Bono Pietro, Petrus Bonus, *1417, †20 September 1497 Ferrara, Italian lutenist. Initially, he worked at the court of Ferdinand of Aragon in Naples, where he met the master of music A. Brandolini and J. Tinctoris, who praised him as a virtuoso and composer in his treatise De inventione et usu musicae. He then moved to Ferrara to the court of Duke Borso d’Este, where he also served as the duke’s physician. From 1486, he stayed in Buda at the court of King Matthias Corvinus, whom he accompanied on numerous journeys. After the king’s death, he returned to Ferrara. Bono’s playing was highly regarded by his contemporaries, as evidenced by numerous poems and several medals in his honour. Bono’s repertoire consisted of instrumental canzonas and rondelli franceschi, which were often instrumental adaptations of melodies popular at the time and which made use of all the technical possibilities of the lute. Bono’s compositions have not survived
Literature: E. Haraszti Pietro Bono, luthiste de Mathias Corvin, “Revue de Musicologie” XXXI, 1949; L. Lockwood Pietrobono and the Instrumental Tradition at Ferrara, “Rivista Italiana di Musicologia” X, 1975.
