Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari is best remembered for his comic operas. But he was also a talented instrumental composer. And he used his melodic gifts quite effectively. This release features one of his instrumental “hits” and two more that should be. In the early 20th Century, Wolf-Ferrari was known for his comic operas, such as “Il segreto […]
Ars Produktion
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El Canto del Cisne Negro – Latin-American music that merits attention
In the liner notes, the artists write they’re presenting “a collection of largely unknown works for violoncello and piano from Latin America…[These composers] traveled to Europe, where they found themselves torn between their admiration for the culture and their nostalgia for… their own cultural roots. We share their experience, and their music resonated deeply with […]
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Un’Arpa Straordinaria – Fine selection of Baroque harp music
Up through the Renaissance, harps were relatively simple instruments, able to play diatonic scales. In response to more complex music of the early Baroque, an arpa doppia, or double harp was developed. These harps had a second course of strings (tuned differently than the first). This gave the player more notes, with the two courses […]
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Johann Simon Mayr piano concertos on par with Haydn’s
The German composer Johann Simon Mayr dominated the music scene in northern Italy in the early 1800s. He was the maestro di cappella at the Cathedral of Bergamo and wrote a prodigious amount of music: over 70 operas, 18 masses, and 57 symphonies. Today, he’s best known (if at all) as Gaetano Donizetti’s teacher. This […]
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Heinrich Anton Hoffmann String Quartets – Music in Transition
When Heinrich Anton Hoffmann died in 1842, a colleague wrote: “as a composer, he secured his permanent place among the ranks of major composers with the simplicity and deep feeling of his Lieder, and with his Duets for Violin and Violoncello, in which he combined sophistication and elegance.” That statement proved both true and false. […]
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Camilla de Falleiro Gives Bravura Performances of Vivaldi Cantatas
Vivaldi holds nothing back in this chamber cantatas for soprano and basso continuo. The works were meant to show off the abilities of the soloist. Soprano Camilla de Falleiro is more than up to the challenges. And there are many in these cantatas. The scores are full of wide leaps, sustained tones in the high […]