The city of Modena, under the rule of the Este family, was the capital of the Dukedom of Modena e Reggio. Thanks to Duke Francesco ii's fondness for the violin, music became an essential element in the most important events at the Este court, such as receptions, weddings and official visits of foreign sovereigns. These were the occasions in which the Duke displayed all his magnificence. Modena stands out for the abundance of it's collection of musical documents in the Biblioteca Estense: the library is a real mine, largely unexplored so far. This consideration gave rise to the idea of making this beautiful, extraordinarily modern music available to those who are "pursuing" culture and art. So our goal is to promote a rediscovery of the enormous heritage preserved in the Biblioteca Estense, by carrying out a meticulous study of the sources of the works of the composers who were active at the Este Court in Modena, transcribing them into modern notation and critical editions, and producing monographic recordings of them. The first step consisted in the study and recording of the instrumental works of Giovanni Battista Vitali. In this third of 6 albums dedicated to his music preserved at the Estense Library of Modena, the baroque group Italico Splendore performs the Sonatas op. 5. The title of each of the sonatas is the surname of a well-known aristocratic family of the area of Modena: this was Vitali's explicit homage to the circles in which he was working. Each sonata is different in it's affect and style: the musical material is complex and diversified, almost as if it were actually personalized: this seems to suggest that there is a deliberate correspondence between the individual pieces and the people to whom they were dedicated.

The internationally acclaimed young composer Carlo Forlivesi moves in a geographical and temporal space led by electronic, orchestral, chamber music and ethnic instruments, digging the past of the ancient Latin hymns, Bach and Haydn, and exploring a traditional culture completely different and far from ours. Forlivesi was born in Faenza, Emilia-Romagna. He studied at Bologna Conservatory, Milan Conservatory and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia of Rome. He then joined IRCAM (Institute de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) and subsequently DIEM (Danish Institute of Electroacoustic Music), Tokyo College of Music, and Northwestern University, with fellowships from the governments of Italy, Denmark, Japan, and the United States (Fulbright Commission). His activity has mainly focused on new music in Europe, the United States, and Japan. Forlivesi has conducted extensive research in the field of traditional Japanese music and dance including the ethnic music of the Ainu. Beside contemporary music, he cultivates a particular interest in early music, which he studied and performed for several years.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

• Mauro Tortorelli and Angela Meluso perform select chamber works of the Piedmontese musician, violinist, composer teacher and Romantic-era adherent Rosario Scalero (1870-1954). After much traveling throughout Europe pursuing his musical education, he eventually came to America, holding teaching posts for a time at the Mannes School and the Curtis Institute. His many noteworthy pupils included among others Samuel Babrber, Ned Rorem and Lukas Foss."

An unmissable album for lovers of chamber music, "Divertimento Italiano" represents a lively and different dimension of the great theatrical, cultural and musical substratum of the Italian nineteenth-century: the private completion of what happened in the great theaters. The organic instrumental feel represented by a vintage piano and a harmonium delivers a variety of rare expressive possibilities and also brings to light those 'minor' composers who represent the most intimate alter ego of the great 19th century melodramatic productions. The performance is given by two fine specialists: Andrea Toschi at the harmonium and Carlo Mazzoli at the historical piano. Andrea Toschi was born in Bologna, where he attended the Conservatory "G.B. Martini" and earned his Diploma in Organ in 1982, having participated in many master classes with famous organists. The same year, he also graduated from the University of Bologna with a degree in Agrarian Sciences. Since 1983 he has been teaching Organ in Italian Conservatories; currently he is teaching at the "Giuseppe Nicolini" in Piacenza. He taught master classes in Italy and abroad, mainly with trumpet/organ duo modern repertoires. Carlo Mazzoli first studied mechanical engineering before devoting himself to music. He has been awarded in various national and international piano competitions, and performs concerts in esteemed musical institutions in Italy and abroad as a soloist, in chamber ensembles, and in piano duos. Dedicated to the study of the historical piano, he founded the "Fortepiano Ensemble di Bologna." He is principal piano chair at the GB Martini Conservatory of Bologna.

Luigi Cherubini is one of the most interesting artistic personalities in a historical period of great changes that straddled two centuries, the eighteenth and the nineteenth. His musical career met the best possible conditions in a city, Florence, that was extremely rich in culture and dotted with important events, ranging from the performance of Handel's Messiah in Italian and the staging of operas by Hasse, Gluck, Paisiello, Piccinni, Rutini and Traetta, to Mozart's performance in 1770. The Luigi Cherubini sonatas performed by Chiara Cattani in this recording can be defined as 'galant' without depleting their meaning as compared to the great compositions of the previous period. The eighteenth century is a very prolific century for the cembalistic literature, particularly for the Sonata form, affected by various influences and changes that will bring it to it's apogee in the period of the Classicism. The taste of the Italian society goes through a profound mutation: it is now more pleasing with melodic expansion, clarity, transparency and lightness, characteristics that permeate the art of this century at 360 degrees. Simplicity and proportion are the pillars of the structure and together favor the emanation of a sense of vividness and fervor that makes writing energetic and never obvious.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

The project of the musicologist Nicoletta Confalone and of the guitarist Federica Artuso is aimed at the discovery of Emilia Giuliani, illegitimate daughter of the famous Mauro Giuliani that, with his guitar and his compositions, conquered Vienna, the capital of 19th century music. Emilia lived her entire life in a continuous state of difficulty and discomfort, dying of typhus at the age of only thirty- seven. The adverse events of her life and her condition as a woman (considering that in her days it was almost impossible to express her talent as an artist) did not prevent her from reaping flattering successes from audiences and critics in the many European stages of her unfortunately short life: suffice for all the quotation of some Viennese critics who, after a concert she shared with Franz Liszt, exclaimed with admiration: "Every finger, one Liszt!". In addition to her amazing skills as an instrumentalist, she was also appreciated for her music that she managed to publish with the major publishers of the time: Giovanni Ricordi in Milan and Artaria in Vienna. This double album includes her complete work for guitar, for the first time on an historic instrument, a 1830 Ren� Lacote.