Lino Liviabella was born into a family of musicians. His grandfather on his mother’s side was a pupil of Rossini and Chapel Master in the Basilica of S. Nicola di Tolentino; his father Oreste, who graduated from Rome’s S. Cecilia Academy, was organist and Chapel Master in the Cathedral of Macerata. Lino was born in Macerata on 7 April 1902 and died in Bologna on 21 October 1964. In 1920 he graduated from high school and enrolled in the Faculty of Literature at the University of Rome. His later decision to dedicate himself entirely to music caused him to have a few contrasts with his parents, wherefore Lino courageously arranged to be economically independent by giving private lessons and playing the piano in cinemas (movies were still silent). After graduating in piano with L. Cozi from Rome’s S. Cecilia Conservatory (1923), he went on to study organ with R. Renzi (earning his diploma in 1926) and composition with O. Respighi (graduating in 1927). In 1928 he was appointed director of the High School of Pescara, where he also taught piano; from 1931 he taught in Venice; and from 1940, having won a competition, he was given the Fugue and Composition chair at the Conservatory of Palermo. In 1942 he settled in Bologna. In the Conservatory of that city, he obtained the chair of Fugue and Composition; then he became the institution’s Deputy Director and finally its Director, having also been director of the Conservatories of Pesaro (1953–59), and of Parma (1959–63). In 1958 he completed a treatise on Harmony, fruit of his intense didactical activity, and in 1964, in collaboration with R. Monterosso, he wrote the book Sentir musica (published by Cappelli).

He was also a well-known pianist. He won numerous awards: first prize at the Propaganda Musicale national competition with his Sonata in A minor for violin and piano (1928); at the Terza Mostra Nazionale di Musica Contemporanea with his Sonata in One Movement for violin and piano (1934); at the Concorso Scaligero with his Sonata ciclica for cello and piano (1938); he was a prizewinner at the Berlin Olympic Games with his symphonic poem Il Vincitore, performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the author (1936); at the Prix Alice Lumbroso with La gondola (Paris, 1937); at the Fondazione Respighi competition with the symphonic poem Monte Mario (1937); he won the S. Remo prize (1940); the prize of the Scarlatti national competition with the symphonic poem La mia terra (1943); the Premio Roma with the cantata O Crux, ave! (1950); and the Premio Friuli with Tema, variazioni e fuga for organ. He was moreover awarded an honorary diploma by the Comitato Internazionale per l’Unità e l’Universalità della Cultura (1962).

From 1960 he was a member, for symphonic music, of the Central Committee for the Supervision of Broadcasting. He published articles in various magazines, such as Laus decora (L’insegnamento del canto gregoriano nei Conservatori, 1957); Arti (La cattedra di composizione nei Conservatori Musicali, 1959); La Scala (Dove va la musica? 1960). His works include the operas Antigone, La Conchiglia, Canto di Natale; the cantatas Manina di neve, Sorella Chiara, Caterina da Siena, O Crux, ave!, Le sette parole di Gesù sulla Croce; the symphonic poems Monte Mario, La mia terra; the Symphony in Four Movements for soprano and orchestra (from T. S. Eliot); the Poem for Piano and Orchestra; a Violin Concerto; a Concerto for Orchestra. He moreover composed numerous chamber works and songs for voice and piano. All his works have been performed in Italy and beyond, and some have been recorded.

(Biographical notes taken from the site www.linoliviabella.com, last consulted on 26th December 2023)