Peter Seivewright was amongst the first musicians to seriously research (in 1994) the 100+ keyboard sonatas by Venetian composer Galuppi, also famed as a pioneer of opera buffa. While others have since come to appreciate and record the fine variety and novelty of these works, for many personal and career reasons, Seivewright’s series was held up after volume 3 was released in 2004 but is now back on track with this intermediate album which includes also the G major Piano Concerto. Many of the sonatas have had to be reconstructed from single movement manuscripts. They show amazing diversity, from single-movement works to two- and three-movement pieces, and from basic baroque style to a Romanticism prescient of Schumann. Seivewright strongly believes that the works were specifically written for the pianoforte rather than harpsichord due to their frequent need for sostenuto and other factors. Peter Seivewright studied at Oxford then at the Royal Northern College of Music. He has performed extensively as recitalist and concerto soloist and has taught in colleges around the world, from Scotland to Trinidad to Afghanistan and most recently in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Includes work(s) by Baldassare Galuppi. Soloist: Peter Seivewright.

REVIEWS:

"The music could not have a more sophisticated or dedicated advocate. In each sonata [Seivewright] unwraps a musical gift of exquisite beauty." – Michael Carter, Fanfare

"Absolutely immaculate execution matched by the clarity of the recorded sound... It is difficult to imagine this particular repertoire being presented to better advantage." – International Piano

"Seivewright is an enthusiastic and accomplished pianist... He plays with great conviction and flair... Pleasant listening from first note to last... A top class product... The recording is beyond reproach." – ClassicalNet

“Movements are built often quite imaginatively and always resourcefully... [Seivewright] is a sensitive artist and obviously enjoys this repertoire, and he communicates this enjoyment to us." – Penguin Guide to CDs (2005)

"Seivewright plays [the Sonatas] skillfully, and...they are pleasant to hear." – American Record Guide

REVIEWS:

“Peter Seivewright plays with style” – Northern Echo

“This is a fascinating disc... [Galuppi’s] music is very tuneful, unpretentious and untrammelled by 'early music fussiness.' They are far more appealing than Scarlatti sonatas. I have to commend the recording engineer who produces a close, intimate and crisp sound. Peter Seivewright gives us a splendid example as to how to play cantabile which all students and fellow pianists would do well to emulate. The sleeve booklet gives an excellent introduction to the life and times of this gifted composer and whets our appetite for further helpings. Highly recommended." – David Wright (Classical Music on the Web)

“A revelatory disc... Galuppi’s invention is rich and fresh, and Seivewright plays these wonderful pieces with a sense of delight in discovery. Highly recommended.” – Robert Cockroft, Yorkshire Post

“Movements are built often quite imaginatively and always resourcefully... [Seivewright] is a sensitive artist and obviously enjoys this repertoire, and he communicates this enjoyment to us." – Penguin Guide to CDs (2005)

GALUPPI: Harpsichord Concertos (Complete)

At a time when only Bach and Scarlatti were Baroque-era composers in the repertoire of pianists rather than harpsichordists, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli pressed the cause of Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785) with performances and recordings of sonatas. Galuppi’s style was defined during his lifetime as ‘gay, lively and brilliant’, and this description certainly capture the style of the keyboard sonatas which he wrote throughout his career. Born on the island of Burano in the Venetian lagoon, Galuppi trained with Antonio Lotti (then organist of the Basilica San Marco) and quickly became noted across Europe for a string of operatic successes which supplied both audiences and singers with dazzling entertainment. He was no musical revolutionary and continued to compose in a well-turned vein of elegant Baroque conventions while composers further north in Europe were experimenting with larger-scale forms and more daring harmonies. However, the keyboard sonatas which Galuppi wrote throughout his career delighted audiences at the time and have continued to do so since. Several collections were issued during his lifetime (and designated with Opus numbers) but a great deal of his keyboard music remains unpublished. collection of 12 three-movement sonatas, drawn from this otherwise unpublished body of work, was edited by Giacomo Benvenuti (1885-1943) and issued by the Francesco Bongiovanni publishing house in 1920, and it is from this collection (familiar to audiences of the 50s through Michelangeli) that Fernanda Damiano plays six sonatas on the present album.