Duality as essence The fullness of an almost empty space within which only two presences distil their separated essences; the completeness of only two subjects representing all the rest; the awareness in subordinating oneself to the magnetism of the subtracted and the missing; the consistency of silence, immobility and timelessness; the essential value of otherness. Each of the titles of these duets, all of a single word, carries semantic potentialities inherent in duality, a contradiction resolved in the ideal of recomposing dualism into unity. Ali (Wings), equivalent laterality as duality, which divides in two and equally holds together; Diade (Dyad), couple, duality, and in biology the chromosome of germ cells formed by two homologous chromatids united, maternal and paternal; Talea (Cutting), in botany the birth of a life through another that mutilates and grafts itself; Appulso (Appulse), in astronomy the apparent approach of a star to a planet, so that the star seems to touch it; Giano (Janus), the twoheaded god, who can look at the two entities future and past but not at the present, in charge of thresholds, of passages, who presides over all beginnings; Specchio (Mirror), the reflecting "other", in the mutual comparison of every couple or duo; Cenere (Ash), matter inclusive of the original fullness - simulacrum of what it was - and of it's dissipation, emblem of the invisibility to come; Gemina (Twin), that which is double, an adjective declined here, in Italian, in the feminine, leaving open the interpretation (double musical expression?, a double union of performers?... ), and in genetics the "bivalent pair" of chromosomes, which merges and then splits; Stati (States), in addition to being a noun - the word that in Italian in one of it's meanings is related to staticity, from the Latin status, "that which stands still" -, is also a past participle that makes the subjects exist in the same time for how they are now and for what they have "been", "stati" (thinking of this piece, divided into three parts, in the sequence stasismotionstasis: �You alone knew that motion is not different from stasis.� Eugenio Montale, from Satura); Stigma (Stigma), explicit imprint of an implicit owner of it, but also, in botany, the part of the pistil destined to receive and germinate; Etra (Air), a kind of air that, here, makes physical wind and metaphysical wind copresent, which mix in a haunted vortex... Osvaldo Coluccino

The Isabella Scelsi Foundation promotes the production of contemporary music in a broad and wide-ranging manner, with particular attention to the work of it's founder, Giacinto Scelsi. This is the direction taken in the Scelsi Collection, a series of recordings produced in close collaboration with the Stradivarius label, which presents the Maestro's works performed by leading musicians and renowned vocal and instrumental ensembles. We are pleased to present this new CD, which further enhances the collection and encompasses many features of extraordinary interest. Fabrizio Ottaviucci, the distinguished pianist who, through his contact with Giacinto Scelsi, had the opportunity to deepen his interpretation of the great composer's piano music. Here he presents large-scale work, previously unpublished, rediscovered thanks to the research carried out on the Foundation's Historical Archive, as described in detail in the CD presentation. A further point of interest is undoubtedly the fact that the CD is the result of a live recording, allowing listeners to immerse themselves and enjoy that unique and unrepeatable moment experienced during the performance, which took place in a concert organized by Area Sismica, a noteworthy association for the promotion of new music. Gianni Trovalusci President Fondazione Isabella Scelsi

The reconstruction of the compositional chronology of Georg Friedrich Handel's repertoire for flute is extremely complex. There are various reasons for this, stemming from two essential factors: on the one hand, the typical tendency for much of Handel's music to transmigrate from one instrument to another and the consequent impossibility, at times, of determining precisely which version of a particular piece is the original; on the other hand, the proliferation, at a time when no copyright regulations existed, of diverse printed editions. Many of these, unauthorised, generated different versions, errors or misinterpretations, which were possibly also passed on over time. For this CD recording, which features a substantial part of the complete corpus of the sonatas for recorder and transverse flute, we compared the two earliest printed versions containing sonatas for solo instrument by Handel. Both were published by the London publisher Walsh, although for a long time the first of the two editions was attributed to the Amsterdam publisher Roger, but then, thanks to the studies of Terence Best and David Lasocki, it turned out to be a 'pirate' publication by the same publisher Walsh (who probably had not yet obtained Handel's permission to publish).

This project is the result of musical research carried out in various fields. It includes original works for harp and violin in a variety of compositional styles. The choice of different historical periods aims to focus on pieces that are rarely performed or, in the case of contemporary pieces, world premieres. The sonorities used, ranging from the 1800s to the present day, aim to highlight the technical, instrumental and musical potential of the Duo Vieuxtemps. The final objective of our work is to be able to take the listener on a musical journey, a sonic trip that offers a kaleidoscope of sensations, shapes and colours, with the intent of halting the perception of the passing of time and letting oneself be carried away by the sound.

Henry Purcell, also known as Orpheus Britannicus for his ability to enchant the public with his music, is the most celebrated English composer of the Baroque period. He was largely appreciated for his dramatic works, but he also wrote a significant number of instrumental compositions such as A Choice Collection of Lessons for The Harpsichord or Spinnet. The title of the collection indicates the intended instruments: "for the Harpsichord or Spinnet". At that time in England, spinnet was a widely used instrument. Due to it's modest size, it became a privileged instrument for the domestic learning, especially in wealthy families. This practice can be traced in multiple artistic representations, where the typical performer was typically young and female. Their composed appearance is very far from the flamboyant virtuosity or exuberance. The Lessons have the same courteous attitude, but they are rich in emotional nuances. Gentleness emerges through an elegant musical style that is never overly sentimental.. Music sometimes can be vigorous, but it's never bold. Two centuries passed before a new composer could rival Purcell's reputation: when Benjamin Britten chose some of Purcell's works and published them in a modern arrangement, he declared that he wanted to maintain that mix of clarity, brightness, tenderness and originality that shines through all his music.

Writing the liner notes to this album necessarily compels me to begin with a preamble which fully complieswith the music and renditions it contains: listening to a discographical work is an active act of creation, the moment when we choose to shift our point of observation towards an imaginative reality that, once experienced, appears more authentic and faithful than everyday's ordinariness. This record is intimately aimed at a cultural elite, aware and solid, not necessarily to be identified in guitar confraternities , capable of seizing and elaborating the connections and the sentimental, substantial correspondences between the sound of the guitar and the cultural facts the author decided to express through it. The title �Luminaria� recalls the feeling of a Van Gogh's Night, where lights do not seem to belong to the city anymore, but rather to nature. The author himself says about these works for guitar: �the landscape is nocturnal, we're moving within gilardinian poetics, the pieces are no pianistic milestones, nor are they orchestral solos; they're feeble village lights at the procession for a saint, which do not illuminate the night, and yet make it exist.� These are works complying with the poetics of �places� and of �memory�, both converging in a third one represented by �distance�. This music deals with an �elsewhere�, referring to �here and now� rather than to a spacial acception, there's no irony, magic or enchanted realism, but a vision forged in architectures dense with a thought that fiercely invokes this very �hic et nunc�, recalling the powerful verse by Montale to burn now , no other is my meaning. Kevin SwierkoszLenart entrusts these pieces to a young guitarist who has all the qualities to receive and elaborate the author's intimate perceptions; Giovanni Martinelli, dedicatory of these oevres, has one gift distinguishing him from most of his generation's performers: the precocious ability to observe the many facets of things and of the world from above, whose vision he renders deeply and very clearly through the guitar. Thus, both special and rare seems the artistic alliance between author and performer, as if they showed the way one another, and the composer's ideas are embraced by the guitarist with such natural predisposition.

It is a rather widespread opinion that the genesis of musical compositions intended to positively impress the listener's soul is often connected to an initial illumination that expands within a creative process that is per se rather ordinary. It is that creative spark constituting the generating principle which, as it unfolds, gives form and narrative cohesion to the sound archetype. This is the premise underlying the album by the duo Cardinali-Redorici, the realisation of a project that presents itself as a refined exploration of soundscapes delineated by the poietic encounter between viola and piano, through a dialogue aimed at capturing the most varied emotional nuances. In the panorama of string instruments, the viola is characterised by a highly suggestive timbral eloquence stemming from the range of frequencies within which it moves - an extension that makes it possible to perceive, at opposite extremes, sensations of both a lyrical luminosity typical of the violin and dark tones attributable to the gravitas of the cello. This contributes to making this medium ideal for translating into sound an expressiveness of musical thought drawing it's quintessence from a persistent search for intimacy, oscillating between lightness and depth. In this sense, the listener of InCanto Notturno is projected into an intense and exciting sound journey - ranging from the exploration of affections ascribable to a certain romantic lyricism to the stylistic refinement typical of Impressionism -, also reaching suggestive incursions into less beaten territories of the repertoire with the proposal of rarely performed compositions.

The album "Present Reflections" offers an anthology of Amy Beach's piano works, showcasing her remarkable compositional talent and stylistic range-from expressive virtuosity to deep interpretative intimacy. This distinctive quality is due not only to her extraordinary gift but also to several factors: the profound cultural shifts she experienced between the late 19th and early 20th centuries-bridging late Romanticism, the emergence of the avant-garde, and the advent of jazz-and her unmistakable emotional expressiveness. Despite the strict, self-imposed discipline of her compositional process (she was entirely self-taught), her style remains deeply personal and authentic in every work. Looking back in time, beginning with her later compositions, one can observe a radical evolution in her writing. These works are not only a significant contribution to American piano literature but also a testament to the transformation of an era-one that slips away from the present to become almost immediately part of the past. In this way, Present Reflections becomes a mirror of today's world, reflecting the epochal changes of which we are all a part. Mrs. Beach's incredible talent, which enabled her to emerge as one of the greatest composers of her time, tells the story of both women and men-transcending the limitations imposed by society and leaving behind a musical legacy that deserves not only rediscovery but celebration. Katia Spluga

Two metaphors intertwine in the Roseti del mare (Rose gardens of the sea). The rose garden is the shared place, the multifaceted, multicoloured, thorny and delicate project that well embodies the evolutionary drive of the young performers of Polimnia. The enigmatic vastness of the sea provides the setting in the consolidated repertoire of many great composers. It's presence is manifest in Robert Schumann's Romanzen fur Frauenstimmen (Meerfey, Der Wassermann, In Meeres Mitten), and it recurs in the choices of numerous French composers (for example, in C. Debussy's La Mer), a trait that clearly re-sonates in the fluid and elegant writing of Gabriel Faure featured here. Across it's surface, the sea incarnates the spontaneity, luminosity, and immediacy of Faure's invention, while in it's depths resides the Schumannian style, introspective and severe, directing it's gaze towards Reflection and the layering of Thought. With the Polimnia vocal ensemble, I chose to work on a challenging project, far removed from easy transcriptions or more straightforward choral adaptations. For all of us, it was like going out into the open sea, with no footholds or furrows of well-trodden routes. A treacherous journey, devoid of certainties yet full of opportunities for a totally shared research into the meanings and sounds expressed by the young performers already rich in their own time, ranging from 17 to 25 years of age. The fact that young is not an adjective to be equated with superficial is the conviction I have matured in my long experience as director of the children's choir from which the Polimnia Ensemble almost entirely originates. The result we have achieved is the impetus that moves us towards new challenges, new future projects. Claudio Fenoglio

The sonatas for guitar by the Mexican composer Manuel Maria Ponce (1882-1948) demonstrate his remarkable ability to compose music inspired by a wide variety of styles. From early romantic works like Estrellita (1912) to the more complex harmonic language of his Concierto for violin (1943), Ponce displayed extraordinary versatility. Initially influenced by French modern music and late romantic works, he developed a distinctive musical language that combined romanticism, modernism, and nationalism. His collaboration with guitarist Andres Segovia resulted in his first composition for guitar, the Sonata Mexicana (1923), blending French Impressionism with Mexican folk music. During his stay in Paris from 1925 to 1932, Ponce developed an interest in Neoclassicism and Bitonality, as evidenced in his Suite bitonal for piano. Among his most significant works for guitar is Sonata III (1927), which incorporates romantic, neoclassical, and Mexican and Spanish folk elements. His guitar music was always inspired by Segovia, who suggested numerous works, including the Sonatina Meridional (1930), a tribute to Spanish musical tradition. Ponce's other notable works for guitar include the Sonata Clasica (1927), a tribute to Fernando Sor, and the Sonata Romantica (1928), inspired by Franz Schubert. These compositions further demonstrate his unique ability to blend traditional influences with his own distinctive voice. The Mexican composer wrote eight sonatas (six sonatas and two sonatinas) for guitar, two of which were lost during the looting of Segovia's apartment in Barcelona in 1936. Manuel Maria Ponce - Complete Guitar Sonatas presents for the first time the guitar sonatas in their entirety, including the surviving movements of these lost compositions and Sonata VI, a pastiche of Paganini's famous Grande Sonata for guitar. The works are performed by a group of artists under the guidance of M� Stefano Grondona, the renowned Italian guitarist.

The poetic dimension of the three pieces in this album is certainly the listening experience. The two scores that "compose" the music (two because the first and third pieces use the same one) are nothing more than a framework: a very limited number of directions given to the musicians and the conductor, mostly consisting of short melodic or harmonic fragments positioned in boxes (what is called Rahmen-Notation in German) that extend for the entire duration of a section. To bring a piece to life, each performer must perceive what the others are playing, in a relationship of independence-dependence. This is because the composer expressly requests that each musician performs any melodic fragment, whenever they wish, however they wish, and in whatever order they wish, thus in a context of absolute autonomy. At the same time, this fragment is performed alongside other fragments played by other musicians, and it relates to them, creating an interconnectedness among the parts involved. This is most likely the attitude that Rita Ueda invites us to adopt, directing our attention and perception towards it. A choice of sharing also suggested by the meeting of three different musical cultures, represented in these pieces by the solo instruments, each coming from a different musical tradition, alongside the traditional Western orchestra: the Persian tar, the Chinese guzheng, and the Japanese sho.

Stradivarius is pleased to present the new album by Aurora Avveduto, a young pianist who has enriched her training by participating, among other things, in various masterclasses and seminars with composers and performers of today's music. Entitled Stille, the CD invites you on a journey that intertwines music from different sources (Japan, China, the United States, Italy) brought together around the theme of the Far East and the images of permanence that derive from it, with pieces that investigate the theme of time and suggest moments of reflection in a delicate dimension of suspension. The CD, which opens with China Gates by John Adams, a composer of the second generation of minimal music, is configured as a concept album centered on a certain vision of music and the world that has roots in the Far East but which then also touches the cultures of other countries. After the songs by Toru Takemitsu Rain Tree Sketch and Rain Tree Sketch II, from 1982 and 1992 respectively, and after Eight Memories in Watercolor (1978-1979) by the Chinese composer Tan Dun, born in 1957, the album closes with two compositions by two Italian authors, Pioggia d'autunno by Federico Maria Sardelli, a multifaceted musician, painter and writer, and Stille by Giorgio Colombo Taccani, a song from 2022 that gives the title to the entire CD, for a singular listening path that creates bridges and links between the cultures of different countries.

The family tree of Giulio Castagnoli's music is extensive. It's roots lie in the ancient music of the Maghreb and Andalusia, and while the strongest branches are formed by the vibrant colours of Monteverdi's madrigals and the complexity of Giacinto Scelsi's orchestral music, the foliage, to stay with this metaphore, is the composer's understanding of the physical realities of life and music. The fact that his mother's family was of Sephardic Jewish origin brought him closer to the sound and spiritual world of the Middle East, but it should not be overlooked that the music of India and the Far East has also influenced his compositions over the decades. Among the string instruments, the cello is undoubtedly Castagnoli's favourite. The depth of it's timbre, the masculine power of it's middle register and the availability of a rich spectrum of harmonics (and thus of scales of natural tone series, which contain fascinating echoes of the harmony revealed centuries ago) make the cello rather more than a docile instrument that embodies abstract musical ideas. By composing for one instrument, for it's body and soul, Castagnoli also honours it's evolution, that is, the numberless experiments which have led it's current ideal form, as well as it's origin from the three kingdoms of nature.

... The works collected here, written for different orchestral settings, with or without voice, offer a certainly not exhaustive but solid and truthful image of the specificity of the figure of Matteo D'Amico on the contemporary compositional horizon: the ability and will to weld thought to musical matter, gesture to form, sound to sense. In his vast catalogue, it is always possible to find this trail, transmitted with firm persuasion and happy results. Like an identifying mark, an author's scratch, an opening passage frequently recurs in his works that opens the curtain, only to then perhaps stop, look around, listen to the voices of his fellow travellers, and resume the journey: thus, immediately, in Le creature di Ade (The Creatures of Hades), a 'concert ouverture' composed in 2004 and dedicated to Daniele Gatti, who was it's first conductor. The title alludes to The Creatures of Prometheus, Beethoven's work written for a choreography by Salvatore Vigan�. The darkness of Hades, the opening up of it's abysses, the terror induced in those who cross it, a sense of fearful waiting that allows a more encouraging trace to filter through, the reemergence of the anguished expectation: the exemplary journey of instrumental theatre precedes the final twist, marked by a lively rhythmic charge, which in it's sudden conclusion leaves one gasping for breath, while in the body of a classically structured orchestra the colours of the saxophone and the pressing variety of the percussion set emerge... Sandro Cappelletto

UN is the result of many hours of practice, concerts and a lot of work done, but above all it is the result of five people who, although time has passed and making five very different lives coincide with each other has become difficult, can't wait to meet up to play together, giving life to a project that connects the contemporary Italian repertoire to the American Jazz and Blues ones. Luciano Berio, through the blasts of Call, captures the attention and prepares the listener for the inexorability of the four movements of For Brass by Giuseppe Garbarino; an electric History of Mok by Alessio Manega involves and charges the audience with energy which Corrado Saglietti, with his Blues and Encore from the Any Time Brass Quintet collection, welcomes and transforms into dance, transporting the listener overseas. Who better than Duke Ellington and George Gershwin to squeeze the juice of so much passion? Summertime is just one of the themes that greet listeners with the same warmth felt by the musicians when recording them. Erika is still trying to understand if she is reading an 8 or a B on the score; Michele consolidates his career as Major with the patience that distinguishes him; Marina, extricating herself from the numerous instruments that she inexplicably plays at a level beyond human comprehension, is determined to divide Nicol� and Federico, engaged in their usual umpteenth and eternal squabble: immersed in their very well known calm and relaxed mood, the five members of the Canaja Brass Quintet have never been so proud to wish you happy listening.