Maderna & Berio: Now, And Then Orchestra Della Svizzera Italiana & Dennis Russell Davies

• Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643): Tre Pezzi:
• 1 1. Recercar super LA-FA-SOL-LA-RE (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 04:33
• 2 2a. Christe (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 00:53
• 3 2b. Kyrie (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 00:44
• 4 3. Bergamasca (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 04:43
• Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690):
• 5 La Basadonna (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 03:21
• Luciano Berio (1925-2003):
• 6 Chemins V 20:42
• Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612):
• 7 Canzone a tre cori (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 05:20
• Tommaso Lodovico da Viadana (ca.1560-1627):
• 8 La Napolitana (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 02:18
• 9 La Venexiana (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 03:11
• 10 La Veronese (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 02:43
• 11 La Romana (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 01:52
• 12 La Mantovana (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 01:31
• Unico Wilhelm Graf Van Wassenaer (1692-1766): Palestrina-Konzert:
• 13 1. Grave assai sostenuto (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 03:39
• 14 2. Andante (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 03:35
• 15 3. Vivace (Transcription By Bruno Maderna) 03:26
• Total Runtime 01:02:31

Info for Maderna & Berio: Now, And Then

Now, and then is a fascinating album which challenges definitions of old and new music. Bruno Maderna’s charming and evocative transcriptions and re-orchestrations of pieces by Frescobaldi, Legrenzi, Gabrieli, Viadana and Wassanaer are brought together with Luciano Berio’s Chemins V (heard here in a premiere recording). As the composer himself noted, Chemins V can also be considered a “transcription”: it is a resetting, made in 1992 of Sequenza XI (1987/88), Berio’s masterful work for solo guitar, now enveloped by luminous writing for chamber orchestra.

Argentinean guitarist Pablo Márquez brilliantly addresses the dialogic qualities of the solo part, conceived by Berio as an idiomatic exchange between the heritage of classical guitar and flamenco tradition, unfolding within the composer’s own expressive language. (Marquez has worked with this musical material for many years, and played the Sequenza for Berio in Florence.) Dennis Russell Davies conducts the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana with great flair and specialist knowledge of Berio’s oeuvre. Davies first worked with Berio while still a student, and co-founded the Juilliard Ensemble with him in 1967, when Berio was faculty composer at the Juilliard School. Through Berio, Davies came to know Bruno Maderna, and worked with him, too.

Berio (1925-2003) and Maderna (1920-73) were close associates. Pioneers in the new field of electronic music in the 1950s, they co-directed the electronic studio at the Italian state radio. Both were considered key figures of the Darmstadt School in the late 1950s, taking new music forward by means of serialism. Yet both also shared a sense of musical possibility too broad to be limited by any “school.” When Maderna died in 1973, Berio wrote: “There is an expression ‘the joy of making music’ which is essential to a better understanding of the space left empty by Bruno – an expression that sounds rather hypocritical today, having been misused by people who conceive music only as a disciplinary exercise.” Maderna loved to emphasize, through the full range of his activities, his conviction that “music is an expression of emotions.” This sentiment is forcefully conveyed in his arrangements of 17th century and 18th century music here. As Paul Griffiths notes in the CD booklet, Maderna is not concerned with the cult of “historically informed performance”. His transcriptions, instead, “observe scores from the past with the means of the present, in the belief that works of art can be removed from their contexts to discover a new meaning and a new validity.”

Some interconnections: Bruno Maderna’s Quartetto per archi in due tempi, a work dedicated to Luciano Berio, was recorded for ECM New Series by the Cikada String Quartet on their album Saariaho/Cage/Maderna, issued in 2005. ECM has also released several recordings of Berio, foremost among them Voci, with Kim Kashkashian, which explored Berio’s relationship to Sicilian folk music, with Dennis Russell Davies conducting the Radio Symphonieorchester Wien in the title composition.

Davies has been associated with ECM since the 1970s and his many recordings for the label range from performances of Mozart and Samuel Barber with Keith Jarrett to Arvo Pärt’s history-making Tabula Rasa album, as well as music of Stravinsky, Cage, Kancheli, Schnittke, and Silvestrov. Apropos Valentin Silvestrov: as his 80th birthday is celebrated (refer also to the recently issued album Hieroglyphen der Nacht) it’s worth recalling that Bruno Maderna was among the very first musicians outside the Soviet Union to support the work of the Ukrainian composer, conducting his Eschatophoniya in Darmstadt in September 1968.

Pablo Márquez’s ECM discography includes both music of the renaissance by Luys de Narváez and 20th century music of the uncategorizable composer-guitarist-pianist-poet Gustavo “Cuchi” Leguizamón.

The Orchestra della Svizzera italiana can be heard playing music of Anouar Brahem on the album Souvenance.

Now, and then, recorded in Lugano in August 2015, is a co-production of ECM and RSI Rete Due. The album’s programme had its genesis in discussions between recording producer Manfred Eicher and RSI’s Christian Gilardi.

Pablo Marquez, guitar
Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana
Dennis Russell Davies, conductor

Pablo Márquez
Argentinean guitarist Pablo Márquez is considered today as one of the most accomplished and versatile virtuosi of his instrument. An outstanding interpreter of contemporary music, who collaborates regularly with groups such as the Ensemble Intercontemporain, he is equally at home in the Argentine traditional music, as well as with the classical repertoire from the Renaissance to the present days.

Pablo Márquez was born in the northwest of Argentina and studied guitar with Jorge Martinez Zaráte and Eduardo Fernández before training in Early Music with Javier Hinojosa and conducting with Eric Sobzyck in Europe. After early successes in the most important music competitions (Radio France, Villa-Lobos in Brazil, Geneva and Munich), Márquez embarked on a free-lance career that led to encounters with several remarkable musicians. Important influences on his subsequent artistic formation were the teachings of Hungarian pianist György Sebök and the contact with Dino Saluzzi whom Márquez approached to rediscover his own roots in Argentine music. Among Márquez’ musical partners are bandoneonist Dino Saluzzi and his family group, cellists Anne Gastinel and Anja Lechner, flutist Mario Caroli, the Rosamunde Quartett, as well as the Ensemble AlmaViva, founded by Márquez himself, which champions the Latin-american chamber music repertoire. His continuous commitment to contemporary music has led to several first performances and to close collaborations with composers such as Luciano Berio, György Kurtág and Mauricio Kagel.

He plays in the most important musical centers and festivals (Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Toranomon Hall in Tokyo, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Herkulessaal in Munich, Festival Ultraschall in Berlin, Aix-en-Provence Festival, International Festival in Macao, Quincena Musical de San Sebastián…) in recital as well as a soloist with the Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphonic Orchestra, the Nordwest Deutsche Philharmonie, Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Plural Ensemble, among others, under the baton of Josep Pons, Susanna Mälkki, Mark Foster, Fabián Panisello and others.

His recordings for ECM New Series, Kairos and Naïve has been awarded with the Grand Prix du Disque Charles Cros, the Amadeus Prize, the RTL Classique d’Or, and were nominated as best Early Music recording of 2007 by the Neue Musik Zeitung (Narváez), and Best Classical Recording of the Year by Readings in Australia (Narváez).

The Orchestra della Svizzera italiana (OSI)
works with the great names of orchestral conducting and with internationally acclaimed soloists, performing at major venues both in Switzerland and abroad. Funded principally by the Canton of Ticino, Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI), the City of Lugano and the Associazione degli Amici dell’OSI, the OSI is one of thirteen professional orchestras currently active in Switzerland. It also enjoys the financial support of its International Partner, Helsinn. Consisting of forty-one permanent musicians, it performs the concert seasons of the RSI - Rete Due in Lugano, and regularly takes part in the Lugano Festival, the Settimane Musicali in Ascona and the Martha Argerich Project. Its strong ties with the region are maintained through an extensive series of concerts aimed at local communities, including summer concerts, family concerts, school concerts and joint projects with the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana.

Since 2010 the OSI has performed at the Parco della Musica in Rome under Lorin Maazel, at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan with Salvatore Accardo, on tour throughout Switzerland with Vadim Repin, in the main theatres of Brazil under John Neschling and in South Korea with Vladimir Ashkenazy. It celebrated the Verdi bicentenary by giving carte blanche to one of the major exponents of the great operatic tradition, Nello Santi, with whom it gave three concerts. In 2012–15 it was also invited to play at the Théâtre Équilibre in Fribourg, the Tonhalle in Zürich, the Stadtcasino Musiksaal in Basel, the Zermatt Festival, the Schubertiade of Espace 2 in Monthey and the Kultur-Casino in Bern; in Italy at the Sala Verdi of the Conservatorio di Milano and Milan’s Auditorium, the Teatro Fraschini in Pavia, the Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona, the Teatro Municipale in Piacenza, and the Teatro Sociale in Como; and in Germany at the Franziskaner Konzerthaus in Villingen-Schwenningen.

The OSI has made numerous studio recordings both for radio and for important record labels such as Chandos, Hyperion, EMI and Deutsche Gramophon. Its recordings for Deutsche Gramophon include the much-prized four-CD boxed set issued in 2012 to mark the first ten years of the orchestra’s concerts for the Martha Argerich project. Its awards include the recent Diapason d’Or (January 2015) for its CD of the symphonies of Gounod on the CPO label.

Dennis Russell Davies
is currently Chief Conductor of the Bruckner Orchestra and Opera Linz as well as the Basel Symphony Orchestra.

In 2016 he will have held principal positions with orchestras, opera houses and festivals for a continuous 46 years that have also included the Beethovenhalle Orchestra, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, State Opera Stuttgart, Bonn Opera, American Composers’ Orchestra, St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, Cabrillo Music Festival, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.

An avid sports fan, especially baseball, and father of six children, he lives in Linz, Austria, and in New York with his wife, pianist Maki Namekawa.

Also a pianist and chamber musician, his activities show an extensive repertoire from the Baroque to today’s new music that he uses in fearlessly structured programming to successfully challenge and inspire audiences on both sides of the Atlantic alongside his close working relationships with composers who include Luciano Berio, William Bolcom, John Cage, Manfred Trojahn, Philip Glass, Heinz Winbeck, Laurie Anderson, Philippe Manoury, Aaron Copland, Hans Werner Henze, Michael Nyman and Kurt Schwertsik.




Pablo Márquez
Argentinean guitarist Pablo Márquez is considered today as one of the most accomplished and versatile virtuosi of his instrument. An outstanding interpreter of contemporary music, who collaborates regularly with groups such as the Ensemble Intercontemporain, he is equally at home in the Argentine traditional music, as well as with the classical repertoire from the Renaissance to the present days.

Pablo Márquez was born in the northwest of Argentina and studied guitar with Jorge Martinez Zaráte and Eduardo Fernández before training in Early Music with Javier Hinojosa and conducting with Eric Sobzyck in Europe. After early successes in the most important music competitions (Radio France, Villa-Lobos in Brazil, Geneva and Munich), Márquez embarked on a free-lance career that led to encounters with several remarkable musicians. Important influences on his subsequent artistic formation were the teachings of Hungarian pianist György Sebök and the contact with Dino Saluzzi whom Márquez approached to rediscover his own roots in Argentine music. Among Márquez’ musical partners are bandoneonist Dino Saluzzi and his family group, cellists Anne Gastinel and Anja Lechner, flutist Mario Caroli, the Rosamunde Quartett, as well as the Ensemble AlmaViva, founded by Márquez himself, which champions the Latin-american chamber music repertoire. His continuous commitment to contemporary music has led to several first performances and to close collaborations with composers such as Luciano Berio, György Kurtág and Mauricio Kagel.

He plays in the most important musical centers and festivals (Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Toranomon Hall in Tokyo, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Herkulessaal in Munich, Festival Ultraschall in Berlin, Aix-en-Provence Festival, International Festival in Macao, Quincena Musical de San Sebastián…) in recital as well as a soloist with the Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphonic Orchestra, the Nordwest Deutsche Philharmonie, Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Plural Ensemble, among others, under the baton of Josep Pons, Susanna Mälkki, Mark Foster, Fabián Panisello and others.

His recordings for ECM New Series, Kairos and Naïve has been awarded with the Grand Prix du Disque Charles Cros, the Amadeus Prize, the RTL Classique d’Or, and were nominated as best Early Music recording of 2007 by the Neue Musik Zeitung (Narváez), and Best Classical Recording of the Year by Readings in Australia (Narváez).

The Orchestra della Svizzera italiana (OSI)
works with the great names of orchestral conducting and with internationally acclaimed soloists, performing at major venues both in Switzerland and abroad. Funded principally by the Canton of Ticino, Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI), the City of Lugano and the Associazione degli Amici dell’OSI, the OSI is one of thirteen professional orchestras currently active in Switzerland. It also enjoys the financial support of its International Partner, Helsinn. Consisting of forty-one permanent musicians, it performs the concert seasons of the RSI - Rete Due in Lugano, and regularly takes part in the Lugano Festival, the Settimane Musicali in Ascona and the Martha Argerich Project. Its strong ties with the region are maintained through an extensive series of concerts aimed at local communities, including summer concerts, family concerts, school concerts and joint projects with the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana.

Since 2010 the OSI has performed at the Parco della Musica in Rome under Lorin Maazel, at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan with Salvatore Accardo, on tour throughout Switzerland with Vadim Repin, in the main theatres of Brazil under John Neschling and in South Korea with Vladimir Ashkenazy. It celebrated the Verdi bicentenary by giving carte blanche to one of the major exponents of the great operatic tradition, Nello Santi, with whom it gave three concerts. In 2012–15 it was also invited to play at the Théâtre Équilibre in Fribourg, the Tonhalle in Zürich, the Stadtcasino Musiksaal in Basel, the Zermatt Festival, the Schubertiade of Espace 2 in Monthey and the Kultur-Casino in Bern; in Italy at the Sala Verdi of the Conservatorio di Milano and Milan’s Auditorium, the Teatro Fraschini in Pavia, the Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona, the Teatro Municipale in Piacenza, and the Teatro Sociale in Como; and in Germany at the Franziskaner Konzerthaus in Villingen-Schwenningen.

The OSI has made numerous studio recordings both for radio and for important record labels such as Chandos, Hyperion, EMI and Deutsche Gramophon. Its recordings for Deutsche Gramophon include the much-prized four-CD boxed set issued in 2012 to mark the first ten years of the orchestra’s concerts for the Martha Argerich project. Its awards include the recent Diapason d’Or (January 2015) for its CD of the symphonies of Gounod on the CPO label.

Dennis Russell Davies
is currently Chief Conductor of the Bruckner Orchestra and Opera Linz as well as the Basel Symphony Orchestra.

In 2016 he will have held principal positions with orchestras, opera houses and festivals for a continuous 46 years that have also included the Beethovenhalle Orchestra, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, State Opera Stuttgart, Bonn Opera, American Composers’ Orchestra, St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, Cabrillo Music Festival, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.

An avid sports fan, especially baseball, and father of six children, he lives in Linz, Austria, and in New York with his wife, pianist Maki Namekawa.

Also a pianist and chamber musician, his activities show an extensive repertoire from the Baroque to today’s new music that he uses in fearlessly structured programming to successfully challenge and inspire audiences on both sides of the Atlantic alongside his close working relationships with composers who include Luciano Berio, William Bolcom, John Cage, Manfred Trojahn, Philip Glass, Heinz Winbeck, Laurie Anderson, Philippe Manoury, Aaron Copland, Hans Werner Henze, Michael Nyman and Kurt Schwertsik.

Booklet for Maderna & Berio: Now, And Then