Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Greeting Cards / Cristiano Porqueddu
Brilliant Classics

Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Greeting Cards / Cristiano Porqueddu

$12.99
$16.99 Save 23%

In stock - typically processed within 24-48 hours

Spend $60 or more and shipping's on us!

Details

Composer
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Artist
Cristiano Porqueddu
Format
CD
Discs
2
Label
Brilliant Classics
Released
Nov 18, 2022
Catalog #
BRI96051
UPC
5028421960517

About

Between 1953 and 1967, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968) wrote 53 works for various instrumental ensembles that were collected together as Opus 170 and given the title Greeting Cards. Castelnuovo-Tedesco described them as ‘alphabetic pieces’: he derived their musical themes derived from ascending and descending chromatic scales, in which each note is combined with a letter of the alphabet. On this new album, Cristiano Porqueddu plays the 21 Greeting Cards composed for the guitar. They are small, unexpected homages that Castelnuovo-Tedesco liked to give his friends, to musicians who played his works, to his pupils and occasionally also to people who were not musicians. He later declared them to be minor works, but each of them is filled with affection, regardless of the professional status of the subject. In this imaginary gallery there are thus portrayals of legendary musicians such as Jascha Heifetz and Andrés Segovia alongside several of his students, including André Previn, Christopher Parkening and Eugene Robin Escovado. Castelnuovo-Tedesco made each Greeting Card a vivid portrait of the dedicatee, usually by combining rhythms and atmospheres that reflected nationality, as with the Tonadilla sul nome di Andrés Segovia or the Canción venezolana sul nome di Alirio Díaz. However, there are also more abstract references, such as the Rondel on the name of Siegfried Behrend (No.6) or evocations generated by the name itself: the Fantasia sul nome di Henry e Ronald Purcell (No.38), for instance, or the Volo d’Angeli sul nome di Angelo Gilardino (No.47). What they all have in common is a depth of feeling that transcends their superficial status as ‘occasional’ pieces.

REVIEW:

Among the 53 compositions comprising Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Greeting Cards Op. 170, 21 are for solo guitar. Each piece is based on the name of a friend or colleague. Letters from their names correspond to pitches that are folded into two specific thematic groups derived from chromatic scales.
Of course you don’t have to know all this in order to appreciate Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s exquisite workmanship, his attractive harmonic palette, and his idiomatic guitar writing. The music abounds with variety and character. I’ll give a few examples. Take Brasileira sul nome di Laurindo Almeida, for instance. Who knew that wide interval leaps would be compatible with a samba’s churning momentum? Or how serially-derived melodies could convey gentle yet mercurial lyricism, as in Ballatella on the name of Christopher Parkening. I especially love the yearning songfulness of Romanza sul nome di Oscar Ghiglia, where the imitative lines and general harmonic scheme sound like updated Schumann. Also note the subtle and haunting use of harmonics in A Lullaby for Eugene to Eugene Robin Escovado.
Guitarist Cristiano Porqueddu obviously has lavished much time, care, thought, and preparation upon these works. His nuanced articulation allows him to sustain and spin out legato lines as if his fingers had bows, while short detached passages are clearly delineated and never harsh. Indeed, it’s interesting how his suave and rounded interpretation of the opening Tonadilla dedicated to Andrés Segovia differs from that master’s better known yet blunter, more aggressive performance. Dare I say that I prefer Porqueddu’s?
The guitarist offers works by the late Angelo Gilardino as bonus tracks. The Capriccio is essentially a study in rapid motoric patterns, while the three-movement Sonata Mediterranea fares best in its expansive, tuneful first-movement Cipressi. Had the third-movement Pini sul Mare been reduced to half its duration the music would make its thorny, dissonance-tinged point more effectively. Brilliant Classics’ fine engineering and annotations deserve high marks too.
-- ClassicsToday.com (Jed Distler)

Tracklist 25 tracks

  1. 1 No. 5. Tonadilla on the name of Andres Segovia 06:05
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 5. Tonadilla on the name of Andres Segovia
    Duration
    06:05
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  2. 2 No. 6. Rondel on the Name of Siegfried Behrend 05:39
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 6. Rondel on the Name of Siegfried Behrend
    Duration
    05:39
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  3. 3 No. 7. Preludio in forma di habanera sul nome di Bruno Tonazzi 03:36
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 7. Preludio in forma di habanera sul nome di Bruno Tonazzi
    Duration
    03:36
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  4. 4 No.10. Tanka (Japanese Song) on the Name of Isao Takahashi 04:44
    Track
    4
    Title
    No.10. Tanka (Japanese Song) on the Name of Isao Takahashi
    Duration
    04:44
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  5. 5 No. 14. A Lullaby for Eugene to Eugene Robin Escovado 05:54
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 14. A Lullaby for Eugene to Eugene Robin Escovado
    Duration
    05:54
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  6. 6 No. 15. Song of the Azores on the Name of Enos 05:25
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 15. Song of the Azores on the Name of Enos
    Duration
    05:25
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  7. 7 No. 33. Canzone siciliana sul nome Gangi 04:21
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 33. Canzone siciliana sul nome Gangi
    Duration
    04:21
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  8. 8 No. 34. Ballatella on the Name of Christopher Parkening 03:09
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 34. Ballatella on the Name of Christopher Parkening
    Duration
    03:09
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  9. 9 No. 36. Sarabande on the Name of Rey de la Torre 03:31
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 36. Sarabande on the Name of Rey de la Torre
    Duration
    03:31
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  10. 10 No. 37. Romanza sul nome di Oscar Ghiglia 03:55
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 37. Romanza sul nome di Oscar Ghiglia
    Duration
    03:55
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  11. 11 No. 38. Homage to Purcell Fantasia on the Names of Robin and Henry Purcell 04:50
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 38. Homage to Purcell Fantasia on the Names of Robin and Henry Purcell
    Duration
    04:50
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  12. 12 No. 39. Cancion cubana on the Name of Hector Garcia 05:03
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 39. Cancion cubana on the Name of Hector Garcia
    Duration
    05:03
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  13. 13 No. 40. Cancion venezuelana sul nome di Alirio Diaz 05:39
    Track
    13
    Title
    No. 40. Cancion venezuelana sul nome di Alirio Diaz
    Duration
    05:39
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  14. 14 No. 41. Cancion argentina sul nome di Ernesto Bitetti 03:36
    Track
    14
    Title
    No. 41. Cancion argentina sul nome di Ernesto Bitetti
    Duration
    03:36
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  15. 15 No. 42. Estudio sul nome di Manuel Lopez Ramos 04:44
    Track
    15
    Title
    No. 42. Estudio sul nome di Manuel Lopez Ramos
    Duration
    04:44
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  16. 16 No. 43. Aria da chiesa sul nome di Ruggero Chiesa 05:54
    Track
    16
    Title
    No. 43. Aria da chiesa sul nome di Ruggero Chiesa
    Duration
    05:54
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  17. 17 No. 44. Brasileira sul nome di Laurindi Almeida 05:25
    Track
    17
    Title
    No. 44. Brasileira sul nome di Laurindi Almeida
    Duration
    05:25
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  18. 18 No. 46. Japanese Print on the Name of Jiro Matsuda 04:21
    Track
    18
    Title
    No. 46. Japanese Print on the Name of Jiro Matsuda
    Duration
    04:21
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  19. 19 No. 47. Volo d'angeli sul nome di Angelo Gilardino 03:09
    Track
    19
    Title
    No. 47. Volo d'angeli sul nome di Angelo Gilardino
    Duration
    03:09
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  20. 20 No. 48. Cancion Calabrese on the Same of Ernest Calabria 03:31
    Track
    20
    Title
    No. 48. Cancion Calabrese on the Same of Ernest Calabria
    Duration
    03:31
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  21. 21 No. 50. Tarantella Campana on the Name of Eugene Di Novi 03:55
    Track
    21
    Title
    No. 50. Tarantella Campana on the Name of Eugene Di Novi
    Duration
    03:55
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  22. 22 Studi di virtuosita e di trascendenza: No. 1. Capriccio sopra la lontananza 02:59
    Track
    22
    Title
    Studi di virtuosita e di trascendenza: No. 1. Capriccio sopra la lontananza
    Duration
    02:59
    Composer
    Angelo Gilardino
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  23. 23 I. Cipressi 06:33
    Track
    23
    Title
    I. Cipressi
    Duration
    06:33
    Composer
    Angelo Gilardino
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  24. 24 II. Ninna nanna 04:28
    Track
    24
    Title
    II. Ninna nanna
    Duration
    04:28
    Composer
    Angelo Gilardino
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu
  25. 25 III. Pini sul mare 05:59
    Track
    25
    Title
    III. Pini sul mare
    Duration
    05:59
    Composer
    Angelo Gilardino
    Performer
    Cristiano Porqueddu