>> Sreenivasan: IT'S SAID THAT
"OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE, THEY
JUST FADE AWAY."
BUT WHAT ABOUT OLD MUSICIANS?
IF THEY'RE LUCKY, THEY JUST KEEP
ON PLAYING.
THAT'S IN FACT WHAT'S HAPPENING
IN MILAN, ITALY, AT A RETIREMENT
HOME BUILT ESPECIALLY FOR
MUSICIANS.
NEWSHOUR WEEKEND SPECIAL
CORRESPONDENT CHRIS LIVESAY HAS
OUR STORY FROM A PLACE WHERE THE
MUSIC NEVER STOPS.
(MUSIC )
>> Reporter: MEET RAIMONDO
CAMPISI, A RENOWNED PIANIST
WHO'S SPENT HIS LIFE PERFORMING
AROUND THE GLOBE.
AT 70 YEARS OLD, HE'S NOT
PLAYING INSIDE A TRADITIONAL
CONCERT HALL.
(MUSIC ENDS, APPLAUSE )
THIS IS CASA VERDI, A RETIREMENT
HOME FOR MUSICIANS IN MILAN,
ITALY.
(OPERA SINGING, PIANO )
ITS FOUNDER WAS NONE OTHER THAN
THE 19th-CENTURY ITALIAN
COMPOSER, GIUSEPPE VERDI.
BLOCKBUSTER COMPOSITIONS SUCH AS
LA TRAVIATA, RIGOLETTO AND
OTELLO HELPED HIM AMASS A
FORTUNE HE WOULD USE TO BUILD
THE NEO-GOTHIC MANSION FROM THE
GROUND UP JUST BEFORE HE DIED IN
1901.
HIS ROYALTIES WOULD KEEP THE
LIGHTS ON FOR DECADES MORE,
PROVIDING FOOD, LODGING AND
MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR MUSICIANS
WHO, AS VERDI PUT IT, WERE "NOT
FAVORED BY FORTUNE OR WHO, WHEN
THEY WERE YOUNG, DID NOT POSSESS
THE VIRTUE OF SAVING."
>> (translated ): ALL I DO IS
PLAY PIANO AND SPEND MONEY.
THIEVES DON'T WASTE THEIR TIME
WITH ME BECAUSE THEY WON'T FIND
ANY MONEY.
VERDI HAD PEOPLE LIKE ME IN MIND
WHEN HE FOUNDED CASA VERDI.
>> Reporter: A PIANIST LIKE HER
SON, CAMPISI'S MOTHER WAS ALSO A
RESIDENT.
>> (translated ): SHE PASSED
AWAY THREE YEARS AGO.
WHEN MY MOTHER LIVED HERE, I
DIDN'T KNOW THE PLACE VERY WELL
BECAUSE I WAS ALWAYS PASSING
THROUGH.
AND I DIDN'T KNOW HOW GREAT IT
WAS, WITH ALL THESE CONCERTS AND
MUSICIANS.
>> Reporter: VERDI CALLED THIS
RETIREMENT HOME THE FINEST OF
HIS LIFE'S WORK, AND, WALKING
THROUGH THESE HALLS, YOU START
TO UNDERSTAND WHY.
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO GO ANYWHERE
WITHOUT HEARING THE SOUND OF
MUSIC.
(OPERA SINGING )
YOU ALSO SEE MUSICAL REFERENCES
IN EVERY CORNER.
IN ONE ROOM, VERDI'’’S OWN PIANO.
DOOR HANDLES ARE MODELED AFTER
LYRES, AND KEYBOARD-INSPIRED
ARCHES LOOK LIKE THEY COULD PLAY
A SONG.
EVERY AESTHETIC DETAIL
TAILOR-MADE FOR A HOUSE FULL OF
MUSICIANS AND PAINSTAKINGLY
DESIGNED BY VERDI.
THE MAESTRO HIMSELF IS HERE,
TOO; HE'S ENTOMBED IN THE
COURTYARD.
TODAY, THERE ARE ROUGHLY 60
RESIDENTS.
UNLIKE IN VERDI'S DAY, THEY
RECEIVE STATE PENSIONS AND PAY
RENT ON A SLIDING SCALE,
ACCORDING TO THEIR MEANS.
THE RETIREMENT HOME WELCOMES
PEOPLE OF ALL NATIONALITIES AND
BACKGROUNDS.
THERE'S ONLY ONE REQUIREMENT:
THEY MUST HAVE BEEN PROFESSIONAL
MUSICIANS.
SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS HAVE
ACCESS TO ONGOING CONCERTS,
MUSIC ROOMS, 15 PIANOS, HARPS,
GRAMOPHONES AND, PERHAPS MOST
IMPORTANT, THE COMPANY OF THEIR
PEERS.
(APPLAUSE )
>> Reporter: BISSY ROMAN, NOW
93, SAYS MUSIC LITERALLY KEPT
HER ALIVE IN ROMANIA DURING
WORLD WAR II.
YOUR TOWN WAS OCCUPIED BY THE
NAZIS.
>> BY THE NAZIS.
>> Reporter: AND NEVERTHELESS,
YOU WERE STILL ABLE TO PLAY
PIANO?
>> Reporter: AFTER THE WAR,
ROMAN WENT ON TO TEACH PIANO AND
VOCAL PERFORMANCE AROUND THE
WORLD, INCLUDING FOR 12 YEARS AT
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY.
(SINGING )
AND SHE'S STILL SURROUNDED BY
YOUNG MUSICIANS.
SINCE 1993, THE RETIREMENT HOME
HAS ALSO RENTED ROOMS TO MUSIC
STUDENTS.
THE ELDERLY GET COMPANIONSHIP,
AND THE STUDENTS SAY THEY GET
FREE LESSONS ON MUSIC AND LIFE.
>> IT'S AMAZING THAT WE CAN DO
MUSIC WITH THEM.
WE CAN SING WITH THE OLD PEOPLE.
YOU ARE WALKING, AND, "OH,
YOU WANT TO SING TOGETHER."
AND, "YES, LET'S SING TOGETHER!"
>> "BUT DO YOU KNOW THAT SONG?"
"YEAH!"
(LAUGHTER )
(MUSIC, SINGNING CONTINUE )
>> Reporter: CASA VERDI'S
EXISTENCE HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN
GUARANTEED.
ROYALTIES FROM VERDI'S 27 OPERAS
KEPT THE HOME AFLOAT UNTIL THE
1950s.
THEN, HIS MUSIC ENTERED THE
PUBLIC DOMAIN, BECOMING FREE TO
EVERYONE.
THAT LEFT CASA VERDI WITHOUT
VITAL FUNDING, SAYS ROBERTO
RUOZI, THE PRESIDENT OF THE
VERDI FOUNDATION.
>> FORTUNATELY, THE
ADMINISTRATORS OF THE HOUSE
INVESTED THIS MONEY IN...
ESPECIALLY IN APARTMENTS,
BUILDINGS.
SO, NOW, WE HAVE MORE THAN 100
APARTMENTS THAT WE RENT TO
PEOPLE.
AND WITH THE RENTALS, WE FINANCE
THE HOUSE.
>> Reporter: RUOZI ALSO CREDITS
MAJOR FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
OVER THE DECADES FROM TITANS OF
CLASSICAL MUSIC, SUCH AS LUCIANO
PAVAROTTI AND THE HEIRS OF
ARTURO TOSCANINI.
>> IT IS REALLY A MIRACLE THAT
CASA VERDI IS STILL OPEN AND
WORKS VERY WELL, WITHOUT ANY BIG
PROBLEMS, ESPECIALLY FROM THE
FINANCIAL POINT OF VIEW.
>> Reporter: TO DATE, CASA VERDI
HAS HOSTED MORE THAN 1,500
RESIDENTS AND ALWAYS HAS A
WAITING LIST.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT
LIVING HERE?
>> I FEEL PROTECTED.
I FEEL THAT I AM HOME WITH
PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO GAVE THEIR
LIFE TO THE MUSIC.
(MUSIC CONCLUDES, APPLAUSE )