Crossword Genius

Italian composer lost his grip around finale of piece (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

respighi

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'italian composer' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'lost his grip around finale of piece' is the wordplay.
'lost' is an anagram indicator.
'around' is an insertion indicator.
'finale of' suggests the final letters.
The last letter of 'piece' is 'e'.
'his'+'grip'='hisgrip'
'hisgrip' with letters rearranged gives 'rspighi'.
'rspighi' placed around 'e' is 'RESPIGHI'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for respighi that I've seen before include "Irish peg, oddly, for the Italian composer" , "Ottorino -, Ital. composer (The Pines of Rome)" , "Italian composer (The Pines of Rome)" , "he scored!" , "Italian composer of symphonic poems, d. 1936 - hire pigs (anag)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.