Gilda Ruta, the Musician Between Two Worlds

Among the various initiatives aimed at re-evaluating musicians who have been forgotten or unfairly sidelined by history and society, Da Vinci Classics has launched a project dedicated to the Neapolitan composer, pianist, singer, educator, and entrepreneur Gilda Ruta. She was previously honoured in a compelling book by Giovanni Vigliar titled Gilda Ruta. The Two Lives of a Neapolitan Musician, published in 2019 by Colonnese Editore.

Now, Edmondo Filippini’s label has released an album featuring twelve piano pieces by the Neapolitan artist, performed by fellow Neapolitan pianist Elisa Rumici. On the CD cover, Rumici is pictured sitting on a pier, beside a fur coat and two old suitcases—a visual nod to a pivotal chapter in Gilda Ruta’s life: her departure from Italy, where she was hailed as a major musical star, to embark from Genoa toward New York. Like thousands of other Italians—though often in very different economic and social circumstances—she set sail in search of opportunity in the New World.

Truth be told, Gilda Ruta was not forced to leave her homeland in search of fortune elsewhere. She was fully capable of supporting herself and her two children, Tommaso and Anna—both of whom would go on to become musicians—born from her marriage to Count Raffaele Cagnazzi, an engineer who died suddenly in 1880. In fact, as Giovanni Vigliar himself admits, the reasons behind her drastic and risky decision remain entirely unknown.

But before delving into the second chapter of Gilda Ruta’s life and artistic career in the United States, let’s take a look at what she accomplished during her years on Italian soil. She was born on October 13, 1853, the eldest of eight siblings, and was drawn to music from an early age. Her parents were both musicians: her mother, Emelina Luisa Sutton, was a talented English singer, and her father, Michele Ruta, a pianist and composer who also played an active role in the Risorgimento, having participated in the uprisings of 1848. Today, however, he is best remembered as co-director of the San Pietro a Majella Conservatory in Naples.

Gilda’s earliest musical training came from her parents, but her undeniable talent soon caught the attention of Francesco Saverio Mercadante, who became her composition teacher. The claim that she studied with Franz Liszt appears to be unfounded. Rather, she was one of the first representatives of the Neapolitan piano school, which emerged under Liszt’s great rival, Sigismond Thalberg, and continued with Beniamino Cesi and Francesco Lanza—both of whom were among her instructors.

With such strong educational foundations and blessed with remarkable musical talent, the Neapolitan pianist made her debut on the city’s concert scene at the age of sixteen, performing first alongside her father and later with other young musicians who would go on to leave a lasting mark on Italy’s musical history—among them Giuseppe Martucci, Costantino Palumbo, and Alfonso Rendano. She did not shy away from tackling demanding repertoire either, such as Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto in G minor.

When the young pianist agreed to marry Raffaele Cagnazzi, social conventions of the time—especially for individuals of noble standing—dictated her inevitable withdrawal from public performance. Yet fate had other plans: three years later, her husband died suddenly, and the financial circumstances she faced, now as a single mother of two young children, compelled Gilda Ruta to resume her musical career. She returned to the stage under her maiden name—the name that had first brought her acclaim.

That success was rekindled, particularly in her native Naples, though she also performed in Milan, Rome, Turin, and even in Switzerland. It’s worth noting that Ruta, in addition to interpreting the great classics—Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, Schumann, Mozart—and contemporaries such as Saint-Saëns, Rubinstein, and Sgambati, also championed works by lesser-known composers of the time, including Antonio Sacchini and Ferdinando Turini.

At this point, it’s important to highlight that Gilda Ruta achieved recognition not only as a performer but also as a composer. Her works were primarily written for solo piano, though she also explored other instrumental forms, including a Piano Concerto and chamber pieces such as a Violin Sonata and a “Song Without Words” for violin and piano.

At the height of her success, as previously mentioned, Gilda made the most consequential decision of her life—and of her children’s future. In 1894, she moved to the United States for reasons that remain unknown to this day, perhaps more personal or emotional than professional or artistic.

Upon arriving in America, she presented letters of recommendation to the appropriate authorities, including one from then–Prime Minister Francesco Crispi. But it likely wasn’t necessary: both critics and audiences in the U.S. quickly took an interest in Gilda Ruta and her pianistic artistry. She soon began performing in major venues, including Madison Square Garden, and became part of the country’s most fashionable and progressive intellectual circles—particularly those attuned to the early stirrings of feminist activism and advocacy.

That Gilda Ruta found a second homeland in America is evident not only from her flourishing concert career—supported by the country’s entrepreneurial establishment—but also from her decision to establish two musical institutions of her own: the Ruta Musical Society and the Ruta Music School, where her children would later teach as well.

And as so often happens in such cases, when the Neapolitan composer and pianist passed away in New York on October 26, 1932, the local press gave the event considerable attention, while the Italian media remained entirely silent. Thus began the long process of “forgetting” that led to Gilda Ruta being erased from artistic and historical memory—a silence broken only thanks to Giovanni Vigliar’s biography and this recent recording by Elisa Rumici, which finally allows us to speak of her once again.

As for the piano program presented by Elisa Rumici on this CD, titled Piano Works, the selection of pieces reveals the dual artistic nature of Gilda Ruta. On one hand, we have the intricate Suite a canoni from 1885, divided into Prelude – Arietta – Sarabande – Minuet – Bourrée – Gigue, which clearly reflects her classical side and evokes a tradition rooted in Bach. On the other hand, there’s an unmistakable salon-like quality, embodied in the Romanza—a genre Ruta cultivated with works such as Mesta serenata, Primavera, Bolero, and Siciliana. These pieces aim to deliver immediate emotional impact through vivid musical imagery, designed to be easily absorbed and enjoyed.

As one contemporary critic wrote—his words quoted in the liner notes of the album—“Miss Ruta’s compositions […] respond to the widespread need for piano music that is accessible both in terms of comprehension and technical skill, allowing a broad audience of honest individuals, amateurs, and young ladies to read and play Ruta’s music without straining either their minds or their fingers, and above all without corrupting their taste or offending the ears of their listeners.”

Indeed, listening to the four pieces mentioned above, one cannot help but notice how Gilda Ruta’s pianism is marked by an immediacy of expression, rich in a kind of ingenuousness—understood here as the instinctive purity of the creative act. Her music seeks to convey a palette of images and sensations in which the piano seems to take on the qualities of the human voice. There is, therefore, an inherent lyricism, born of a tradition where the comparison with vocal music is constant and inescapable.

At the same time, however, we encounter a Gilda Ruta capable of depth, structure, and refinement—attentive to musical developments beyond the Alps, in countries like France and the German-speaking world. This is evident in her Suite a canoni, whose construction blends technical rigor with graceful roundness—particularly noticeable in the unfolding of the Sarabande.

Elisa Rumici’s interpretation not only meets the criteria outlined by the aforementioned critic—namely, sparing both fingers and minds—but also fully embraces the dual nature of Gilda Ruta’s musical vision. She captures both the salon-like charm and the elevated pianistic sophistication of the Neapolitan composer, without ever overplaying emotionalism on one side or solemnity on the other. Her role, ultimately, was that of a historical and musical reclamation project—restoring to her forgotten fellow Neapolitan what was rightfully hers: a testimony to an era, an aura, and a cultural and social dimension in which the art of female piano music, especially in Italy, was still devoted to grace and tender sighs.

The sound engineering by Gabriele Zanetti, as always, is marked by precision and respect. The recording is dynamic—swift and energetic—yet free from any intrusive coloration. In terms of soundstage, the piano is clearly sculpted at the centre of the speakers, with a discernible depth and a pleasing spread of sound both horizontally and vertically. Equally impressive are the tonal balance and detail: the former shows no smudging between the mid-low and high registers, while the latter is finely contoured, offering a tactile sense of the keyboard instrument.

Andrea Bedetti

Gilda Ruta – Piano Works

Elisa Rumici (piano)

CD Da Vinci Classics C01073

Artistic rating 4/5
Technical rating 4/5