Emanuele Delucchi - Busoni: Elegien, Sonatina Iv, Toccata - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

'Only top-flight virtuosos need apply. Emanuele Delucchi is one of them... in a class of his own' (Gramophone). This is Delucchi's fourth album dedicated to the pianistic art of Leopold Godowsky. It's theme is counterpoint, and the possibilities of polyphony at the piano, which Godowsky expanded beyond previously conceived limitations. The album opens with Godowsky's magnificent transcription of the Sonata for Solo Violin BWV1001 by Bach. Counterbalancing the Sonata, the album closes with the serene Andante from the Solo Sonata BWV1003.In 1929, Godowsky composed his own Prelude and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H as one of a series of pieces for the left hand a formidable demonstration of technical and compositional ingenuity. 'Imagine a real fugue in three voices,' he wrote to his friends, 'inversions, contractions, pedal points and all kind of devices on B-A-C-H for one hand!' Yet the Fugue itself is far from austere but rather upbeat in mood, no less a joyful celebration of the piano and it's possibilities than the rest of the works here.Godowsky based the first of his Symphonic Metamorphoses on themes of Johann Strauss on the Kunstlerleben waltz. This piece competes with his contrapuntal paraphrase on Weber's Invitation to the Dance (dedicated to Busoni, no less) as perhaps the most complex pieces ever written for the piano on dance themes.As on his previous Godowsky albums, all of them eliciting an enthusiastic critical reception, Delucchi has chosen to record these works on a piano from Godowsky's own time, lending both warm colours and a period flavour to his playing. He has chosen a Steinway piano from 1879 with a warm and poetic sound, well fitted to evoke the mood of fin-de-siecle Vienna, and to unfold the intricate polyphony of a piano genius. Delucchi also contributes his own, succinct and informed booklet essay on the history and context of these pieces.

Emanuele Delucchi (b. 1987) lives and works in Milan. He studied with Canzio Bucciarelli (Genoa), Riccardo Risaliti (Imola) and Davide Cabassi (Bozen), graduating in piano and composition. He gives solo recitals, with orchestra and in chamber music formation in Italy and abroad; he composes and lectures about the history of music. Emanuele Delucchi is one of the most remarkable pianists of his generation. He has the technique and style to master the most difficult pieces with easy, logic and elegance. He made a name with his recordings for Piano Classics of the insanely difficult Chopin Studies by Godowsky, played on a 1906 Steinway D, of which the Gramophone wrote InchIt's palette of warm colors remained intact but gained a more incisive attack, allowing Delucchi's voicing and extraordinary digital facility to be heard at it's best... '. InchDelucchi is in a class of his ownInch, Jed Distler of Classicstoday. Com wrote Inch9/9 every inch a viable contender to the referenceInch. He recently recorded the 24 Preludes and Fugues by Carl Czerny. This new recording presents Delucchi as a transcriber and composer. Of the Three transcriptions of Carlo Gesualdo he says InchGesualdo's music has always fascinated me, for it's modernity and originality in the panorama of late Renaissance music. The transcriptions are very faithful to the original, reducing the doubling to a minimum. The writing of the five voices, which is unmanageable on the keyboard, is achieved by keeping two parameters constant the pitch and the duration of the notes (which means that the overall effect is identical, although the physiognomy of the individual voices is different).

Dick Katz is a pianist of great taste and skill, an imaginative soloist, and a warm and sensitive accompanist. He writes intriguing tunes and small-band arrangements. He is capable of blending smoothly with a great many different musical personalities and can play creatively and intelligently in many different idioms. He worked with some of the greatest names in Jazz History including Carmen McRae, Ben Webster Kenny Dorham, Oscar Pettiford, J.J. Johnson and many others. On this rare outing, Katz is the arranger, showcasing his personal touch, on a few originals and a few tunes composed by others, and he is surrounded by a sensitively swinging group. The great Basie reedman Frank Wess, The Mingus alumnus Jimmy Knepper on trombone is here. Supporting Dick are the great drummer Al Harewood and bassist Marc Johnson.