Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

It is no secret that Rossini never wasted his energy and, partly out of haste and partly out of laziness, he was always ready to resurrect pages of music which would have otherwise been destined to oblivion. Thus, when in 1822 he was invited by Prince Klemens von Metternich to commemorate with suitable music the Congress of the European heads of state which would take place in Verona-to "harmonize" the souls, as it were-this proclaimed "God of harmony" gladly accepted. Il vero omaggio ("sincere" act of devotion toward the Austrian Emperor) was a recycling of the pastoral cantata La riconoscenza, performed by Rossini in Naples the year before. The sequence of pieces which constitute Il vero omaggio confirm Rossini's own statement: the musical nature of the cantata is quite similar to the first act of a normal opera. As such, it was enjoyed by the public of the period, partly due to the fact that the performance was staged. What distinguishes such a cantata from an opera is not, indeed, the visual aspect, as one might assume, but rather the absence of a veritable dramatic design. The subject of the cantata was thus a mere pretense for staging a public panegyric to the Austrian Emperor by means of a grandiose concert of vocal music. The work is interpreted here by conductor Herbert Handt.

To understand La leggenda di Sakuntala means remembering that it is more of a mysterium than an ordinary opera, which is why, after seeing a performance in Bologna, Fritz Reiner pronounced it "the Italian Parsifal". Of course, the religious atmosphere pervading Sakuntala is pagan - which is hardly surprising, given it's setting - and it's subject is not redemption but the power of love. Alfano used the poem by Kalidasa (5th century BC), also admired by Goethe and Wagner. Those musicologists who claim it is only of modest quality cannot even begin to appreciate the genius it required to combine conciseness with first-rate words and music in a score for orchestra and choir that is a model of it's kind. The most impressive aspect of this masterpiece is the way it employs motifs and themes with the same profundity and refinement found in Wagner's own approach and in it's development by Strauss. The melodies which the characters sing are almost always slow, somewhere between the ecstatic and the dreamlike, while the atmosphere varies from the solemnly oriental to the ethereal. This release is the first official recording of the work.

Directed by Nello Santi. Starring Angelo Nardinocchi, Giorgio Cebrian, Ezio Maria Tisi.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

L'Ebreo (the Jew) was staged at La Fenice in Venice on the 23rd of January 1855; the result was triumphant and made the 33 year-old Apolloni immediately famous. The score, bought by Ricordi, started making the rounds right away and in a few years there was no Italian theatre which had not staged at least one edition. What did the public find in this opera? A kind of melodic idea, certainly not banal and often adequate and incisive, an insistent rhythm and a logical, feverish narrative movement. There was certainly a clear subjection to Verdi's expressive form; the score is entirely entrusted to the singing: the recitatives are short and the composer rarely makes use of declamatory or arioso parts. The present recording was staged and recorded at Teatro Chiabrera di Savona in October 1989.

Classical Music

• Clarinetist Gennaro Spezza and bassoonist Massimo Martusciello personally selected the dozen works heard herein. • The recorded works include both duos and solo pieces. • A disc that should be of interest to admirers of contemporary chamber music which is lesser or little-known and infrequently heard.

•“I start from tonal and modal positions that I then try to enrich and develop with polytonal, polymelodic and atonal elements...". With these words Piero Pezzè (1913-80) synthesized his musical poetics. From his late-impressionist beginnings in the 1920s on, he engaged in constant dialogue with his musical writing. He experimented constantly, refining his writing in a personal style based on clarity and coherence. In the final years of his life he drew closer to dodecaphonic-serial techniques.