Bernardino Molinari

Molinari studied under Renzi and Falchi at the Accademia (then "Liceo Musicale") of Santa Cecilia in his home town of Rome.

In 1912, he was appointed artistic director of the Augusteo Orchestra, Rome, later renamed l'Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, a position he held until the end of the Second World War.

[1] After the liberation of Rome on 4 June 1944, Molinari was contested by the public, in particular during two concerts held on 9 and 12 July, for his involvement with the Fascist regime.

The performance of the Korngold violin concerto with David Grunschlag as soloist was critically acclaimed.

Composer Robert Starer tells of his experience as a young harpist in the Palestine Orchestra in the 1940s: I sat behind [my] harp, glanced at the most intricate harp part I had ever encountered, and looked with heavily beating heart at the conductor, Bernardino Molinari, a fine, experienced maestro.