Alfredo Casella; Giorgio Federico Ghedini - Triple Concerto; Concerto dell'albatro (Damian Iorio)

Information

Composer: Alfredo Casella; Giorgio Federico Ghedini

1. Casella - Triple Concerto, Op. 56: I. Largo, ampio, solenne - Allegro molto vivace
2. Casella - Triple Concerto, Op. 56: II. Adagio. Adagio, ma non troppo. Alquanto solenne ed assai tranquillo
3. Casella - Triple Concerto, Op. 56: III. Rondò. Tempo di giga, allegro vivace, ma non troppo
4. Ghedini - Concerto dell'albatro: I. Largo -
5. Ghedini - Concerto dell'albatro: II. Andante un poco mosso -
6. Ghedini - Concerto dell'albatro: III. Andante sostenuto -
7. Ghedini - Concerto dell'albatro: IV. Allegro vivace - Poco a poco animando - Lentamente -
8. Ghedini - Concerto dell'albatro: V. Andante - Allegro con agitazione - Largo, in 6 movimenti - Pochissimo meno - Meno mosso

Emanuela Piemonti, piano
Paolo Ghidoni, violin
Pietro Bosna, cello
Carlo Doglioni Majer, speaker (4-8)

Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali
Damian Iorio, conductor

Date: 2013
Label: Naxos
https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573180

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Review

The music of Alfredo Casella and Giorgio Ghedini, modern and brilliant as it is, has been marginalized in part because both composers complied with the Fascist government—Casella willingly and eagerly, Ghedini passively. This disc combines major concertos by both of them. The former concerto grosso is almost Modernist in style, with the three soloists emerging from and returning to the ensemble, either individually or together; by contrast, the latter is a much more expansive and almost Impressionistic work, leaning on techniques pioneered by French composers, with its last movement including a spoken text (in Italian) from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick about the first time an albatross was spotted. Essentially, then, we have a contrast in influences, Casella’s Russian-Germanic style versus Ghedini’s more Francophile one.

This makes perfect sense in Casella’s case, as in 1930 he formed a piano trio, the Trio Italiano, with himself at the keyboard (violinist Alberto Poltronieri and cellist Arturo Bonucci were the other two members), and it was for his trio that he constructed this Concerto in 1933. David Gallagher’s liner notes claim a sameness in the construction and music of this Concerto and the Introduzione, aria e toccata, the Cello Concerto, and his purely instrumental Concerto of 1937, and he may indeed be right. I only have, or have heard, the first-named of these, and there is indeed a strong similarity to this Triple Concerto. Still, it is an excellent work; and, as Gallagher also points out, the composer thought the middle movement of this Concerto one of his finest pieces.

Ghedini’s music is almost uniformly original and inventive by comparison. The opening movement of his Concerto dell’albatro, marked Largo at a tempo of quarter note = 46, bears a striking resemblance to the music of Pïteris Vasks—but Vasks, born in the 1940s, only came to composition long after Ghedini’s death. Indeed, the only movement in this amazing work that struck me as somewhat artificially contrived was the fast movement (No. 4, Allegro vivace – Poco a poco animando – Lentamente ), a mere succession of rapid note patterns in an ambiguous jumble of tonality and an annoying, almost aggressive 6/8 rhythm. Carlo Doglioni Majer’s narration of Melville’s story is cool and detached.

Without having any prior knowledge of these works. I nonetheless enjoyed them both tremendously. The three soloists, though not strong personalities, are all fine musicians and the orchestra plays sublimely under Iorio’s baton. And here, wonder of wonders, Naxos’s sonics are excellent. This is, simply, a remarkably fine disc.

-- Lynn René Bayley, FANFARE

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Jan14/Casella_Ghedini_8573180.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/21/casella-triple-concerto-ghedini-albatro-review
https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.573180&languageid=EN

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Alfredo Casella (25 July 1883 in Turin – 5 March 1947 in Rome) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. He entered the Paris Conservatoiry in 1896 to study piano under Louis Diémer and composition under Gabriel Fauré. In this period, Casella developed a deep admiration for Debussy's output, but pursued a more romantic vein in his own writing. His work on Italian Baroque composers put him at the centre of the early 20th Century Neoclassical revival and also deeply influenced his own compositions. The resurrection of Vivaldi's works in the 20th century is mostly thanks to the efforts of Casella.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfredo_Casella

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Giorgio Federico Ghedini (11 July 1892 in Cuneo – 25 March 1965 in Nervi) was an Italian composer. He studied organ, piano and composition in Turin, then graduated in composition from the Bologna Conservatory under Marco Enrico Bossi in 1911. He worked as conductor for a certain time, then he gave up to devote himself to teaching. Among his pupils, the most eminent were Marcello and Claudio Abbado, Luciano Berio and Guido Cantelli. As a composer, He wrote a large number of chamber, vocal and choral works. He also wrote a one-act opera based on Melville's novella Billy Budd, which was first performed in 1949.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Federico_Ghedini

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The London-born, Italy-based conductor Damian Iorio was raised in a distinguished family of Italian and English musicians. After studies in the UK and USA, he started his musical career as a violinist and during this time studied conducting in St Petersburg. He has worked with an impressive list of orchestras and opera companies, including many Italian opera houses. His interest in the creation of new music has led him to conduct several premières, collaborating closely with composers such as Tan Dun and Michael Nyman. He is currently Music Director of the Milton Keynes City Orchestra (since 2014).
https://www.naxos.com/person/Damian_Iorio/157417.htm
http://www.damianiorio.com

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