Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

More than just the siege of a city on an island in the middle of the Mediterranean, the Cretan war was an all-out war between the Muslim East and the Christian West lasting 24 years (1645-1669) involving the major players of the time: the Turkish Empire and her unquiet barbarian vassals from North Africa on one side and on the other a coalition consisting of the Republic of Venice, the Knights of Malta, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Papal States, France, Savoy and the Hapsburg Empire. The conflict brought the two major players - Venice and the Ottomans - to their economic knees. Lastly, a recent essay by Rumanian musicologist Nicolae Gheorghita had left us feeling perplexed that lack of evidence renders almost impossible an exact reconstruction of the musical repertoires in Crete under Venetian rule. However, quite a few clues emerged which enabled us to construct "an imaginary musical fresco", meaning a journey through the sounds of the Greek and Turkish traditions combined with the Venetian school of the mid-1600s. This ideal reconciliation of cultures and arts places such eminent figures of the western traditions as Francesco Cavalli and Giovanni Legrenzi alongside anonymous bare-bones Greek and Ottoman melodies which have come down to us orally or in transcriptions by Polish aristocrat Wojciech Bobowski, aka Ali Ufki Bey, or by the Moldavian prince Dimitrie Cantemir. It is worth remembering that without the pioneering work of these two Christian hostages, early music from the Ottoman court would today be ltitle more than a black hole.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

In the 19th century, the salons of the well-to-do and the aristocracy hosted spectacular virtuoso piano versions of favorite opera tunes of the day; this project puts a contemporary spin on this enchanting tradition with the unforgettable melodies of the tango of Argentina. An increasing number of music lovers have found in the tango an art that cuts across barriers of language and culture and the genre has made it's mark forcefully in the media and mass communication. The prime mover in this was Astor Piazzolla who broadened the horizons of the tango by taking it out of Argentinian folklore and into concert halls throughout the world. And audiences everywhere have been won over by the richly passionate character which has ensured the tango's universal appeal. "Not Just a Tango" is a crossover project for concert performance encompassing tango, classical music and jazz. The historical, stylistic and musical foundation is, of course, the tango of Argentina. A masculine element (the piano) and a feminine element (the violin) have been added to mirror this harmoniously sensual dance in sound. What makes "Not Just A Tango" special is that arrangements assimilated the tango of folk music and popular song and expanded it with variations that take in jazz and hints of musical forms which might at first seem unusual, such as the waltz or rumba. Yet the spirit of the tango always comes through in the ever-growing excitement of these brilliantly intense virtuoso musical dialogues between soloists who are fully each other's equal in timbre and line.

Nobody could challenge the fact that Vivaldi loved the Bassoon: his 39 concerts are the proof of it. There is no doubt that the mellow and warm resonance of the Bassoon, it's technical elasticity, and it's potential expressiveness come together harmoniously in these musical jewels. Was it due to the fashion of the time or the need to satisfy a patron that these were written and printed for the string instrument? It is difficult to say. However, we should never forget that authors such as Galliard, Boismortier, Corrette, etc. Published their Sonatas with the captions: "for cello and bassoon," "for bassoon and cello," and "for cello, viola, and bassoon." They would not limit their execution to one single instrument: the composition itself would leave the option open. The compositions of Geminani, Boccherini, Breval, and others would not allow this possibility: the constant use of chords and the range would impose the string instrument. In these six Sonatas by Vivaldi too, we find the use of some chords and bichords, but these seem to be added to justify the caption "Sonatas for Cello" rather than for a real musical necessity. Bassoonist Mauro Monguzzi beautifully performs these works alongside pianist Walter Mammarella Giordano.

Classical Music

Classical Music