Poulenc, Walton, Dallapiccola, Schnittke, Silvestrov Duo Gazzana

• 1 I. Pastorale 03:42
• 2 II. Ballett 02:21
• 3 III. Menuett 02:46
• 4 IV. Fuge 02:31
• 5 V. Pantomime 02:59
• 6 I. Allegro con fuoco 06:42
• 7 II. Intermezzo 06:22
• 8 III. Presto tragico 05:55
• 9 Hommage à J.S.B. 05:16
• 10 Toccata for Violin and Pianoforte 14:06
• 11 I. Pastorale - II. Tempo di Bourrée - III. Presto, leggerissimo - IV. Variazioni 11:04
• Total Runtime 01:03:44

Info for Poulenc, Walton, Dallapiccola, Schnittke, Silvestrov

The second ECM New Series album by Italian sisters Natascia and Raffaella Gazzana draws together a fascinating programme with a strong narrative line. In this album of works by composers from France, Britain, Italy, Russia and Ukraine, older music is viewed through the prism of the new, and affinities are explored – through the ages, across geographical borders and idiomatic divisions.

Alfred Schnittke’s “Suite In The Old Style” reflects, temperamentally, upon Bach and Scarlatti, while echoes of Bach’s sonatas resonate in Valentin Silvestrov’s 2009 composition “Hommage à J.S.B.” Luigi Dallapiccola’s “Tartiniana seconda” addresses the music of baroque composer Giuseppe Tartini with canonic mastery.

Francis Poulenc’s powerful “Sonate pour violon et piano”, written in occupied France in 1942-3 is dedicated to the memory of murdered poet Federico Garcia Lorca. And William Walton’s rarely-heard Toccata, written when the composer was just 20, bursts with ideas, acknowledging the virtuosic demands of the Toccata form, inviting improvisational responses from both violin and piano in the cadenzas, and drawing rhythmic impetus also from jazz (Walton was an early Ellington enthusiast). Duo Gazzana address the many challenges of the material with resourcefulness and imagination in this album recorded in June 2013 in Lugano.

Natascia Gazzana, violin
Raffaella Gazzana, piano

Recorded June 2013, Auditorio Radiotelevisione svizzera, Lugano
Engineered by Markus Heiland
Produced by Manfred Eicher

Duo Gazzana
besteht aus den Schwestern Natascia Gazzana (Violine) und Raffaella Gazzana (Klavier). Beide haben ihre musikalische Ausbildung bei so bedeutenden Musikern wie Bruno Canino, Trio di Milano, Yehudi Menuhin, Carlo Romano, Uto Ughi, Piero Farulli, Pierre Amoyal, Pavel Gililov, Igor Ozim, Ruggiero Ricci usw. in Rom, Genf, Brüssel, Siena, Lausanne, Fiesole und Salzburg absolviert. Ihre natürliche musikalische Begabung wurde durch diese Studien gefördert, ihre Technik verfeinert und ihre Ausdruckskraft gesteigert.

Neben ihrer musikalischen Ausbildung haben beide Schwestern an der römischen Universität „La Sapienza“ studiert. Das Duo wurde mit zahllosen Preisen, Anerkennungen, Ehrendiplomen in Italien und im Ausland ausgezeichnet und gibt Konzerte in den bedeutendsten Konzertsälen in aller Welt: Mailand, Tokio, Rom, Hong Kong, Paris, Singapur, Oslo, Zürich, Stockholm, Kapstadt, Hanoi usw.

Booklet for Poulenc, Walton, Dallapiccola, Schnittke, Silvestrov