009.

“He loved Swakopmund and the desert. He loved the peace and the quiet in which he could compose his works,” she told The Namibian.

Allesandroni has collaborated on numerous soundtracks and documentaries, most notably in Sergio Leone's 'Dollars' trilogy of Westerns during the 1960s in which Clint Eastwood starred: 'A fist full of dollars', 'The good, the bad and the ugly', and 'For a few dollars more'.

“Everyone knows or has heard him whistling in those movies; he is a 'legendary whistler' too,” said his son Alessandro Alessandroni JR, who came from the United States last week to see his father. He was going to assist his father in recording a musical opus, which Alessandroni had been working on for nearly a decade, in Rome next month.

Alessandroni JR said his father's love in deed, more than word, has left him with eternal treasures worth more than gold.

He said his father involved him in his (father's) musical career since he was a little child.

“He took me to the studio where I heard his best works and him dealing with some of the most famous musicians. He taught me about work ethic, hard work and temperance. He was extremely elegant and humble,” said Alessandroni JR, who himself has a successful career in music in the United States.

Thousands of messages of condolence were received by the family over the last few days from across the world.

Besides performing in live concerts, on radio and on television throughout Europe, Alessandroni also performed small gigs at Swakopmund with other talented local musicians.

“Music was his life. He's been playing music for 80 years,” said Courtney-Clarke as one of his recordings were playing in the background.

Alessandro is survived by his wife, son, daughter and six grandchildren.

A private commemorative concert will be held at his home tomorrow (Thursday), directed by Alessandroni JR, where close friends and family will celebrate his life.