An unexpected trip to a village museum this morning. I went to market in nearby Paderno Ponchielli and found this place by chance. They have a lovely collection housed in the Maestro's original home and the local man who was guide and is the curator of the collection was very knowlegable. The man in question was Amilcare Ponchielli a composer and pianist whose name was added to his village's name on the centenary of his death. The theatre in Cremona also carries his name. He was a child genius who was discovered by a local noble when he played the organ in the village church -his father had taught him all he knew and age 10 he was sent to the Conservatory in Milan. Later in his life he would become Puccini's tutor. His most famous opera is La Gioconda - photos show his first piano (bought second hand), he is the photo on the left (when the guide is present), next to Puccini. Other material relates to his works, costumes which were designed for his operas and there is a photo of his wife Teresa Brambilla in costume , she was a well-known soprano. he died aged 51 of pneumonia in 1886 -his wife out-lived him by many years and died in 1921! Last photo shows the commenmorative stamps produced in 1986 to mark his centenary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amilcare_Ponchielli
The following piece should be recogniseable as it was used by Walt Disney in Fantasia!