Pietro Antonio Locatelli's arrival on the musical scene of the first half of the eighteenth century was like a bolt from the blue. He wrote and performed things which had never been heard before on a violin; he was able to play in such acute regions "that a canary lost it's balance and fell off it's perch" according to an anecdote of the times. His contemporaries had nicknamed him "Earthquake", and he possessed great performing power and charisma. Reliable sources inform us that he used to wear a heavy, dark blue housecoat with a sword at his side for his performances, and that his concerts lasted three hours with no interval. His ability as a composer enabled him, moreover, to give a polished form to virtuosity, as yet uncommon; he gave it organisation and published it under the name of "Capricci" (is the first example of a sample range of bold dexterities for solo violin, and it was not until a hundred years later that Paganini produced his 24 Capricci, and still longer for Chopin's 24 Etudes and 24 Preludes). This is not all. Locatelli' 24 Capricci are also the cadences of 12 concertos for violin and strings, quite dissimilar, given that they were written over a long period of time; all together they take the name of "The Art of the Violin" (another title which appears for the first time in the history of music, but certainly not for the last.).The entire opera III is delivered within this triple album by the talent of Diego Conti, leading the Archi di Firenze ensemble and playing a precious violin of the Bolognese school.

The “Trasfigurazioni” project stems from the wish to offer a form that breaks away from tradition, is innovative and differs from the customary flute harp duo. It is a work of constant research and repertoire expansion that has been developed for several years, during which our duo commissioned and performed pieces by young Italian composers. An image of the scene of Italian contemporary music is thus presented in which the flute-harp duo is enriched by mixtures, above all by blending it with other timbres, such as percussion instruments, singers, speakers and electronic devices, and also by combining it with other arts, such as literature and painting. This blending through the use of new techniques and microforms united to pre-existing classical structures creates sounds that evoke completely unusual environments and situations, giving music a new connotation that at the same time preserves a classical identity of the past.

Classical Music

Born into the magnificent eighteenth century Neapolitan school, the writings of Giuseppe Giordani have been an object of musicological interest, due in part to its variety. This release features his work for soloist and choir with organ accompaniment. Led by Stefano Cucci, the “Goffredo Petrassi” choir utilizes magnificent soloists in these sacred works.

The Quartetto Mitja and the Orchestra Nazionale Artes - directed by Andrea Vitiallo - her perform the first and the last of the quartets by Malipiero and the Sinfonia "degli archi", three fundamental works to understand how the recovery of the tradition is crucial in the aesthetics of the Italian historical twentieth century.

Rocco Filippini and Andrea Bacchetti offer a compelling interpretation of rare works from the historical Italian Novecento by Guido Alberto Fano and Silvio Omizzolo. This chamber music gives listeners a perfect glimpse of a moment in history that still remains little known while revealing unsuspected musical gems.

The key to this album presented by Stark Quartet is the exploration of the XIXth and XXth century clarinet repertoire. Here the four musicians juggle between virtuosity and melodic inspirations performed in various different settings. The varied overview of composers presented here is both surprising, for the unexpected presence of an author like Joseph Gherardeschi known for his nineteenth-century style organ composition, and relevant for the importance of others like Ernesto Cavallini (called "the Paganini of clarinet"), yet, reaching contemporaries like Valentino Bucchi, with its important concert for solo clarinet, and Henghel Gualdi, pioneer of jazz clarinet in Italy.

Giulio Briccialdi (Terni, 2 March 1818 - Florence, 17 December 1881), prince of flutists, artist and musician, managed, seamlessly, to be an outstanding virtuoso of the flute, inspired by the virtuosity of Nicol� Paganini, and, at the same time, an outstanding first flute in an orchestra, a composer, a teacher, and an innovator in the construction of a "Briccialdi model" flute. It is almost incredible how in his artistic and professional life there was no break between an extremely high level of prestige and excellence, and a routine whose goal was to make a living. A dualism that aptly represents the new social figure of the bourgeois who uses his art, no matter how high it's level is, as a means for earning his livelihood. Two of the greatest interpreters, Roberto Fabbriciani and Massimiliano Damerini, here propose a selection of the works by the "prince of the flutists" on the second centenary of his birth.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Born in Rome in 1600 in a family of musical traditions, Giovanni Felice Sances owes his musical education first to the Roman environment, and then to the Venetian, strongly influenced by the genius of Monteverdi that in those days was dominating unchallenged. The turning point of Sances life however, occurred at thirty-six when he was hired at the Imperial Chapel of Vienna, first as singer, and then - known for his skills - as main composer and favorite of the emperor; he retained this position until his death, leaving the Imperial Chapel an impressive number of compositions. The Capricci Poetici, printed in Venice in 1649 and dedicated to the noble Nicolò Sagredo, Venetian ambassador to the imperial court and later Doge of Venice, it was just one of the many works that allowed Sances of highlighting his compositional talent through which came to build up over time, the peak of the Imperial Chapel. Irene Morelli and Beatrice Mercuri voices deliver with great property of style the texts of these arias and cantatas, where Sances abandons the modal language typical of the sixteenth century and goes towards a wise use of tonal innovations, highlighting the salient moments of the text and the alternation of the “affetti”.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music