"Joseph Lin’s recording of Korngold’s Violin Sonata appears in a collection of arrangements. Gil Shaham recorded the Suite, along with his reading of the Concerto—and Barber’s—and included the Caprice fantastique on “Devil’s Dance” (Deutsche Grammophon 463 483, 24:3), that appeared around Halloween time in 2000. The Suite consists of four movements, “Maiden in the Bridal Chamber,” “Dogberry and Verges,” “Gartenscene,” (a short number played as an encore by Heifetz), and “Masquerade.” These pieces, in a more popular vein than the more ambitious Violin Sonata, showcase Korngold’s rich melodic gift and harmonic imagination, and “Dogberry and Verges” give evidence of a mild sense of humor that the Sonata seems to lack. Lin and Loeb sharply characterize each of these movements, with Lin producing an especially glowing tone in the “Garden Scene” and displaying musical and technical authority in the “Masquerade.” Shaham plays with a more sumptuous tone and soaring portamentos that bring the period and the music vividly to life and he moves forward more coherently—and cogently—in the march, “Dogberry and Verges,” which Lin plays with a drier sensibility approaching that in Prokofiev’s March from The Love for Three Oranges. But Shaham brings a cheekier strut to the final movement, “Masquerade.”

Compared to Kiss, Lin sounds relatively sweet-toned, and the timings of his movements fall between those of Kiss and Waltman. But while those two-odd minutes may seem insignificant in a four-movement work, they also can represent a sort of general relaxation that makes the work sound more discursive, though Lin and Loeb play with plenty of energy and attack the more aggressive passages in the first movement, for example, with plenty of gusto and plenty of sharp-edged panache at the movement’s climax. The duo also takes command in the large-scale Scherzo (at 10:37 in this recording, that movement occupies almost a third of the Sonata’s duration), and though there may be a degree of roughness in Lin’s attack, he brings a sense of excitement to the movement. Lin’s purity of tone on the E string generates thrilling intensity in the slow movement, powering its leaps into the stratosphere. If the Sonata’s dedicatees inspired its seriousness, Korngold certainly rose to the occasion, and so do Lin and Loeb.

The shorter pieces begin with the Serenade from Der Schneemann, a rapt miniature that shows off Lin’s tonal command but also his wide and rather slow vibrato, which, for some listeners, may even threaten to grow annoying. From Korngold’s opera, Die tote Stadt, come the two short pieces, “Tanzlied” and “Marietta’s Lied,” the first a delicately wistful song that’s immediately ingratiating, and the second, an affecting lyrical outpouring that could vie successfully with the most popular works in the genre. The Caprice, subtitled “Wichtelmännchen,” or “Goblins” could similarly almost take the place of several similar pieces, like Bazzini’s Dance of the Goblins or Paganini’s “Witches’ Dance” on recital programs, though it’s more atmospheric than brilliant. Lin sounds a bit more polite in this miniature—and occasionally more ardent, by turns—than does Shaham, who plays it with more suggestive macabre energy.

Naxos’s issue offers yet another chance to ponder the question posed above: did Korngold’s work in Hollywood debase his musical coin or polish it? Lin and Loeb make a great deal of this repertoire, and their readings deserve a recommendation to anyone interested in it, in young violinists (the release appears as part of Naxos’s “Laureate” series), or in Korngold—or even to more general listeners. Recommended."

FANFARE: Robert Maxham

Includes work(s) by Ferruccio Busoni. Soloist: Wolf Harden.

This set is in MP3 format at 320 kbps.
These eight discs are equivalent to the 17 volume CD series. You will be able to transfer the files directly to your iPod or MP3 player or play the discs on your computer, most DVD players and the latest generation of in car players. The notes to accompany the original CD release of this series are written by Wilfrid Mellers, Jonathan Baxendale and Kevin Bowyer. These texts are reproduced in their entirety and form an extended essay of 42,000 words which is included on Disc 8. It is formatted as a pdf file ready for printing on standard A4 paper. Also on Disc 8 is an excel spreadsheet listing the pieces in 3 ways: by track number, by title and by BWV number.

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Following the success of Nimbus' re-release of their set of Haydn symphonies, conducted by Adam Fischer on MP3 CDs, Nimbus now comes up with another bargain in this format. This 8-CD set of Kevin Bowyer's recordings of Bach's organ works covers nearly 31 hours of music, and is presented in 320 kbps MP3 files. (For those who are interested, the files are encoded with LAME 3.97, using - preset insane). In our review of the Haydn symphonies, reviewer Dominy Clements compared some of the original CDs and the MP3 files, and concluded, "To be entirely honest, I couldn’t really spot any advantages or disadvantages in either in terms of absolute quality." I will echo his comments, having compared the MP3 files of this set to a few of the original Nimbus CDs. Not only do these MP3 files sound excellent, but very few people could reliably spot which files were which in a blind test.

It’s worth noting that Bowyer’s set, at nearly 31 hours, is close to twice as long as most of the other “complete” sets of Bach’s organ works. This is because he plays a number of spurious and mis-attributed works, as well as some works that are generally not played on organ, such as the Toccatas BWV 910-916. So what about the performances? They are generally considered to be one of the finer series of Bach's organ works. I have a number of sets of Bach's organ works, and this one stands out by virtue of the fact that all the music was recorded on a single organ (Sct. Hans Kirke, Odense, Denmark). Many, if not most, other sets are recorded at a variety of locations. Here, the organ itself is beautiful, and the recording is spacious but without too much reverberation. Bowyer's choice of registrations, tempi and phrasing are attractive throughout. You seriously couldn't go wrong with this set, at a price below that of two audio CDs.

-- Kirk McElhearn, MusicWeb International

Foremost among Swedish Baroque composers, Johan Helmich Roman travelled to England then to France, Italy, Austria and Germany, gaining valuable firsthand knowledge of European music. At home in Stockholm he conducted the court orchestra, introduce.

Recording information: Il Palazzo reale di Caserta e i Borboni di Napoli, Cast (05/2007); Il Palazzo reale di Caserta e i Borboni di Napoli, Cast (11/2007).

Compared by contemporaries to Ravel and Debussy, French composer Florent Schmitt is being rediscovered today. Following his death, one critic mourned that “French music has just lost a smile and a master”. The whimsical and sparkling À tour d’anches for oboe, clarinet, bassoon and piano and the dramatically beautiful Piano Quintet reveal a powerful and distinctive personality. By turns lyrical, humorous and fiery, these two chamber works span a period of almost forty years, from the beginning of Schmitt’s mature period to his late style.

Written between 1905 and 1908, the Suite Iberia was and is without any doubt Albeniz's masterpiece. Iberia is an ambitious and remarkably sophisticated composition with a formidable architectural structure of uniquely impressive dimensions. All the pieces are based on traditional Spanish dance rhythms, arranged in a freely artistic and idealized manner. The rhythmical dances smoothly alternate with the \vocal" part, the copla. In traditional Spanish music the copla is a characteristic part of the structure seen in many forms like the saeta (arrow), or a cante jondo (deep song), the song of deep feelings. Albeniz has included a copla in almost all of the pieces in Iberia.

Brahms: Four-Hand Piano Music, Vol. 10

MAZZAFERRATA: Primo libro delle Sonate a 2 violini (Il)

BEETHOVEN Piano Trios: No. 1 in E?; No. 2 in G; Allegretto in B? • Xyrion Tr • NAXOS 8.557724 (64:26)


Pianist Nina Tichman, violinist Ida Bieler, and cellist Maria Kliegel joined forces in 2001 to form the Xyrion Trio. This release, their second in their complete Beethoven piano trio series for Naxos, presents the first two of the three op. 1 trios, along with the much later B? Allegretto. Judging both from their individual talents and the cohesive ensemble of their partnership, Xyrion is equal to the stiff competition in this already widely recorded repertoire. Their readings have great energy and polish, a sure sense of style and, most compelling, refreshing spontaneity and unmistakable ardor.


The shapeliness and contour of the opening thematic material of the E? Trio immediately signals these musicians’ capacities for vivid dynamic contrasts and boldly articulated rhetoric, characteristics beloved by Beethoven. When Tichman spins out the second movement’s delicious cantabile, Bieler and Kliegel answer her with solicitude and sympathy, creating the impression of a most civilized, heart-felt conversation among the best of friends. Their rustic treatment of the Scherzo, cited by Czerny as “the first scherzo in very quick time, a species of music of which Beethoven was the original inventor,” with its evocations of folk bagpipes, is simply irresistible.


The aura of animated dialogue is maintained throughout the G-Major Trio. Savor for instance the grumpy interjections of the piano’s left hand in the development of the Allegro vivace. The finale of this trio, like its predecessor’s, is a fleet presto, here tossed off with a Mendelssohnian sprightliness.


Whereas Beethoven’s op. 1 was published in 1795, the B? Allegretto, dating from 1812, did not appear in print until three years after the composer’s death. It was written for Maximiliane Brentano, the 10-year-old daughter of Antonie and Franz Brentano. Maynard Solomon has plausibly suggested that the mother, Antonie, could have been the intended recipient of Beethoven’s famous letter addressed to the “Immortal Beloved.” This charming piece is perfectly suited for a child, though clearly one who must have been an extremely talented young pianist. Xyrion’s performance is appropriately straightforward and playful.


My sole reservation, and a minor one, is that the quality of the recording makes the musicians sound a little distant. Fortunately they don’t sound muffled, and the abundance of nuance with which these sparkling performances fairly burst is not sacrificead. Even if you already own one or more recordings of these trios—and the Beaux Arts (Philips 468411) immediately comes to mind as one of the best—I think you’ll find a great deal that is interesting and fresh in this Xyrion disc. If you don’t, I can’t think of a better introduction to these charming works with which the young Beethoven made his public debut. Heartily recommended.


FANFARE: Patrick Rucker

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

GEMINIANI Violin sonatas, op. 4/1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 12 • Liana Mosca (vn); Antonio Mosca (vc); Luca Pianca (archlute); Giorgio Paronuzzi (hpd) (period instruments) • STRADIVARIUS 33853 (67:41)


William S. Newman, in his massive study of the Baroque sonata, listed Francesco Geminiani’s sonatas for violin and continuo (op. 1 from 1716 and op. 4 from two decades later) and for violin and cello (op. 5) and judged Geminiani’s knowledge of the violin to equal that of Giuseppe Tartini or Pietro Locatelli (the latter of whom, like Geminiani, had been a pupil of Arcangelo Corelli, though a more technically adventurous one), but considered his style to be more conservative. Of the six sonatas presented by Liana Mosca, Antonio Mosca (her father), Luca Pianca, and Georgio Paronuzzi, all but two consist of four movements (the others numbering three); none of the movements’ titles give a hint of their dance-like elements or rondo forms. Almost all the sonatas have been cast in major keys. Geminiani would later rework six of the 12 sonatas of op. 4 (including No. 1 and No. 7 from Stradivarius’s collection) as concerti grossi. While Mosca remarks in a personal note in the booklet that Geminani’s sonatas from op. 4 haven’t received a great deal of attention, Rüdiger Lotter included the First, Eighth, Ninth, and 10th (two from Mosca’s selection) in a program released on Oehms 356 that also included several sonatas from Antonio Maria Veracini’s op. 1 ( Fanfare 29:1).


Geminiani revised the sonatas of his op. 1 at about the same time as he published op. 4 and included in the new edition of op. 1 the kinds of ornaments that make so striking an impression in Mosca’s performance of op. 4, as in the First Sonata’s Adagio (and also that of the Third Sonata). In that movement, she also displays a rhythmic and dynamic flexibility to create a capricious expressive sensibility that apparently suits not only the works themselves but Geminiani’s reputation as an expressive performer (among some: Tartini called him il furibondo , while John Hawkins thought he lacked the fire of the later violinists of his era). The sonata’s second movement isn’t fugal; it depends for its effect on the piquancy of its homophonic lines, of which Mosca gives a tangy account. The continuo provides an ingratiating strumming accompaniment in the Largo, a backdrop against which Mosca makes at times startling adjustments to the solo’s dynamic level; the finale includes surprises after dramatic pauses, and Mosca times them with the acute sensibility of a persuasive rhetorician. In general, she produces a twangy though by no means sharp-edged tone from her violin (and a perhaps surprisingly full one from its lower registers), described as a Venetian instrument from about 1750.


Mosca and the ensemble bring vivacious wit to the second movement of the Seventh Sonata and its jaunty subject (do these suggest the stolidity for which Geminiani has sometimes been condemned?) and spice to the ornamentation of the sonata’s third movement, Moderato. The Adagio of the Third Sonata showcases, as well as the encrustations of ornamentation mentioned earlier, the sudden gestures that make the sonatas sound inventive, at least from an expressive point of view (that sense of invention, continues, reaching almost to the level of improvisation, in the ensuing Allegro). The Sixth Sonata, again in D Major, at first seems almost somber compared to the three that precede it on the program, until Mosca dispels whatever gloom might have enshrouded it with her bright gaiety in the second movement; similarly, she shifts from the almost romantic sensibility of the sonata’s Andante to crisp Gallic sprightliness (Geminiani spent time in Paris) in the final movement, recalling a similar vein in the works of Jean-Marie Leclair (also a musical descendent of Corelli, this time through Giovanni Battista Somis). The two three-movement sonatas omit the slow movement; what they lose in affetuoso they gain in starchiness (although the last Allegro of the 10th Sonata includes a slow episode that almost replaces the missing movement). A multisectional fantasy serves as the first movement of the 12th Sonata’s three.


Lotter deploys a more astringent tone in his recording but he hardly stints on ornamental or expressive detail. Still, Mosca’s unaffected geniality, dramatic Luftpausen , and rhetorical sensibility breathe extra life into her performances.


With its clean recorded sound, its imaginative performances, and its ingratiating literature, Mosca’s selection of Geminiani’s sonatas might serve either as a favorable introduction to the works of the composer for those who aren’t familiar with him or an enjoyable reminder for those who know him that he brought more than Corelli’s teachings to London. Strongly recommended to all types of listeners.


FANFARE: Robert Maxham

ARNOLD Fanfare for Louis. Brass Quintet No.1. Little Suites: No. 1; No. 2; No. 3. Fantasies: for Trumpet; for Horn; for Trombone; for Tuba. Brass Quintet No. 2. Symphony for Brass • Fine Arts Brass • NIMBUS 5804 (79:21)


This recording is a fitting tribute to Malcolm Arnold, who died in September 2006, only a matter of weeks after this music was recorded. An extraordinary trumpeter himself, Arnold knew how to write for brass. His music has color and cohesion, energy and depth. Music for brass can be a kind of narcissistic pleasure, delighting players with the opportunity to show off their chops. Yet its pleasures can be hard to communicate to audiences who might admire the performers while remaining detached and emotionally aloof. But Arnold was able to bridge the gap, sounding both contemporary and timeless, challenging players to the highest levels of their craft yet interesting and satisfying audiences.


Arnold wrote an astonishing array of combinations for brass instruments. Solos for trumpet, trombone, horn, and even tuba. A trumpet duo. Brass quintets. And a symphony for brass, with the Fine Arts Brass augmented by two trumpets and three trombones. The diversity gives this recording balance and freshness. The level of playing is consistently high, but I would single out Sam Elliot, who excels in the four-and-a-half-minute Fantasy for Tuba. As an example of the admirable flow in this recording, the Tuba Fantasy segues nicely into Arnold’s Second Brass Quintet, and then into the Symphony for Brass. It is this kind of juxtaposition that keeps the listener involved, wanting more, waiting to hear what Arnold might think of next.


The symphony clearly is the major work here. Arnold doesn’t assault us with deafening sound but rather surprises us with abundant contrasts, tight pianissimos, and fleet counterpoint. His instrumentation focuses on choirs and constantly shifting combinations of soloists and accompaniment. In the opening moments of the third movement, for example, thrilling trumpets are set against an apocalyptic lower brass choir. A similar combination is heard in the symphony’s final measures, to awe-inspiring effect.


This is glorious music, gloriously played and recorded. The Fine Arts Brass and their colleagues deserve the highest of praise. With almost 80 minutes of music, this is a thoroughly enjoyable disc. Highly recommended.


FANFARE: John E. Roos

V 2: BEST OF LA CETRA - 6 VIOL

Classical Music

Includes duo(s) for guitar and violin by Niccolò Paganini. Soloists: Luigi A. Bianchi, Maurizio Preda.

Mesmerising playing from a young pianist who captures the essence of Grieg’s genius

Let me put my cards on the table and say that Katya Apekisheva is a young pianist who has already achieved artistic greatness. Not even Gilels, in his legendary DG Grieg recital, played more magically or, astonishingly, with greater finesse. How thrilled Irina Zaritskaya, Apekisheva’s teacher and my much-missed jury colleague, would have been if she had lived to hear the fruit of her work with this profoundly gifted artist. A sonority of beguiling warmth and refinement and a rare poetic empathy quickly make you abandon paper and pencil and listen mesmerised as Apekisheva captures the very essence of Grieg’s genius. Here, in her mixed programme, she tells you with an often painfully beautiful and unforced eloquence of how Grieg’s romantic temperament was easily clouded by depression and unease, of the way, for example in “Homesickness” and “Vanished Days”, a heartbreaking state of mind is only temporarily modified by memories of happier times. In the Aria from the Holberg Suite she is deeply sensitive to the way Grieg’s love and respect for the 18th century is coloured by a near-Franckian chromaticism and dark introspection. These works and everything else on this beautifully recorded album suggest an artistic fervour and commitment given to very few in any generation.

The sense of the Lyric Pieces as Grieg’s confessional diary is everywhere in Apekisheva’s recital, an inwardness and vision less evident in Daniel Propper’s bracing recording of four books of the Lyric Pieces. Nimble-fingered and musicianly, this Swedish-Viennese pianist, who now makes his home in Paris, shows Grieg’s art evolving from simple beginnings into a world of increasing complexity and harmonic richness. His “Little Bird” (from Op 43) blithely chirrups in a manner far removed from Messiaen’s more spiritual feathered friends, and his way with “Erotic” from the same book achieves a fine sense of how outward contentment abruptly changes to emotional instability. In “Butterfly” he hardly matches Eileen Joyce’s incomparable nuance and vivacity (Testament), yet these finely recorded performances are an admirable antidote to all possible sentimentality.

-- Bryce Morrison, Gramophone [9/2008]

Classical Music

These rarely encountered chamber music scores on this splendid set are certainly worthy of investigation.

Dynamic, the independent Italian record label, based close to Paganini’s birthplace in Genoa, has compiled this ten disc set of their previously issued Paganini recordings. It seems that several of these recordings were receiving their first recording. Although this box includes the complete edition of Paganini’s fifteen quartets for strings and guitar; the three string quartets and a number of other chamber works there is certainly much of Paganini’s chamber music not included here. It omits the large amount of chamber music that Paganini wrote for guitar and violin, solo guitar and for solo violin. There are seventy or so duets for violin and guitar, including the familiar Sonata concertata, MS2, Grand Sonata, MS3 and the Cantabile, MS109. In addition Paganini wrote over a hundred scores for solo guitar. Dynamic have issued discs of a sizeable number of Paganini’s works for violin and guitar and a disc of some of his solo guitar scores.AB The Arts Music label on Red Line has four volumes of the solo guitar music.C With regard to the solo violin music there are many available versions. For the Dynamic label Stefan Milenkovich has recorded the complete music for solo violin - released in 2004 on CDS 402/1-2.

Paganini holds an esteemed status as probably the world’s finest ever virtuoso violinist but his chamber music compositions are, with minor exceptions, almost totally ignored. It is often forgotten that Paganini also played and composed for the guitar. In fact, of the five opus numbers published during his lifetime only the op. 1 set of 24 Caprices for Solo Violin did not include the guitar. It may come as a surprise that Paganini also wrote a sacred choral score entitled Le couvent du mont St. Bernard for violin, chorus and orchestra. I have yet to hear it but it was given its first recording by the Dynamic label.

I have previously reviewed five of the ensemble scores with guitar that are contained on this release on two volumes of recordings from the German based Ambitus label (Vol. 1 AMB97977 and Vol. 2 AMB96899).

It seems that Paganini wrote chamber music from an early age and continued to do so regularly throughout his life. Often he would compose whilst on tour as a virtuoso performer during the long and arduous coach journeys. Biographer Danilo Prefumo has written that, “Paganini’s chamber music is the genuine expression of the more private side of this composer’s musicality …” The general neglect of Paganini’s chamber music is highlighted by the fact that for many decades a large number of the scores have not been generally available for performance. For example his three string quartets MS20 were published as recently as 1976 with a performing edition in 1991; some hundred and fifty years after their composition.

In addition to his fame for composing for the violin Paganini also wrote a substantial amount of music for the guitar. The majority of the scores on this Dynamic release include the guitar. Swiss composer Franz von Wartensee, an associate of Paganini, wrote in his memoirs, “Not everyone knows that Paganini was a first-rate guitarist, since he did not consider it worth the effort to present himself publicly as such.” The sources of information that I have checked are rather vague on the origins and dates of Paganini’s attraction to the guitar. I understand that the main influence was his father Antonio who was himself a mandolin player and it is likely that from an early age Paganini would have received instruction from Antonio. It seems that from around 1801, during the few years that Paganini lived with a wealthy lady on her country estate in Tuscany, his energies were principally channelled into guitar study and composition.

On the whole the music on this Dynamic series is characteristic, lyrical and immensely enjoyable. These scores have a propensity for delivering entertainment rather than cherishing pretensions of greatness; those wanting significant emotional depth to their music should look elsewhere.

Comprising seventy percent of the set the fifteen Quartets for strings and guitar (CDs 1-5); the three Strings quartets (CD 7) and the five Trios for strings and guitar (CD 6) follow a similar sound-world and design. Here Paganini’s typical four movement plan predominantly consists of a quick and entertaining opening movement Allegro followed by a lively and carefree second movement Minuet that verges on a Scherzo. The slow third movement is expressive, aria-like and sweetly lyrical, marked Adagio or Andante. Concluding the score is a brisk and spiritedly ebullient Allegro or Presto that sometimes employs the stricter form of a Rondo.

I especially enjoyed the Theme and eight Variations for two violins and cello, MS117 (CD 8) - an unusual and pleasurable score with a noble theme, followed by a set of eight variations containing a wide range of moods. The twenty one Divertimenti carnevaleschi for two violins and cello, MS4 (CD 8) are a substantial set of short and varied scores.

Included on the final disc is the four Nocturnes for two violins, viola and cello, MS15 (CD 10). Each of the Nocturnes opens with an expressive slow movement that precedes a brisk and lithe dance-like movement. Two interesting and amiable scores are the Sonata per Rovene per mandolino e chitarra (Serenata per Rovene in E minor for mandolin and guitar), MS14 and the Serenata per mandolino e chitarra (Serenata in G major for mandolin and guitar), MS16. Both scores are cast in two brief movements with the mandolin taking the leading role. In a way similar to the four Nocturnes, MS15 a slow movement is followed by a movement of a swifter pace. The final work on the set the Minuetto per l’amandorlino per mandolino solo (Minuet in E major for solo mandolin), MS106 is a rather uninspiring three movement affair.

To be candid these works although interesting and highly appealing are not candidates to become staples of the chamber repertoire and are unlikely to be taken up by the leading ensembles on the international stage. Notwithstanding the numerous four movement scores, I found many of the other works such as the three Duets for violin and cello; the twenty one Divertimenti carnevaleschi for two violins and cello; the substantial three Duets for violin and bassoon; the Sonata per Rovene per mandolino e chitarra and the Serenata per mandolino e chitarra contained surprises both in terms of layout, employment of instrumentation and musical content.

Generally, I was fascinated by how Paganini’s writing can sometimes display a certain vulgarity and the next minute I could be enchanted by his charm and warmth. I found it frequently difficult to forecast what Paganini would do next and this unpredictability is a characteristic that was highly pleasing.

Dynamic have employed some nineteen different players over the fifteen year span of these recordings. Violinists: Bruno Pignata the leader of the Quartetto Paganini performs on a large number of the scores; Stefan Milenkovich displays his undoubted prowess on disc 8 and the renowned international soloist and Paganini champion Salvatore Accardo plays on the Three Duets for violin and bassoon (CD 9). It is clear from these interpretations that the players relish the attractive writing. Throughout I was impressed by the matching of the players, their blend of ensemble and choice of pace. Overall finesse, eloquence and tonal beauty are not words that I would use to describe these performances although the playing is consistently characterful, and often glowing and delightful. I especially enjoyed the effervescent performances of the allegros of the quintets and quartets and was impressed that the momentum of the slow movements is never allowed to wane.

Generally the sound quality has been produced to a decent standard, clean and bright with just a slight lack of depth. However, on CD 9 I found the Three Duets for violin and bassoon to be rather too brightly lit and I had to resort to considerable adjustment of the line-out-level on my disc player. There is an interesting and well written essay in the accompanying booklet by Danilo Prefumo; yet I was left wanting more information on the actual scores.

These rarely encountered chamber music scores from the Genoese Maestro are certainly worthy of investigation.

-- Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International

Full details

CD 1: Complete Quartets for strings and guitar, Vol. 1 [67:16]
Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op.4/1, MS28 [21:41]
Quartet No. 9 in D major, MS36 [21:42]
Quartet No. 10 in A major, MS37 [23:53]

CD 2: Complete Quartets for strings and guitar, Vol. 2 [63:47]
Quartet No. 11 in B major, MS38 [20:28]
Quartet No. 12 in A minor, MS39 [23:33]
Quartet No. 13 in F major, MS40 (1819) [19:46]

CD 3: Complete Quartets for strings and guitar, Vol. 3 [68:53]
Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 4/3, MS30 [21:21]
Quartet No. 7 in E major, MS34 [26:04]
Quartet No. 14 in A major, MS41 [21:27]

CD 4: Complete Quartets for strings and guitar, Vol. 4 [64:03]
Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 4/2, MS29 [18:56]
Quartet No. 8 in A major, MS35 [23:03]
Quartet No. 15 in A minor, MS42 [22:04]

CD 5: Complete Quartets for strings and guitar, Vol. 5 [74:17]
Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op.5/1, MS31 [24:21]
Quartet No. 5 in D major, Op. 5/2, MS32 [24:20]
Quartet No. 6 in D minor, Op. 5/3, MS33 [25:36]

CD 6: Complete Trios for strings and guitar [65:29]
Serenata in C major for viola, cello and guitar, MS17 [15:10]
Terzetto Concertante in D major for viola, cello and guitar, MS114 [22:55]
Terzetto in D major for viola, cello and guitar, MS69 [20:12]
Terzetto in A minor for 2 violins and guitar, MS116 [03:03]
Serenata in F major for 2 violins and guitar, MS115 [04:09]

CD 7: Complete String Quartets, MS20 [64:55]
String Quartet No. 1 (c.1815) [19:02]
String Quartet No. 2 (c.1815) [23:00]
String Quartet No. 3 (c.1815) [22:53]

CD 8: Works for violin/s and cello [67:00]
In cor più non mi sento, theme and variations for two violins and cello, [08:15]
Three Duets for violin and cello:
Duet No.1 [09:13]
Duet No.2 [09:49]
Duet No.3 [09:21]
21 Divertimenti carnevaleschi for 2 violins and cello, MS4 [30:22]

CD 9: Three Duets for violin and bassoon, MS130 [50:08]
Duet No.1 [16:57]
Duet No.2 [16:52]
Duet No.3 [16:19]

CD 10: Quattro Notturni a quartetto, MS15 and other works [57:07]
Quattro Notturni a quartetto for two violins, viola and cello, MS15: Notturno No. 1, [06:28]
Notturno No. 2, [07:11]
Notturno No. 3, [04:14]
Notturno No. 4, [03:31]
Quartet No. 7 in E major for two violins, viola and cello, MS34
(transcription from quartet for strings and guitar) [22:49]
Sonata per Rovene per mandolino e chitarra, MS14 [02:56]
Serenata per mandolino e chitarra, MS16 [02:53]
Minuetto per l’amandorlino per mandolino solo, MS106 [07:05]

Performers Quartetto Paganini: Bruno Pignata (violin), Lorenzo Lugli (viola), Paola Mosca (cello), Giuseppe Briasco (guitar) (CDs 1-3). Quartetto Paganini: Bruno Pignata (violin), Ernest Braucher (viola), Riccardo Agosti (cello), Giuseppe Briasco (guitar) (CDs 4 & 5). Dora Bratchkova (violin), Götz Hartmann (violin), Antonello Farulli (viola), Andrea Noferini (cello), Adriano Sebastiani (guitar) (CD 6). Quartetto d’archi Paganini: Bruno Pignata (violin), Gian Luca Allocco (violin), Ernest Braucher (viola), Dario De Stefano (cello) (CD 7). Stefan Milenkovich (violin), Riccardo Agosti (cello), Pier Domenico Sommati (second violin) (CD 8). Salvatore Accardo (violin), Claudio Gonella (bassoon) (CD 9). Quartetto d’archi Paganini: Bruno Pignata (violin), Gian Luca Allocco (violin), Ernest Braucher (viola), Dario De Stefano (cello), Dorina Frati (Genoese mandolin), Piera Dadomo (guitar) (CD 10).

Includes work(s) by Lou Harrison. Ensemble: Tammittam Percussion Ensemble. Conductor: Guido Facchin.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Violin Recital: Ricci, Ruggiero - BACH, J.S. / MATTHESON / P