Classical Music

Includes work(s) by various composers.

Umberto Giordano’s four-act opera La cena delle beffe is adapted from a 1909 play of the same title by Sem Benelli, who also wrote the libretto for the opera. Set in Florence, the opera follows the rivalry between Giannetto Malespini and Neri Chiaramantesi, and ends with Neri’s descent into insanity. Featuring the Orchestra Sinfonica di Piacenza conducted by Gian Paolo Sanzogno, this recording was taken live at the Teatro Giordano, Foggia, December 1988.

After leaving conservatory in 1854, Filippo Marchetti (1831-1902) immediately set to work composing for the theater. After three successful opera stagings in fifteen years, true, lasting success was finally achieved in 1869 in collaboration with librettist Carlo D’Ormeville and Victor Hugo’s play, Ruy Blas. It was performed in all of Italy’s large and small theaters. During the composer’s lifetime, it reached the most distant shores of five continents, becoming popular in the UK and especially in the US. This 1998 performance, on Bongiovanni, is its first commercial recording.

The ‘Sonate 12 a Violino e Basso intitolate "Pensieri armonici" Opus. 5’ clearly belongs to Andrea Zani's second post-Vivaldian style. Without a dedication, these sonatas are still stylistically tied to the baroque style, but there are hints of the gallant style in them, above all because of the frequent use of appoggiaturas and in the cantabile themes and their development. Each of them having three movements, in the initial and final Allegros the violin, the indisputable protagonist, giving vent, shows off with captivating virtuosity, supported by a precise and well constructed bass. The Adagios are superb, placed as a contrast between the two extreme quick movements where the cantabile nature of the writing for the violin is full of "melos" making these pages quite enjoyable. The quality of the composition of these sonatas makes one consider the unjust oblivion into which the musical work of Zani has fallen. It was previously so respected and is now practically unknown. Violinist Andrea Rognoni and the ensemble L’Aura Soave breathe new life into this forgotten work.