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Rolla: Viola Concertos, Symphony in D & Tantum ergo / Schiavo, Vitale, Braconi, Il Demetrio
Brilliant Classics

Rolla: Viola Concertos, Symphony in D & Tantum ergo / Schiavo, Vitale, Braconi, Il Demetrio

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Details

Composer
ROLLA, ALESSANDRO
Artist
Braconi, Vitale, Il Demetrio, Schiavo
Format
CD
Label
Brilliant Classics
Released
Feb 01, 2019
Catalog #
BRI95504
UPC
5028421955049

About

As both conductor at La Scala from 1802 to 1833, and a professor at the new conservatoire in Milan, Alessandro Rolla (1757-1841) was the heartbeat of Milanese music in the turbulent early decades of the 19th century. He was also an accomplished performer on both violin and viola, and his own compositional output reflects his instrumental mastery, filtered through his experience of leading the Italian premieres of quartets and symphonies by Beethoven as well as operas by Mozart: he was a complete musician of his time. The F major Viola Concerto opening this attractive new album belongs to Rolla’s apprentice years in service to the ducal court at Parma. With its uncompromising technical demands and unwavering focus on the solo instrument, the concerto represents a missing link between the idioms of Tartini and Paganini. The dawn of bel canto may be discerned in the slow movement of the album’s concluding D minor Viola Concerto, which concludes with a charmingly bucolic Rondo. Dating from Rolla’s Milanese years, the 1805 Tantum ergo also features a concertante role for the viola, in sinuous accompaniment to the vocal bass soloist: a highly original device perhaps prompted by Mozart’s famous Sinfonia Concertante. As a performer, Rolla reserved the most haunting melodies and moments for himself: After a vocal cadenza on the closing Amen it is the viola that sets the seal on the work with an intensely lyrical phrase and a brilliantly virtuosic stretta. The D major Sinfonia likewise belongs to the first decade of the 1800s – infused with Rossinian verve and bubbling with operatic drama in the quick outer movements. The Milanese violist Simonide Braconi plays Rolla’s music to the manner born, being the long-standing principal violist at La Scala. He is accompanied here by a chamber orchestra based in nearby Pavia and specialising in Classical-era works by neglected composers.

Tracklist 10 tracks

  1. 1 I. Allegro 10:53
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    10:53
    Composer
    Alessandro Rolla
    Performer
    Simonide Braconi
    Ensemble
    Il Demetrio
    Conductor
    Maurizio Schiavo
  2. 2 II. Largo sostenuto 04:51
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Largo sostenuto
    Duration
    04:51
    Composer
    Alessandro Rolla
    Performer
    Simonide Braconi
    Ensemble
    Il Demetrio
    Conductor
    Maurizio Schiavo
  3. 3 III. Rondò: Allegro 05:05
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Rondò: Allegro
    Duration
    05:05
    Composer
    Alessandro Rolla
    Performer
    Simonide Braconi
    Ensemble
    Il Demetrio
    Conductor
    Maurizio Schiavo
  4. 4 Tantum Ergo, BI 568 08:32
    Track
    4
    Title
    Tantum Ergo, BI 568
    Duration
    08:32
    Composer
    Alessandro Rolla
    Performer
    Salvo Vitale, Simonide Braconi
    Ensemble
    Il Demetrio
    Conductor
    Maurizio Schiavo
  5. 5 I. Allegro 04:38
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    04:38
    Composer
    Alessandro Rolla
    Ensemble
    Il Demetrio
    Conductor
    Maurizio Schiavo
  6. 6 II. Andante grazioso 02:43
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Andante grazioso
    Duration
    02:43
    Composer
    Alessandro Rolla
    Ensemble
    Il Demetrio
    Conductor
    Maurizio Schiavo
  7. 7 III. Presto 02:55
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Presto
    Duration
    02:55
    Composer
    Alessandro Rolla
    Ensemble
    Il Demetrio
    Conductor
    Maurizio Schiavo
  8. 8 I. Allegro 11:35
    Track
    8
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    11:35
    Composer
    Alessandro Rolla
    Performer
    Simonide Braconi
    Ensemble
    Il Demetrio
    Conductor
    Maurizio Schiavo
  9. 9 II. Adagio 06:08
    Track
    9
    Title
    II. Adagio
    Duration
    06:08
    Composer
    Alessandro Rolla
    Performer
    Simonide Braconi
    Ensemble
    Il Demetrio
    Conductor
    Maurizio Schiavo
  10. 10 III. Rondo 05:18
    Track
    10
    Title
    III. Rondo
    Duration
    05:18
    Composer
    Alessandro Rolla
    Performer
    Simonide Braconi
    Ensemble
    Il Demetrio
    Conductor
    Maurizio Schiavo