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.

The phrase 'Baltic music' is not just a label, but a key that unlocks the rich creativity of composers living around the Baltic Sea. However, it is more than a specific style, mood, or aesthetic. It is about a diverse landscape of Baltic music, each piece being a unique story of individual experience, desire, and reflection of identity. The Baltic identity manifests itself in the most diverse ways, as a cultural tapestry that is both engaging and intriguing. The album Baltic Prayer opens up part of this landscape, united by the motifs of peace, and a conversation with oneself, others, or God. Works by the Lithuanian composers Anatolijus senderovas and Jurgis Juozapaitis, by the Latvian composer P?teris Vasks, and by the Estonian composer Arvo Part, are presented. Next to them are some stylistically close compositions by the Norwegian star of choral music Ola Gjeilo, the British composer John Tavener, and the Ukrainian Myroslav Skoryk.

The tracklist includes the presence of an A side dedicated to the classical guitar with the songs Clinker and Rebound (working names) and a B side, dedicated to the electric guitar, with the songs Insenature and Sostegni (working names). The idea of ?making the vinyl object also the subject of musical writing was central to the conception of the project and sees it as the protagonist beyond the mere means of fixation of the work.

Ferenc Farkas and the French Style While the first volume devoted to the piano works of Hungarian composer Ferenc Farkas (1905- 2000), released by Stradivarius in 2023, contained pieces inspired by Italian culture, the second part of the complete work presented here aims to investigate Farkas' relationship with France. At the time, Paris was the centre of reference for all artists who wished to distance themselves from the predominant German culture, although this trend had much more arcane roots. For Farkas, the French language and culture were of extreme importance and it is therefore no coincidence that, more than sixty years after the aforementioned trip, he wrote two series of piano works from his musical diary notes, entitled Journal 1986 and Journal 1987 in French. This is neither programme music nor illustrative compositions. Farkas' works are essentially conceptual, everything else is just the creative play of the creator.

... When I started writing this collection of studies, I did so for a very specific reason: to justify the existence of some individual pieces for piano, written without a precise destination or name, thus being an end in themselves. By grouping them together into a single collection, they would have more reason to exist, and, for this, I decided to give each of them a specific imprint, a leitmotif, a focus for each piece, that is to say: a cell, a something that would ensure that the study was aimed at perfecting the student's specific technical deficiency in his or her piano playing... Antonio Molinini

The album Intrecci New compositions and arrangements for Guitar, produced with the support of the MiC Ministry of Culture and SIAE as part of the 'Per Chi Crea' program, presents a singular listening itinerary that sees Giacomo Susani's two souls as an interpreter and composer dialogue in an original way. The program unfolds in four pairs of songs: four original compositions, accompanied by four repertoire arrangements created by Susani himself. "Mine was not an operation of transcription as faithful as possible to the originals - says Giacomo Susani - but I decided to move in an arrangement dimension functional to the narrative arc of the CD and therefore aimed at enhancing the intrinsically identifying qualities of the guitar." The first pair of songs that opens the album sees two works brought together and characterized by a fundamental contrapuntal architecture: a very short Fuga by G.F. Handel, taken from Voluntary X for organ, and the original piece Dialogo (homage to Lauro), born from a commission received by Pixaudio for an upcoming documentary on Antonio Lauro. With a change of interior landscape, we move on to Caprice 4 for solo violin by Pierre Rode, a composer and famous French violinist who lived between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, associated with the piece that gives the album it's title: Intrecci (homage to Paganini) by Susani, a work commissioned by the Paganini Guitar Festival 2024 and which pays homage to Paganini by developing a dialogue between the two gestural worlds, that of the violin and that of the guitar, both loved by the Genoese composer. The third pair of pieces leads into the more abstract dimension of melancholy and meditation, with the very famous June by P.I. Tchaikovsky for piano in the version for guitar created by Giacomo Susani and the original piece by Susani Gems dreaming which the author considers his most abstract work among those on the album. The listening ends with an arrangement of Moon River by Henry Mancini and an original piece in three movements inspired by three paintings by the British author Frederic Leighton. An album that develops in an eclectic meeting of sound worlds and artistic illuminations, where the classical repertoire is singularly intertwined with contemporary expression.

Exploring the oeuvre of Mauro Montalbetti is like moving through a labyrinth made of glass, in which the apparent simplicity of the surfaces hides, in full view, the multilayered interplay of references and reflections. Since the late 1980s, the composer from Brescia has progressively tackled almost every genre, in a succession of experiences that have been described as phases in their own right, but which are surprising for the coherence and naturalness of their development. This recording by the AltreVoci Ensemble and Laura Bersani has among it's merits precisely that of allowing us to discover the path that Montalbetti has traced in his now more than 35 years of activity through his output for transverse flute, an instrument deeply loved by Montalbetti, who cites among his references the great flutist Annamaria Morini, whom he met and listened to several times in the 1980s, and the works of Varese, Debussy, Messiaen, Berio, Maderna, Matsudaira, Hosokawa, Takemitsu and, of course, his teacher Giacometti.

Classical Music

Although Halffter's electronic productions enjoyed international prestige, in Spain they continue to be little-known. The three compositions on this CD are extremely interesting, not only because they represent an important period for the composer, but also because they are without doubt among the works of greatest creative imagination for the way in which Halffter uses electro-acoustics.

Classical Music

Alessandra Gentile with the Perugia Chamber Orchestra conducted by Christian Schmitt, a monographic album dedicated to W.A. Mozart with the two Concertos for piano and orchestra no. 19 and no. 9. The CD opens with the Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 19 KV 459, completed in Vienna in 1784 and performed in 1790 by Mozart himself in Frankfurt on the occasion of the celebrations for the coronation of Leopold II (and for this reason called the second Coronation Concerto) and published posthumously in 1800. A piece that appears particularly lively, not only for the enriched instrumentation of the wind instruments, but also and above all for the brilliant indications of meter and tempo and for the incredible richness of the writing. The Concerto no. 19 KV 459 is followed in the tracklist by a largescale work, the Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 9 KV 271, also in three movements, composed in Salzburg between 1776 and 1777, a piece considered among the milestones of Mozart's vast repertoire. The recorded program thus allows us to rediscover with new sophistication two cornerstones of Salzburg's genius, entrusted to the interpretation of Alessandra Gentile and Christian Schmitt conducting the Perugia Chamber Orchestra, a group that debuted in 2013 and collaborates regularly with important masters, soloists and choral groups."

Sea's Widows: The project There are sometimes encounters that seem to arise by chance, almost on the sly and then turn out to be discoveries, strong and decisive energies, great beginnings liaisons destined to last and to generate something else and to mark our years. The encounters witnessed by this disc are marked by these certainly very special and rare artistic and human paths, where human harmony, professional rigor, passion and musical "carnality" unite my music with the extraordinary interpretative qualities of Maria Perrotta, Alda Caiello, and the Helios Ensemble. Maria and Alda are the driving forces of this work which was born in fact as an ItalianFrench collaboration. I began my first international affirmations in France at the 1991 Avignon Festival, invited by Luciano Berio to compose an opera: L'Histoire de Saint Julien l'Hospitalier. Maria created the driving force of her life and her career in Paris where she prepared recordings of international caliber for Decca. Alda, who has a long history of acquaintances and affirmations with France, a "historic" voice in Europe for the twentiethcentury and contemporary repertoire, sang in my opera Camera Obscura back in 2001 at the Venice Biennale and since then she has become "the voice" of my music. The project was born after a monographic concert held at the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris in june 2021, at the request of the performers themselves and of the beautiful Parisian welcome to this music. The disc includes eight pieces: six first recordings and an absolute premiere written for Maria. In fact I am composing the third volume dedicated to the piano: Sei studi sulla mente e sul corpo. The album also contains the first study La stupeur des gouttes qui rayent la vitre and the second Les sons dans la t�te dedicated to Maria.

A guided journey through a series of incantations Throughout human history the flute has been closely associated with mystical ritual and states of meditation and reflection. This is as true of Sufism, the Hindu deity Krishna as well as the Japanese shakuhachi - whose origins are shrouded in Buddhist mystery - and the many biblical references of the flute. Often it has been seen as symbolising either the breath or the heart of God. In addition to these profound spiritual associations of the flute, it has also been linked to celebrations of nature through countless folkloric tales from around the world. Every piece on this disc is in some way linked to ideas of mystical spaces and places - each an incantation. Our guide (il nostro Guido) on this disc is the flautist Roberto Fabbriciani - whose work I have held in the highest regard for many years. I am very proud indeed to be able to count him as a dear friend and collaborator. He provided me with my first international commission (this has already) passed/passing a performance of which you can hear on this disc. This is the first portrait disc of my work to be commercially released and I am delighted that this comes about as a fruit of my continued friendship with maestro Fabbriciani.