A student of John Field, Charles Mayer was a brilliant pianist and teacher who performed throughout Europe and composed prolifically for his instrument. Both the Jugendblüten (‘Flowers of Youth’) and Jugendträume (‘Dreams of Youth’) collections reflect the evocative titles and late-Romantic expressive style fashionably represented by Schumann and Mendelssohn. Mayer’s beautifully crafted musical gems were aimed at pianists eager to widen their repertoire and entertain through, in the words of Schumann, the ‘rich and eclectic imagination of a cosmopolitan musician’ whose works ‘tell with affection and sincerity the story of a bourgeois world made of dreams and good will’.

REVIEWS:

Dynamic have amply fleshed out this picture of Charles Mayer with this release of two of his numerous collections of short piano works.

Italian pianist Luigi Gerosa plays these pieces very sympathetically…he is full of character in pieces like Die Dämonen (no.11) and Neckereien – banter/teasing (no.19).

-- MusicWeb International

Robert Schumann spoke of East Prussian composer Charles Mayer (1799–1862) as an artist expressive of “rich and eclectic imagination,” whose music sought to widen the repertory of pianists through finely crafted pieces of a “cosmopolitan” nature. Schumann elaborated further, lauding Mayer’s works for their ability to “tell with affection and sincerity the story of a bourgeois world made of dreams and good will.” A student of John Field, Charles Mayer became a brilliant pianist and teacher who performed throughout Europe and composed prolifically for the keyboard. Both the Jugendblüten (Flowers of Youth, c. 1850) and Jugendträume (Dreams of Youth, 1860) collections evoke the imagery and late Romantic expressive style fashionably represented by Schumann (his op. 68) and Mendelssohn’s collections of Lieder ohne Worte.

The opening piece from op. 300, “Traumbild,” exerts an easy, graceful flow, in the Schumann style. The succeeding “Sehnsucht” (Longing), in ternary form, resembles Mendelssohn’s lyrical approach, with a middle section waltz in Chopin’s salon style. “Das stürmische Herz” (The Tormented Heart) asks for left hand agitation but proceeds in conventional harmony.

The cycle of 24 Flowers of Youth begins with a Romanze entitled “Sehnsucht” in conventional, symmetrical phraseology. A vivacious, minute-long tarantella ensues in a mock-Rossini mode. We pass through a series of conventional, Biedermeier exercises in style, faux Mendelssohn, but the Barcarole exudes limited, gondola charm. Gerosa’s own pianistic prowess shows itself in Toccata, a test of agogic and dynamic shifts. “Der junge Virtuoso” proffers a witty, Gottschalk-like, broken-rhythm dance.

Of the final group of ten compositions, the first, “Norwegischer Tanz,” sounds like Grieg if he were performing in a standard salon. Mayer calls his “Leid und Freud” (Sadness and Joy) a “Melodic Etude,” although as a study other than in legato and presto staccato it remains graciously unassuming. “Das schlafende Kind” unabashedly borrows its sentiment from Schumann’s Kinderszenen, op. 15. “Neckerein” indeed “flirts” with gently cantering tropes and brief onrushes of Mendelssohnian intensity. “Der Jagd” seems like a restrained hunt, albeit lyrical in the manner of Weber. “Notturno” might pass for music by Sinding, or yet again Mendelssohn. As a predictable song without words, it proves eminently effective. The penultimate work, “Tremolino,” does well serve as a study in syncopation in the Chopin manner. Its cascades increase in dynamic and then recede, a hint at Chopin’s “Aeolian Harp,” op. 25/1. The “Russiche Hymne” (Etude-Transcription) combines the tune we know from Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with a florid ground of Chopin.

-- Fanfare

Rome became an important musical centre during that precious moment of peace between the two world wars, and both of these composers were swept along in feverish activity in the arts during this period. Iditta Parpagliolo matches a refined choice of texts with an equally diverse use of musical language in her songs, from the modal mysticism of La buona parola to the infinite sadness of the Tre canti d’amore. Giovanni Salviucci captures the soul of nature in his Quattro liriche, the twilight classical intimacy of his songs contrasting with the radiant neoclassical style of his Chamber Symphony.

Bianca e Fernando, commissioned for the inauguration of the Carlo Felice Theatre in 1828, was composed at the start of Bellini’s career as one of the most important opera composers of the 19th century. The superb music for this dramatic story of filial love, wicked intrigues and triumph over tyranny was received with the ‘jubilation and admiration of the citizens of Genoa’ and greatly admired by the likes of Donizetti, earning Bellini recognition throughout Italy and beyond. This acclaimed first modern performance brings to light precious lost pages of music, reviving the original ‘splendid celebration’ of its premiere.

The three British composers in this program all found very different ways to integrate the harmonica with that most aristocratic of ensembles, the string quartet. Gordon Jacob’s Divertimento is a delicious musical tableau, full of his characteristic melodic ease and playfulness. James Moody was devoted to the harmonica, for which he wrote a number of works, and his Quintet has a Classical structure that includes both highly virtuosic and deeply introspective episodes. Renowned as a jazz drummer, Tony Kinsey adopted a late-Romantic stance in his Quintet but also looked to Gershwin and Piazzolla, ending the work with the blues and an unforgettably catchy riff.

Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore is a melodrama giocoso in two acts and has remained one of the world’s most popular and often performed operas. Nemorino is in love with Adina, who is indifferent, but eventually falls for him, helped by the huckster Dr Dulcamara’s elixir (in reality, cheap red wine). This performance restores cuts and is heard in full, as Donizetti intended, played on original instruments of the time at the original pitch. This allows one to hear more fully how he turned a traditional opera buffa into a masterpiece of characterization and theatrical power.

World Première Recordings

The premiere of Nabucco at La Scala, Milan in 1842 was a huge success for Verdi and soon led to foreign performances of the work. For its appearance in Brussels under the name Nebuchodonozor Verdi fashioned an orchestral Divertissement which was inserted into Act III; the composer’s score of this, performed here, has only very recently been rediscovered. Macbeth is one of his psychologically penetrating masterpieces and for its Parisian staging in 1865 it underwent considerable revision, notably to make its dramatic development more incisive. When Il trovatore was performed in Paris as Le Trouvère Verdi added lively local color as new additions to the score.

REVIEW:

One may ask, if these Verdi masterpieces are ‘made in Italy’, why is the title of the disc Vive Verdi!? Well, the answer is simple. All three works were such huge successes that Verdi was obliged to write a ’French version’ for each opera for foreign performances in Brussels (Nabucco) and Paris (Macbeth and Il Trovatore). Apart from the language, Verdi also included a substantial amount of revised and new music, including ballet, and this issue is dedicated to the rarities and discoveries found in these French versions. Indeed, the ’Nabucco Divertissement’ has only very recently been rediscovered. If you believe you know your Verdi, think again. A memorable programme, passionately performed and splendidly recorded, that widens our knowledge of the great Italian master.

-- Classical Music Daily

World Première Recordings

Giovanni Battista Sammartini attained a leading role in Milan’s music scene in the 18th century, his career extending from the height of the Baroque era to the Classical worlds of Mozart and Haydn by his death in 1775. Appearing here in world premiere recordings, these works appear to belong to Sammartini’s early period, including a four-movement example that recollects archaic church sonata form. Full of fascinating stylistic quirks, these sonatas reflect the refined taste for nuance found in the Milanese musician’s finest chamber works, with an easy melodic flow that expresses a mood for stylistic change.

Giuseppe Verdi was well on the way towards renown and prosperity when he took up the story of Violetta, a famed courtesan whose intensely romantic and colorful but tragically brief life marked the emergence of realism into Italian opera. Verdi and Alexandre Dumas intended this melodrama to have a contemporary setting, and David Livermore’s stunning production maintains this wish by placing his elegant and powerful cast firmly into the 20th century. This alchemy of masterful acting, vivid bel canto voices and the vitality of Zubin Mehta’s conducting results in a triumphant and unforgettably poignant operatic experience.

Fernando Sor was born at a time when the guitar enjoyed increasing prominence. He differed from other virtuoso-composers for the instrument such as Giuliani and Carulli due to his far greater sense of harmonic refinement. Sor’s studies and exercises have been fundamental to guitarists for two centuries, and his sequence of Themes and Variations are his best-known compositions. His three collections based on popular French melodies have enjoyed popularity as has Les Folies d’Espagne avec Variations et un Menuet, but his masterpiece remains the Introduction et Variations sur un Thème de Mozart, a sublime example of his skill.

The composition of Un ballo in maschera caused Verdi many problems. What began as an opera called Gustavo III was subject to censorship by the Neapolitan and Roman authorities, so its libretto, location and title all changed. The subject, however, is still the murder of Riccardo (Gustavo) at the masked ball, couched in a musical language in which the seriousness of Italian opera is infused with French vivacity. The opera’s structure is carefully symmetrical in the great terzets, and the themes of duty, pleasure, drama and humor are rendered with masterful clarity.

Johann Pachelbel is remembered today for his Canon in D major, but he was an outstandingly successful organist and composer whose musical legacy is in fact quite broad and varied. Of his keyboard pieces the Hexachordum Apollinis is regarded as the pinnacle of his oeuvre and was a work to which Pachelbel himself attached great importance. Consisting of six arias with variations, the collection brings together the influence of several schools of music, all filtered through the composer’s refined tastes and superlative technical skill. The splendid Chaconne anticipates Bach and is one of Pachelbel’s best-known keyboard pieces.

REVIEW:

The title work on this disc is a fascinating composition. A set of 6 arias with variations written for either harpsichord or organ. Mathematically complex with symbolism relating to numerology and the Kabbalah the booklet notes point out some interesting features and point to a work that should perhaps be more widely known and appreciated. The Chaconne is a more known work.

-- Lark Reviews (Stephen Page)

Alessandro Scarlatti is one of the key figures of Italian Baroque opera and the influential Neapolitan school in particular. Griselda is the last of Scarlatti’s operas to have survived intact to the present day. Its narrative is set in motion by the marriage of the King of Sicily to a poor shepherdess; the ensuing complications of love and the tensions between country and court delivering an entertainment full of lyrical charm and lively action. Performed by a superb team of Baroque specialists and acclaimed singers, this production is set in Puglia’s magnificent Palazzo Ducale and celebrates the 300th anniversary of Griselda’s premiere.

Not long after I reviewed Gabriele Baldocci’s superb recording of the Beethoven/Liszt First and Sixth symphonies, a CD arrived in the mail containing a live 2008 program for two pianos, with the young Italian pianist and his mentor Martha Argerich. Since Argerich previously has recorded all of this repertoire with various pianists, comparisons are inevitable.

Take, for example, the present Ravel La valse, with its pronounced rubato and exploratory inner voices, so different from the Salzburg Argerich/Freire version’s finely honed balances and dynamic scaling. In the Mozart D major sonata, you can weigh Argerich/Baldocci’s more nuanced synchronicity against the harder-hitting Argerich/Rabinovitch rendition. I do prefer this Shostakovich Concertino’s lightness and wit over the more forceful 2006 Lugano Argerich/Zilberstein EMI recording. While the latter’s 2008 Lugano Rachmaninov First Suite is perfectly fine in and of itself, the Argerich/Baldocci collaboration proves strikingly freer and more pliable, especially in the slow third-movement Les larmes.

The outer movements of Milhaud’s Scaramouche are notable for the pianists’ rhythmic verve and clean textures, despite occasional pounding in the Brasileira (Argerich and Karin Merle achieve more polished results in their Lugano rendition issued by DG). The sonics are generally excellent, although a slightly metallic patina emerges in the loudest moments. All told, a delightful release.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Also available on Blu-ray

Antonio Vivaldi’s three-act opera Orlando Furioso is set to an Italian libretto by Grazio Braccioli and is based on Ludovico Ariosto’s epic poem of the same name. The opera alternates arias with recitative, and is set on an island at an unspecified time. The story line combines several plot lines from Ariosto: the exploits of the hero Orlando are detailed, as well as the tale of the sorceress Alcina. Orlando is performed in this production by Sonia Prina, and Alcina by Lucia Cirillo. Recorded at the 43rd Festival della Valle d’Itria, this production is the first video recording of this rare opera. Subtitles are available on this release in Italian, German, English, French, Japanese, and Korean.

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD
The cast is the best we could possible want for Vivaldi nowadays: Ottavio Dantone's skilfull conducting brings the best out of this orchestral enchantment. Sara Mingardo brings her classy voice and remarkable stage presence to the role of the naive Statira. Delphine Galou’s bright tone and excellent agility combine with perfect diction. Roberta Mameli's crystal clear notes make of the role of Alinda a masterpiece of expressivity. Recorded in high definition, this production offers subtitles in Italian, German, English, French, Japanese, and Korean. Octavio Dantone is an Italian conductor and harpsichordist who is particularly noted for his performances of Baroque music. He has served as the Music Director of the Accademia Bizantina in Ravenna since 1996.