This world première recording of the second volume of José Antonio Bottiroli’s complete piano music, is performed once again by his award-winning protégé Fabio Banegas. The nocturnal themes heard in this album were inspired by the clear skies over the composer’s holiday home in Los Cocos, Cordoba Province, Argentina – these spellbinding works transcend earthly romantic concerns and venture into the stillness of the universe. Dedicated to Banegas, the Album Pages represent Bottiroli’s distinctive impressionist style, while the unique Five Piano Replies connects music with poetry written by the composer, and read on this recording by the renowned actor George Takei.
REVIEW:
Of Italian parents, José Antonio Bottiroli was equally to enjoy a busy life of a solo pianist, his portfolio of competitions numbering some seventy-three pieces by the time of his death in 1990. Their presence has only been revealed by his pupil, Fabio Banegas, whose initiative has lead to this Grand Piano series. They were never to engage with the use of atonality, but were tuneful and usually quite short, mostly gathered together to form scores of some length, the present release containing five works numbering 20 tracks. They covered the period between 1974 to 1984, the quiet nature of the Six Album Pages (Seis Hojas de Album) being particularly attractive, while much of the disc is taken up with Five Piano Replies (Cinco Replicas para piano). That work takes its name from the words of Bottiroli’s poems which then drew his own piano reply. Here the words are spoken by George Takei in English translations by Banegas, his diction is impeccable, though the words also come in the enclosed booklet. Much of the music on the disc only requires a modest technical ability and offer uncomplicated charm, Bottiroli being particularly drawn to the nature of the ‘Nocturne’, of which four are included here.
– David's Review Corner (David Denton)
