Tell us about your musical education.

I grew up in Norwalk, and it all started with the xylophone. My father had always wanted to play that instrument. He talked about it all the time. So, when I was eight years old, the teacher asked us what instrument we wanted to play. I raised my hand and said “xylophone.” I didn’t even know what a xylophone was. I just liked the sound of the word. And before I knew it, I was given a little wooden xylophone. That's how I started. I hadn’t even known what the instrument looked like.

I had the pleasure of being the only girl (indeed the only person) in Norwalk who could play the xylophone. And as I got older, I got better. I'd be on the stage at school. I thought I was really something. Truth to tell, I had no competition.

My “big break” came when I was 15 years old. The Norwalk Symphony under Quinto Maganini was planning to perform Shostakovich’s Polka from the Golden Age, which has several solo xylophone passages. And so, the hunt was on for a xylophonist in the local area – and that was me. I really had arrived. Here I am, this young teenager playing with a symphony orchestra. And of course, being a xylophone player, I was also a percussionist, and I ended up playing timpani and all the other accessories. There were no female percussionists in those days. You might say I broke a “glass ceiling” without even knowing it.

Were you at Norwalk High at this time?

Initially, yes. I played in the band and with the school orchestra. But there were no Xylophone teachers in town. So, I commuted to the Julliard Prep School and started studying in earnest. I wanted to go to college so badly, but my mom and dad would say, “you know, we can’t afford it.” I should mention that I was born in 1931, so I was a child of the Depression. There were no college loans in those days. But I said, “Mom, don't worry, I’ll figure out a way.” I started giving xylophone and piano lessons. And with two friends, formed a trio called “The Queen and Two Kings” (vibraphone, guitar, and drums). We started playing club dates.

And then, when I was ready to graduate from high school, I auditioned with Xavier Cugat, the famous bandleader. He was ready to take me on the road with his 15-member all-male band. Naturally, my mom said, “Not a good idea.” Naturally, I was upset. I responded, “I am going to go to Manhattan School of Music (MSM) and become an old-maid-schoolteacher, just to spite you.” Well, I did go to Manhattan School of Music and did not become an “old maid.” In fact, I met my husband-to-be there, Nicolas Flagello. He had been a child prodigy, had already earned his master’s degree, had been on the road, and had just returned to MSM to teach. He was only 23.

Was he a composer back then?

Absolutely! He started composing at the age of ten. I first caught his eye when I played timpani in the MSM orchestra for the premier of his First Piano Concerto. (This was his master thesis. Critics have praised it as the gold standard for conservatory graduation pieces.) I was also in his orchestration class. Remember, this was not so long after WWII. Many students were veterans studying under the GI Bill. Nick was younger than they were. We all used to hang out together. We would all play in the orchestra, and after every concert, get together at some local pub. It was a wonderful, wonderful time. And before you knew it, Nick and I became a couple.

Nicolas Flagello

Did you ever think that you would have a life like that?

It was exciting. But I always felt like a mosquito on the back of an elephant. I mean, here I am playing this novelty instrument. And there he was, this fabulous, phenomenal, composer. I married him because I loved his personality, his humor. At the time, I didn't really know what a genius he was. I knew he was a composer, and I knew he was special, but I didn't know how great he really was. After we were married, every day, I saw him composing music, writing poetry and painting. Every day, he amazed me.

You and Nick lived in Italy for a while.

Nick won a Fulbright Scholarship to study under Ildebrando Pizzetti at the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome in 1955. (That made headlines in the New York papers, because Nick’s younger brother, Ezio Flagello, the basso, also received a Fulbright that same year.) There I was living in Rome, this girl xylophonist from Norwalk. We would go to the opera or the symphony several times a week. We’d get invited to the U.S. Embassy, where Nick would perform some of his music.

Tell us a bit about your brother-in-law, Ezio Flagello.

When we got back from Italy, Ezio had just been hired by the Metropolitan Opera. His big break came when Fernando Corena got sick, and he jumped into the role of Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. He walks right on that stage, like he was a natural. Ezio performed over 500 times at the Met and, of course, around the world. He was famous also as King Philip in Verdi’s Don Carlo and as Falstaff. When the Met moved to Lincoln Center in 1966, Ezio was featured in its opening production, Samuel Barber’s Cleopatra. It was extremely exciting time for me and Nick to be part of all that.

Ezio Flagello sings King Philip's aria from "Don Carlo"

Ezio Flagello

Another result of the Lincoln Center opening was that the Julliard School moved to Lincoln Center and the Manhattan School bought the old Juilliard building on 122nd Street. Everything was just so wonderful in those days. We had two lovely children. Nick was conducting at the City Opera alternating with Julius Rudel, while Ezio was singing at the Met.

Did Nick and Ezio ever collaborate?

Yes, Nick scored a lot of his compositions with Ezio in mind. The best-known work of this relationship was his oratorio, The Passion of Martin Luther King. Nick was a deeply religious man. He felt strongly that God had given him a gift, and the call to use that gift. At the age of 25, he had written a traditional five-part Catholic mass, which had never been performed. Then in 1968, after Martin Luther King was assassinated, Nicolas reworked this piece using Dr. Kings words. Nick had always felt a close affinity for King, as a religious man. And, as an Italian American, Nick felt the yearning for social justice. The work received its world premiere a year later, with Nicolas conducting the London Philharmonic and the Ambrosian Singers, and with Ezio as the lead soloist. The work parallels the lives of Christ and Dr. King; preaching of love, then death and mourning, and, ultimately, hope and jubilation.

From what I have read, Nick himself had his struggles.

Nick was what you might call “a late romantic composer,” in the tradition of Giacomo Puccini and Vittorio Giannini, who had been his teacher at the Manhattan School of Music. As the 50s, 60s and 70s progressed, musical tastes shifted toward the more experimental “avant-garde,” as typified by the 12-tone music of Schoenberg and by Pierre Boulez’s leadership of the New York Philharmonic. Nick was more of a traditionalist, and in the later years had a tough time getting his music performed. And all the while, in those years, he kept writing and writing. I would say to him, “you are composing for the closet,” He would answer, “I can’t stop.” He had plenty of work as a conductor, but composing was his passion.

 Bring us up to date on yourself.

Let me just say this. In 1975, they asked me to be Director of the Manhattan School of Music’s Pre- College Division. I had already been teaching music for 20 years in the Bronx Public Schools and over the weekend at the Manhattan School, where I conducted their Children’s Orchestra. Then in 1981, not long after the end of the Cultural Revolution in China, I was invited to bring a group of 20 teachers to the Beijing and the Shanghai Conservatories through the summers. Later, we carried out a similar program in Taiwan. This was a phenomenal experience! I loved everything about it.

When Nick died in 1994, he left at least 20 cartons of unpublished scores. Several years later, I retired from MSM and founded my publishing company, Maelos Music, Inc., and my website www.flagello.com. It has been my mission to have Nick’s music catalogued, published, performed and recorded - as much as possible.

For me, and for Maelos Music, this turned out to be quite a task. You see, Nick wrote mainly works for large ensembles; operas, oratorios, symphonies, and concertos. We couldn’t afford to record these in New York, but we discovered we could do it in Eastern Europe. In those days, the time, you could hire accomplished musicians for as little as $50 a day. We made recordings in places like Moscow, Bratislava, and later, some wonderful recordings in Kiev. In ten years, we have managed to record most of his major works.

How did you finance all of this?

I owned this big old colonial house in New Rochelle, which I sold. I used the proceeds to run Maelos Music. All told, I’ve spent over a quarter of a million dollars. And you know what is happening now? There has been a significant re-evaluation and appreciation of Nick’s contribution to 20th century American music. His works are being rediscovered; this beautiful lyric music is finally being performed.

Has this all this been worth it?

Definitely! But it hasn’t made me rich. For example, just this past year, I got a call from a group in Budapest, who wanted to do one of his works and needed to know what I’d charge as a publisher. I thought $600 would be reasonable. Well, they sent me the money, and naturally, I went to Budapest to hear them perform. The trip cost me $2,000. But I loved it.

Not so long ago, you circled back to Norwalk and to the Norwalk Symphony.

I moved back to Norwalk in 2016, and shortly thereafter, attended one of the Symphony’s concerts. I was “blown away” by what a polished orchestra it had become. A friend put me in touch with Susan Weinberger (past President of the Symphony Board). Susan put me to work on the Symphony’s 80th Anniversary Gala. Among other things, I helped enlist endorsements from famous musicians who had performed with the Symphony in their younger years, including Yo-Yo Ma and Eugenia Zuckerman.

I should also mention that I had met Jonathan Yates a few years before moving back to Norwalk. I had been invited to a fundraiser for the New York Youth Symphony (which I helped found and conduct). And sitting at my table was this charming young man, who said he was a conductor. I asked him “what orchestra?” He said, “The Norwalk Symphony.” I could have died. I love everything Jonathan does. He’s a consummate musician.

So, what are you up to these days?

I have always loved teaching, and I miss the children so much. Not too long ago I found out about Songcatchers, an after-school music program for Latino kids in New Rochelle. Now I am teaching children from Panama and Guatemala how to play the xylophone and marimba. It took a while to get the instruments, but I got six of my friends to chip in.

I am having the best time of my life. I just celebrated my 91st birthday. I feel blessed to be this age, and to have done and experienced everything I have. And, I have my family. Several weeks ago, I flew to Ann Arbor to see my granddaughter, Gala Flagello, receive her Doctorate in Music. Gala has just been appointed composer-in-residence at the Aspen Music Festival. Also, she is collaborating on a set of art songs with Rene Fleming. Maelos Music still keeps me busy. I attend every Norwalk Symphony event I can. You will likely to see me at the post-concert receptions pouring the wine.

Thank You Dianne!

Dianne at the SONO COLLECTION for Make Music Day with Peter Hohmeister, the Symphony’s Principal Percussionist