Among the most respected Italian composers of his generation, Pizzetti has in recent years suffered some neglect, in due, in part, to his natural conservatism in an age of experiment. He was, however, versatile and prolific, ambitious in opera, with interesting additions to choral and vocal repertoire, as to chamber music.
Operas
Pizzetti wrote over twenty operas, collaborating in earlier years with D'Annunzio, with whom he wrote the opera Fedra (Phaedra). His Assassinio nella catedrale (Murder in the Cathedral) treats a translation T.S.Eliot's play, while his last opera, Clitennestra (Clytemnestra), with a libretto by the composer, was staged at La Scala, Milan, in 1965.
Choral and Vocal Music
Pizzetti's choral music, much of which again draws its literary source from ancient Greece and Rome, includes a Requiem and a cantata Vanitas vanitatum (Vanity of Vanities) with a text from Ecclesiastes.
Chamber Music
In addition to various works for piano, Pizzetti left two string quartets, as well as interesting duo sonatas for violin and for cello and
