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Brilliant Classics

Fano: String Quartet & Piano Quintet

$14.99

Details

Composer
Guido Alberto Fano
Artist
Ensemble Mark Rothko, Massimiliano Ferrati, Andrea Ferrati
Format
CD
Label
Brilliant Classics
Released
Jul 24, 2026
Catalog #
BRI97757
UPC
5063758977579

About

A luscious pair of late-Romantic chamber works by a little-known pupil of Giuseppe Martucci, in new recordings by an Italian ensemble with a notable track record of success in reviving such rarities. Born in 1875, Guido Alberto Fano emulated the model of his teacher Martucci in pursuing a multi-faceted career as composer, conductor, pianist and teacher. At the age of 30 he became director of the conservatoire in Parma before transferring, in 1916, to the Sicilian city of Palermo. A year later he wrote this powerful and turbulent Piano Quintet, which sets out in a broad, contented and Brahmsian vein of expression before venturing into more troubled and chromatically contemporary harmonies, to which a finale brings resolution via a noble chorale theme. At the Quintet's climax, this theme soars over the texture on a solo trumpet, in a stroke of instrumental imagination which anticipates Honegger's Second Symphony by two decades - and indeed the 45-minute Quintet has the dimensions of a 'veiled symphony' in the manner of Brahms's early chamber works and sonatas. Wistful, major-minor Brahmsian motifs and harmonies still permeate the String Quartet which Fano composed in 1941 - another distinctively 'wartime' work - but whether through age or experience they are suffused with a late-style radiance which brings the style of the Quartet closer to Richard Strauss and Debussy. The Ensemble Mark Rothko is a flexible line-up of Italian musicians who specialising in reviving forgotten chamber works of the late 19th and early 20th century. Their discography includes albums dedicated to Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Karl Weigl, and this collection of Guido Alberto Fano marks their debut on Brilliant Classics.

Tracklist 9 tracks

  1. 1 I. Allegro molto moderato 12:35
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro molto moderato
    Duration
    12:35
    Composer
    Guido Alberto Fano
    Performer
    Andrea Ferrati, Massimiliano Ferrati
    Ensemble
    Mark Rothko Ensemble
  2. 2 II. Scherzo: Vivacissimo 10:15
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Scherzo: Vivacissimo
    Duration
    10:15
    Composer
    Guido Alberto Fano
    Performer
    Andrea Ferrati, Massimiliano Ferrati
    Ensemble
    Mark Rothko Ensemble
  3. 3 III. Adagio, con intimo e profondo sentimento 07:16
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Adagio, con intimo e profondo sentimento
    Duration
    07:16
    Composer
    Guido Alberto Fano
    Performer
    Andrea Ferrati, Massimiliano Ferrati
    Ensemble
    Mark Rothko Ensemble
  4. 4 IV. Finale: Allegro appassionato 08:55
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Finale: Allegro appassionato
    Duration
    08:55
    Composer
    Guido Alberto Fano
    Performer
    Andrea Ferrati, Massimiliano Ferrati
    Ensemble
    Mark Rothko Ensemble
  5. 5 I. Allegro moderato 07:21
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Allegro moderato
    Duration
    07:21
    Composer
    Guido Alberto Fano
    Ensemble
    Mark Rothko Ensemble
  6. 6 II. Presto, non troppo 04:33
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Presto, non troppo
    Duration
    04:33
    Composer
    Guido Alberto Fano
    Ensemble
    Mark Rothko Ensemble
  7. 7 III. Andante, con intimo e profondo sentimento 02:06
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Andante, con intimo e profondo sentimento
    Duration
    02:06
    Composer
    Guido Alberto Fano
    Ensemble
    Mark Rothko Ensemble
  8. 8 IV. Elevazione 06:52
    Track
    8
    Title
    IV. Elevazione
    Duration
    06:52
    Composer
    Guido Alberto Fano
    Ensemble
    Mark Rothko Ensemble
  9. 9 V. Allegro vivace 02:51
    Track
    9
    Title
    V. Allegro vivace
    Duration
    02:51
    Composer
    Guido Alberto Fano
    Ensemble
    Mark Rothko Ensemble