Marco Betta composes the soundtrack of the fiction “Maria Montessori, una vita per i bambini”

 Maestro Marco Betta – whose last record “Il viaggio di Ferruccio”, part of the three-year program celebrating the Bicentennial anniversary of Casa Ricordi, was presented on March 23, 2007, by Casa Ricordi as the start of a new editorial adventure called “Le musiche del Bicentenario” (The Music of the Bicentennial) – has composed, orchestrated and directed the music of the Mediaset fiction “Maria Montessori, una vita per i bambini”  (Maria Montessori, a life for children)  on air on Canale 5 on May 28th and 30th, 2007.

The miniseries, starring Paola Cortellesi, shows the fundamental phases of the life of Montessori, born in Chiaravalle, in the Marche region, in 1870.
Montessori was a feminist ante litteram, beyond her time.  She rebelled against the system in a natural, intelligent, scientific way, with the ability to analyze the situations.  Many recognize her face, shown on the one-thousand Lire bills, but they do not know who she is.  The first woman to become a doctor after the Unity of Italy in 1896 in Rome, she became assistant at the psychiatric clinic of the University and she dedicated herself to treating children with psychiatric problems, convinced that educational treatment could lead to better results than traditional medical treatment.
As she traveled throughout Europe, she learned the experimental method of re-educating the mentally ill applied by Itard and Seguin.  In 1907, she founded the first Casa dei bambini (Home of Children) and began her educational activities for the children of blue-collar families in the San Lorenzo district of Rome:  characteristic of the Montessori type school, an environment created specifically for children, even as far as furniture is concerned, and the use of adequate development materials.
In 1924, she founded  the Opera Nazionale Montessori, aimed at the implementation and dense of the method, but in 1936, hostile towards the Fascist regime that tries to make her and her method a political propaganda means, she left Italy in 1936 and starter up Montessori schools in various parts of the world.  When she returned to Italy, in 1947, Montessori dedicated herself to reconstructing the Opera.  She died in 1952 in the Dutch city of  Noordwijk.
The fiction also gives space to the female side of Montessori: "The movie – said producer Valsecchi – is also focused on the drama of the mother of a son born out of wedlock, a scandal at that time, and on the desire to hide her maternity and her need to recuperate relations with her son.  Obviously, we will not ignore the difficulties she encountered in trying to apply her teaching method”. 
In addition to the wonderful performance of Paola Cortellesi, there are other important names in the cast such as  Gianmarco Tognazzi, Imma Piro, Giulia Lazzarini, Lisa Gastoni and Alberto Maria Merli.

 
Maestro Marco Betta:

Marco Betta was born in Enna in 1964. Thanks to Eliodoro Sollima he began his studies in composition and, under his guidance, he received his diploma from the Conservatory in Palermo. 

In1985, he composed Il palazzo incantato per orchestra da camera (The Enchanted Palace for chamber orchestra), his first work in which he began to outline the main element of his way of making music:  melodies, suspended on harmonies and chord structures that blend the music of the ancient Mediterranean cultures with the important classical tradition and the music of our times.  The ideal of music conditioned by the ancient literary and architectural cultures of Sicily and the Mediterranean is the starting point for the compositions that followed.  A series of works were then born for solo instrument and for chamber ensemble, like In ombra d’amore ballata per viola (1988), Cadentia sidera per pianoforte e orchestra d’archi (1989), Ballata per violino e pianoforte (1990) and Senti l’eco aria per orchestra (1990).

Among his recent works: Bellini, ultime luci a one-act opera on text  by Dario Oliveri (1996), Averroè on text by  Daniele Martino (1999), Nevebianca on text by Giovanni Maniscalco Basile, Il fantasma nella cabina by Andrea Camilleri singspiel in two-acts on libretto by Rocco Mortelliti,  Sinfonia dei nuovi giocattoli (1999), the music for the movie Il Manoscritto del Principe directed  by Roberto Andò produced by Giuseppe Tornatore (2000), Magaria favola for reciting voice and orchestra on text by Andrea Camilleri, Sette storie per lasciare il mondo (2006), opera for music and movie by  Roberto Andò and the music for the movie Viaggio segreto (2006) directed by Roberto Andò.

From 1988 to 1993 he was Coordinator of the Documentation Center of Contemporary Music of CIMS.  From 195 to 2000 he was a member of the SIAE Music Commission and from 1994 to 2002 he was Artistic Director of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo.  He teaches composition at the Conservatory in Palermo.