Concerto Italiano / Rinaldo Alessandrini MONTEVERDI Il Terzo Libro de' Madrigali

 

IL TERZO LIBRO DE' MADRIGALI

 

Julien Martineau / Concerto Italiano / Rinaldo Alessandrini COME UNA VOLTA

A luminous, easily recognizable instrument, and a symbol of Italy's learned and popular musical tradition, the mandolin has been the subject of several major compositions throughout the history of music. First of all, the famous concertos by Vivaldi: two of them appear here on this intensely romantic album (‘Come une volta’) that Julien Martineau - one of today’s greatest figureheads of the instrument - has recorded for Naïve. We also finally get to hear, thanks to the world premiere recording by Julien Martineau, the legendary, virtuosic and poetic second concerto (of which the manuscript was lost) by Raffaele Calace (1863-1934), who was often described as "the Paganini of the mandolin". The instrument is in fact so close, in many ways, to the violin. The Caudioso concerto completes an album which, steeped in authenticity and musical excellence, honors and lends prestige not only to the art of mandolin, but also to Italian and musical culture as a whole.

Concerto Italiano / Rinaldo Alessandrini UN VIAGGIO A ROMA

"The programme on this CD provides a snapshot of music over a few decades. An incomplete one, in that it focuses firstly on the contribution of Stradella, who lived in Rome between 1652 and 1678, with his S. Giovanni Battista, performed in the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini in 1675; then the visit of Georg Muffat, a Frenchman interested in Italian style, a pupil of Pasquini between 1681 and 1682, and a great admirer of Corelli; the young Handel, who was the object of admiration in the papal city between 1707 and 1709; Alessandro Scarlatti, prolifc, tireless composer and musical traveller, and lastly Corelli, the classic symbol of the splendour of Roman musical culture, who spent the whole of his life from 1675 ‘in urbe’." (Rinaldo Alessandrini)

Laura Pontecorvo / Rinaldo Alessandrini BACH Sonate a Cembalo Obligato e Traversiere Solo

The year 1736 was very important in the life of Bach: he was conferred the title of Royal-Polish and Electoral-Saxon Court Composer. In that same year he composed the only two autographed sonatas for flute and obbligato harpsichord. Both sonatas came to us as a step of an elaborative process which could also have consisted of a diverse instrumentation. Such a practice was of inspiration in choosing two sonatas, originally conceived for other instruments, to be inserted in a project dedicated to the equal dialogue between flute and harpsichord. We have no certainties regarding the dedicatee for the autograph sonatas. The relationship with Dresden maintained by Bach in those years, leads us to theorize that it might have been the flute virtuoso Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin, a close friend of the Bach family. The choice of the instrument for this recording is due to the eventful rediscovery in 2015 of the only known flute trademarked BUFFARDIN LES FILS. A copy of it can be heard here for the first time. This particular instrument throws new light on the works that Alessandrini and Pontecorvo have selected to record after many concerts and recording projects with Concerto Italiano.

Olivier Cavé / Divertissement / Rinaldo Alessandrini MOZART Piano Concertos K. 415, 175, 503

Having studied under Nelson Goerner, Maria Tipo and Aldo Ciccolini, Olivier Cavé gave his first concert with the Camerata Lysy under the direction of Yehudi Menuhin in September of 1991. He performed as a soloist in recitals and with orchestra throughout Europe.

His career took a turn in September 2008 upon the release of a first recording for Aeon, which features sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti. Critics across Europe praised the Swiss pianist with Neapolitan roots for having returned to the source. Dedicated to Muzio Clementi, Cavé’s second recording is even more striking than his first. Released in the autumn of 2010, the CD was given a 5 Diapason rating, 4 Stars from Classica and the highest award from the Japanese magazine Geijutsu Records. This success also led to invitations to perform at prestigious locations throughout the world, such as the Teatro Olimpico in Rome, the Tonhalle in Zurich, and the Phillips Collection in Washington.

His tour along the American eastern seaboard, during which he presented a program entitled “Il Pianoforte Italiano” and gave master classes at Duke and West Virginia Universities, was a success and preceded his debut with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in February 2012 under the direction of Rinaldo Alessandrini, where the pianist was praised as a “model of refinement behind the keyboard”. The performances drew wide attention from both public and press.

In August 2012, Olivier Cavé made a remarkable debut at La Roque d’Anthéron International Piano Festival in France. He released his third disc with Aeon in May 2013, dedicated the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and entitled, ‘Concerti, Capriccio e Aria - Nel gusto italiano,’ a program which the pianist interpreted this year at Venice’s Teatro La Fenice. Cavé made a second appearance at La Roque d’Anthéron International Piano Festival this summer where he was hailed as “a revelation of the 33rd edition”, after which he debuted with the Menuhin Festival Gstaad in August.