Edoardo Pieri - Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Appunti, Op. 210 (Preludes and Studies for Guitar) (2024) [Hi-Res]

• Title: Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Appunti, Op. 210 (Preludes and Studies for Guitar)
  
• Year Of Release: 2024
  
• Label: Da Vinci Classics
  
• Genre: Classical Guitar
  
• Quality: flac lossless (tracks) / flac 24bits - 96.0kHz
  
• Total Time: 01:53:15
  
• Total Size: 431 mb / 1.99 gb
  
• WebSite: Album Preview
  

Tracklist

CD1
01. Quaderno primo: gli intervalli, Op. 210: Sulle corde a vuoto, Marinaresca
02. Quaderno primo: gli intervalli, Op. 210: Melodia senza accompagnamento, Preghiera
03. Quaderno primo: gli intervalli, Op. 210: Sulle seconde, Bolle di sapone
04. Quaderno primo: gli intervalli, Op. 210: Sulle terze, Canto di mietitori
05. Quaderno primo: gli intervalli, Op. 210: Sulle quarte, Campane a valle
06. Quaderno primo: gli intervalli, Op. 210: Sulle quinte, Il ballo dell’orso
07. Quaderno primo: gli intervalli, Op. 210: Sulle seste, Stornellatrice
08. Quaderno primo: gli intervalli, Op. 210: Sulle settime, Serenatella
09. Quaderno primo: gli intervalli, Op. 210: Sulle ottave, Marcia funebre per una marionetta
10. Quaderno primo: gli intervalli, Op. 210: Sulle none, La pioggia nel roseto
11. Quaderno primo: gli intervalli, Op. 210: Sulle decime, Ave Maria
12. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte I: Danze del 1600 e del 1700, Op. 210: Pavana
13. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte I: Danze del 1600 e del 1700, Op. 210: Gagliarda
14. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte I: Danze del 1600 e del 1700, Op. 210: Sarabanda
15. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte I: Danze del 1600 e del 1700, Op. 210: Rigaudon
16. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte I: Danze del 1600 e del 1700, Op. 210: Allemanda
17. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte I: Danze del 1600 e del 1700, Op. 210: Corrente
18. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte I: Danze del 1600 e del 1700, Op. 210: Minuetto
19. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte I: Danze del 1600 e del 1700, Op. 210: Gavotta
20. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte I: Danze del 1600 e del 1700, Op. 210: Siciliana
21. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte I: Danze del 1600 e del 1700, Op. 210: Giga

CD2
01. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte II: Danze del 1800, Op. 210: Polka
02. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte II: Danze del 1800, Op. 210: Mazurka
03. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte II: Danze del 1800, Op. 210: Polonaise
04. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte II: Danze del 1800, Op. 210: Valse Française
05. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte II: Danze del 1800, Op. 210: Wiener Walzer
06. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte II: Danze del 1800, Op. 210: Quadrille
07. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte III: Danze del 1900, Op. 210: Two Step
08. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte III: Danze del 1900, Op. 210: Blues
09. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte III: Danze del 1900, Op. 210: Fox Trot
10. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte III: Danze del 1900, Op. 210: Tango
11. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte III: Danze del 1900, Op. 210: Rumba
12. Quaderno secondo: i ritmi, Parte III: Danze del 1900, Op. 210: Samba
13. Quaderno terzo: le figurazioni, Op. 210: La macchina da cucire, Studio sulle 5 note
14. Quaderno terzo: le figurazioni, Op. 210: La filatrice, Studio sulle scale

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco is one of the most fascinating figures of Italian twentieth-century music, but, unfortunately, his works are not as frequently performed as they would deserve and his figure lacks the worldwide recognition it merits. Notwithstanding this, it is safe to affirm that Castelnuovo-Tedesco stands out as one of the leading composers of the twentieth century and one who was able to develop a highly original language in fervent dialogue with all the major trends of his era, but also without being overwhelmingly influenced by them.
His personality beautifully transmits the noble origins of his background: on the one hand, his Jewishness; on the other, his Florentine and Italian heritage. From the Jewish tradition, which he proudly affirmed and embraced, comes first of all his love for music, which characterizes many people of Jewish descent; but also his attachment to the Jewish religious traditions and history, which frequently find a place and an expression in his music. He deliberately gave voice to the ancient wisdom and spirituality of the Jewish people, expressing it in innovative, but at the same time respectful and loving ways. On the other hand, from his Florentine and Italian origins came a unique love for beauty, expressed also in its visual forms, and a capability to explore new languages with an innate refinedness, which tied ancient and new in an inextricable fashion.
Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s family was wealthy and cultured; his musical talent appeared immediately clear in the eyes of his parents, and he was encouraged to develop and cultivate it. The figure of reference in his musical education was that of Ildebrando Pizzetti, one of the main composers and musicians of his age, who was also an excellent pedagogue under whose guidance the young musician was able to find a voice of his own.
This voice was soon listened to and appreciated by other great Italian musicians, including Alfredo Casella, who was a tireless promoter of new music and new composers. Casella frequently supported and fostered Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and introduced him to the Gotha of contemporaneous music. Many of the greatest performers of the era were highly appreciative of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s works and willing to play or conduct them in Italy and abroad.
The musician’s career seemed to be launched and to be in stable ascent, but unfortunately dire times were to come for Castelnuovo-Tedesco. First came a serious illness of his son, Lorenzo; and soon afterwards the Italian Fascist regime adopted the anti-Semitic stance of its German ally, which, until then, had not been a trait of Italian Fascism. The Racial Laws factually prevented Jews from accessing State jobs, but also from enjoying many other opportunities and possibilities. Some of the most alert Italian Jews foresaw, in these unfair and unjust limitations, the first announce of the persecution which was to come. In the following years, instigated by Hitler, Mussolini would send thousands and thousands of Italian Jews to the German concentration camps and ultimately to death.
Castelnuovo-Tedesco was fortunate to imagine that the Racial Laws were not the worse which the Italian Fascist regime could do to Italian Jews and to have the courage of abandoning his life, his perspectives and his social milieu fleeing to the United States, under pretext of a concert tour. In comparison with the fate of other Jews – those who died, first and foremost, but also others who managed to flee but without having a safety net on which to rely – Castelnuovo-Tedesco was able to settle rather easily in the States. He was a highly appreciated musician and from his arrival he was supported and helped by musicians such as Toscanini, who was always willing to encourage and actively promote his fellow compatriots and particularly those who were persecuted by a regime he hated.
Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s friends found him a job, which guaranteed safety and economic security to the composer and to his family, who soon joined him in California. The musician was in fact to fulfil a three-year contract with MGM, for which he composed numerous film scores. It was far from being Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s ideal job, but it was a music-related work and one in which his creativity could still flourish. However, he sorely missed Italy and the possibility of composing freely according to his inspiration rather than upon the commands of the film industry.
For the remainder of his life, which was to be abruptly truncated by a sudden death, Castelnuovo-Tedesco felt his uprootedness sorely. He could not identify any more with Italy, which had betrayed him and his fellow Jews; but he could also not feel America as a new fatherland, in spite of what it had offered him. This piercing feeling, common to all exiles, would mark Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s personality and music in his last years.
When he died, Castelnuovo-Tedesco left some works unfinished, including Appunti, whose incompleteness is deeply regretted by guitarists. Castelnuovo-Tedesco was one among the not very numerous musicians who were not guitarists themselves but who wrote extensively for the guitar. As was the case with other musicians who shared this rather uncommon feature, the prompting for writing many guitar works came from Andrés Segovia. This genius guitarist was in fact behind the composition of countless masterpieces of the twentieth-century repertoire. A voracious performer, he aimed at bringing the guitar and its repertoire at the same level with that of other great Western instruments; he was not content with the established repertoire which satisfied many of his colleagues, and tirelessly promoted the composition of new works. His unfailing instinct led him to knock at the doors of some of the greatest musicians of the era (some of whom were not yet acknowledged as such) and to invite them to write for his instrument.
However, the guitar is a standalone among the Western musical instruments. Its technique is rather unique, and unless one is a practising guitarist it is very difficult to imagine what will work and what cannot work, in terms of both means and results. On the one hand, in fact, guitar hand positions and fingerings are difficult to understand and master for those who are not proficient in guitar playing themselves; on the other, solutions which could technically work on paper are found to be musically unsatisfactory when realized in practice, because, for instance, of disbalances in terms of volume or timbre.
Segovia, however, who mastered the secrets of guitar technique as probably few others in history (if any), was also very willing to support and sustain the composers he had involved in his project of enlargement of the guitar repertoire, although at times his willingness did not correspond to actual results. Castelnuovo-Tedesco was in fact rather saddened and disappointed by the long time it took Segovia to finger a major work dedicated to him. At first, in fact, when Segovia had asked him to write for the guitar, Castelnuovo-Tedesco had replied that he would have been delighted to do so, having admired Segovia for a long time, but that he entirely lacked expertise in that field; and Segovia had professed himself to be most keen to help, revealing him many secrets of guitar playing and performance. The two were to cooperate constantly for the works Castelnuovo-Tedesco was to write, but, as said above, at times Segovia tended to disappear (owing also to his many concert engagements), leaving the composer at loss.
It was crucial, in fact, for Castelnuovo-Tedesco (as for other great composers) to maintain a constant dialogue with guitarists, whereby the composer’s ideas could be discussed and find their appropriate and idiomatic translation for the guitar. This dialogue was fecundly weaved between Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Ruggero Chiesa, a musicologist and guitarist who taught guitar at the prestigious Conservatory of Milan. Chiesa had in mind a project similar to Segovia’s, in partnership with a Milanese publisher, Suvini Zerboni. Both the company and Chiesa wished to enlarge the guitar repertoire, particularly in the field of pedagogical works conceived with a high artistic profile. In 1967, Chiesa approached Castelnuovo-Tedesco requesting him a series of pieces for the musical and technical education of budding guitarists. The composer imagined a four-volume series of Preludes and Etudes; each volume would focus on a particular difficulty or genre or musical element or style. The first volume, drafted by Castelnuovo-Tedesco with his usual speed, was to be dedicated to intervals; the second to rhythms; the third to some particular figurations and the fourth – perhaps the most interesting of all, had it come to light – to dodecaphony and serial music. Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s death prevented him from accomplishing this impressive undertaking, and only the first two volumes were completed; furthermore, only the first was completely revised in dialogue with Chiesa, who once more advised the composer about how to best render his musical ideas on the chosen musical medium. Lacking this fundamental interaction, the remaining finished pieces are rather unsuited for the task initially appointed to them, i.e. to work as pedagogical pieces. Some of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s ideas, which are musically extremely fascinating, are either extremely difficult or almost impossible to render on the instrument, and only very accomplished performers can play them satisfactorily. At Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s death, Chiesa published what had been completed in the form it had been left in by the composer, regardless of its playability.
Edoardo Pieri, the protagonist of this Da Vinci Classics recording, had therefore the complex task of finding an appropriate way to perform these beautiful pieces, being faithful to the composer’s intentions but also translating them into a more guitaristic idiom; as happens with many other composers, in fact, it is evident that Castelnuovo-Tedesco conceived music in pianistic terms, and that his ideas are not always perfectly suited to the chosen medium. Still, since this music is definitely worth playing, such a work fully deserves to be done, in spite of its difficulty. It is imperative to give voice to this beautiful repertoire, which consists of “figurative”/descriptive pieces, of more abstract works and of imaginative renditions of ancient musical models, evoked by Castelnuovo-Tedesco in Book Two which explores rhythm through the lens of early or more recent dances. The closer the model is to Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s own times, the more ironic and lively his reproductions become; thus, the itinerary proposed in his works and in this recording is an especially rewarding one, which will lead the listener through a variety of styles and genres, demonstrating the fruitfulness of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s inspiration and his willingness to offer an exciting path of growth to young guitarists.

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [flac]

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [Hi-Res]

Year 2024 | Classical | FLAC / APE | HD & Vinyl

Facebook

Twitter