Severino Gazzelloni; Dean of Italian Flutists

Severino Gazzelloni, 73, dean of Italian flutists and the inspiration for 135 compositions. Gazzelloni taught generations of Italian flutists and was principal flutist of the RAI symphony for 30 years. At his peak as a soloist he was performing 250 concerts a year. He taught at Italy’s leading conservatory, the academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, and at the Chigiana Academy in Siena. Composers such as Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio and Igor Stravinsky wrote works for him. Gazzelloni was popularly known for his golden flute, of which he once said: “I am more jealous of it than of my women because it is my blood, it is my sound, it is my very life.” In Rome on Saturday in Cassino, south of Rome, from a brain tumor.