Molino: Complete Guitar Sonatas Claudio Giuliani

• Francesco Molino (1768 - 1847): Sonata facile No. 1, Op. 1:
• 1 Molino: Sonata facile No. 1, Op. 1: I. Romanze. Andante 01:27
• 2 Molino: Sonata facile No. 1, Op. 1: II. Rondò. Allegretto 03:31
• Sonata facile No. 2, Op. 1:
• 3 Molino: Sonata facile No. 2, Op. 1: I. Largo 00:26
• 4 Molino: Sonata facile No. 2, Op. 1: II. Tema con variazioni. Andante 06:49
• 5 Molino: Sonata facile No. 2, Op. 1: III. Rondò. Allegretto 01:37
• Sonata facile No. 3, Op. 1:
• 6 Molino: Sonata facile No. 3, Op. 1: I. Allegro 03:55
• 7 Molino: Sonata facile No. 3, Op. 1: II. Rondò. Polacca 02:32
• Sonata No. 1, Op. 6:
• 8 Molino: Sonata No. 1, Op. 6: I. Allegro 04:14
• 9 Molino: Sonata No. 1, Op. 6: II. Andante 02:21
• 10 Molino: Sonata No. 1, Op. 6: III. Rondo. Cantabile non tanto Allegro 03:32
• Sonata No. 2, Op. 6:
• 11 Molino: Sonata No. 2, Op. 6: I. Allegro 06:13
• 12 Molino: Sonata No. 2, Op. 6: II. Rondò. Allegretto 03:20
• Sonata No. 3, Op. 6:
• 13 Molino: Sonata No. 3, Op. 6: I. Allegretto 06:34
• 14 Molino: Sonata No. 3, Op. 6: II. Tema con variazioni. Andante 06:13
• Sonata No. 1, Op. 15:
• 15 Molino: Sonata No. 1, Op. 15: I. Andante Sostenuto 01:16
• 16 Molino: Sonata No. 1, Op. 15: II. Tema con variazioni. Andante 07:40
• 17 Molino: Sonata No. 1, Op. 15: III. Rondò. Allegretto 05:28
• Sonata No. 2, Op. 15:
• 18 Molino: Sonata No. 2, Op. 15: I. Romance. Andante 02:53
• 19 Molino: Sonata No. 2, Op. 15: II. Rondò. Allegretto 04:31
• Sonata No. 3, Op. 15:
• 20 Molino: Sonata No. 3, Op. 15: I. Maestoso 01:15
• 21 Molino: Sonata No. 3, Op. 15: II. Andante con Variazioni 09:27
• 22 Molino: Sonata No. 3, Op. 15: III. Rondò. Allegretto 04:46
• Grande sonate très brillante, Op. 51:
• 23 Molino: Grande sonate très brillante, Op. 51: I. Introduction. Maestoso molto - Adagio non Troppo 04:31
• 24 Molino: Grande sonate très brillante, Op. 51: II. Rondò. Allegretto Vivace 07:25
• Total Runtime 01:41:56

Info for Molino: Complete Guitar Sonatas

Francesco Molino (1768–1847) was born into a family of violinists in Ivrea, near Turin. There, and for a time in Genoa as well, he made a career as a virtuoso violinist himself, until at the age of 50, he moved permanently to Paris.

Once in the French capital, Molino began a new phase of his musical career, which coincided with a significant increase in the number of works he published – almost all of which were dedicated to the guitar, both as a solo instrument and as part of chamber formations.

Molino made a significant impact on the Parisian musical world, as is demonstrated by the huge success of the first edition of his Nouvelle Méthode pour la Guitare, which had some 400 subscribers both in France and in other European countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy). Over the years Molino revised and added to the method, and various editions of it were published in a number of languages, with a Spanish version even reaching Mexico and Havana.

The works presented in this recording were all published as ‘sonatas’ by Molino, who explicitly stated that they were intended for performance by solo guitar. He uses three main structural types for these sonatas.

The first has a romance as a first movement, followed by a rondo (Sonatas Op.1 No.1, Op.15 No.2 and Op.51). The second begins with a short maestoso introduction that is characterised by initial chords and octaves in succession, evoking the orchestral colour of certain operatic overtures. This movement ends with an interrupted cadence and is followed by a theme with variations, before a final rondo (Sonatas Op.1 No.2, Op.15 No.1 and No.3). The third type begins with an allegro first movement in sonata form (in bipartite 18th-century style, featuring two distinct themes with a tonic-dominant relationship) that is followed immediately by a final rondo (Sonatas Op.1 No.3, Op.6 No.1 and No.2).

All the sonatas reflect Molino’s evident mastery of the art of composition as well as a certain freedom in his approach to musical form. These elements, combined with a refined use of harmony and a deep understanding of the instrument, give the composer a highly personal stylistic language and make Molino one of the most interesting figures in the guitar repertoire of the 19th century.

Claudio Giuliani, classical guitar

Claudio Giuliani
born in Rome, began his musical studies with Fabrizio Cardassi and Tancredi Magenta and graduated from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. He studied for several years with guitarist and composer Angelo Gilardino and graduated from the Accademia Superiore Internazionale di Musica “Lorenzo Perosi” in Biella. He has performed concerts in Italy and abroad as a soloist, in various chamber ensembles and with orchestra, giving first performances of contemporary compositions, some of which were dedicated to him. For Edizioni Bèrben he published his transcriptions of 82 Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti (in two volumes) and 30 Sonatas by Domenico Cimarosa, while for Edizioni Ut Orpheus he published a critical edition of the Sonatas op. 29 by Anton Diabelli. He has released albums with recordings of “Thirty Sonatas by Domenico Cimarosa” and “Three Sonatas op. 29 by Anton Diabelli” (with the Brilliant Classics label) and the complete recording of the 25 Etudes op. 38 by Napoléon Coste (for the Etcetera label).

In 2018 he received the “Domenico Cimarosa International Prize” for his work on the composer from Aversa. His latest album, “PRELUDES”, released by Da Vinci Classics, contains five cycles of preludes written by some of the greatest guitarists-composers of our time.

Booklet for Molino: Complete Guitar Sonatas