Genot Vigna-Taglianti - Opere Per Pianoforte - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The viola is surely not the most assertive instrument among the string family. It reaches neither the extreme height of the violin nor the rumbling depth and the strength of the cello and contrabass. It's role is more integrating than leading or polarizing; and in brilliance, maneuverability and sound projection the violin wins hands down. But if a composer wants to express his feelings with maximum intensity and depth, he chooses the viola remarkably often. The loss of a loved one, a repressive political system, persecution and war were more than once the motivation for the composing of music with the viola as the most important voice for expressing the underlying emotions. The dark, somewhat veiled sound of the instrument makes it particularly suited to such a role. The Polish-Russian Jewish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg fled during the Nazi invasion. Dick Kattenburg was picked up in 1944 during a razzia and he died, only 24 years old, in Auschwitz. Max Vredenburg, being a Jewish artist, fled from the Nazis in 1941 to Indonesia but was there interned in a camp. Shostakovich's Sonata for viola and piano was his last composition. Notwithstanding that the pressures of the Soviet regime on the composer did not lead to his banishment or even his liquidation, the last stages of Shostakovich's life were far from uncomplicated. In all of these works, we see the viola utilized as the outlet of their suffering. Album Tracks 1. Sonata for Viola and Piano Op. 28 2. Sonata for Viola and Piano 3. Lamento 4. Sonata for Viola and Piano Op. 147

Album Tracks 1. I. Amoroso 2. II. Andantino 3. I. Larghetto Compassionevolmente 4. II. Allegretto Scherzando 5. I. Lento E Con Grazia 6. II. Andantino Brillante 7. I. Quasi Andante Con Sentimento 8. II. Allegro 9. I. Con Anima E Trasporto 10. II. Andantino Con Brio 11. I. Quasi Larghetto E Con Enfasi 12. II. Andantino Motteggiando 13. I. Allegro 14. II. Adagio Con Espressione 15. III. Allegro Con Brio 16. I. Introduzione Largo - Andante Con Grazia 17. II. Andantino Scherzando - Variazione 1 - Minore - Variazione 2 18. I. Larghetto Sentimentalmente 19. II. Polonese, Andantino Brillante 20. I. Adagio, Non Tanto 21. II. Grazioso, Allegretto 22. I. Adagio Affettuoso 23. II. Andantino Corrente - Variazione 1 - Minore - Variazione 2 24. I. Adagio Con Amore 25. II. Polonese, Allegro Con Energia 26. I. Principio (Beginning) Allegretto 27. II. Preghiera (Prayer) Andante 28. III. Acconsentito (Acconsented) Allegretto 29. IV. Timidezza (Shyness) Allegro 30. V. Contentezza (Happiness) Andantino 31. VI. Lite (Argument) Allegro Assai 32. VII. Pace (Peace) Comodo 33. VIII. Segnale D'amore (Love Sign) Allegretto 34. IX. Notizia Della Partenza (News of Departure) Allegretto Moderato 35. X. Distacco (Separation) Allegro Molto

The recording, entrusted to award-winning pianist Massimiliano Génot (who previously spearheaded the rediscovery of composers Federico Bufaletti [tc 860290] and Giuseppe Unia [tc 812101]), focuses on the romantic piano sonata in nineteenth-century Italy. The theme is particularly interesting because 19th-century Italian piano compositions remain largely unknown today, partly due to the overwhelming preponderance of opera and theatre music of the time, which already overshadowed any other musical genre. Massimiliano Génot's passionate interpretation does justice to these important compositions, which deserve careful consideration within the European piano landscape of the time. The compositions of Giuseppe Unia, Carlo Rossaro, and Alessandro Longo represent a wide-ranging synthesis of Italian tradition and influences from beyond the Alps, in which solid compositional technique and typically Italian expressiveness blend in a manner that is both natural and masterful.