Discography
“These works are an authentic Extremely Severe Climbing in terms of not only technical, but specially “expressive” difficulty [...] Brancaccio brings these pages to life by making his fingers write “expressiveness” every time they touch the strings of Alessandro Marseglia's splendid guitar made in 2007” -
Andrea Bedetti, MusicVoice
"This monographic album is dedicated to three compositions by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, including the world premiere of Quartet No. 3 "Casa al Dono." This piece, one of the author's final works, evokes the places close to Mario's heart, especially his vacations in Vallombrosa, the small train that transported Florentines from Sant'Ellero to Saltino in the early 1900s, and the intellectual circle of Bernard Berenson, a prominent art critic of the first half of the century. Following this is the string trio, a composition of significant impact for an ensemble with a limited repertoire. The album concludes with the quintet featuring the guitar, possibly one of MCT's most frequently performed pieces and undoubtedly one of his most profound inspirations" -
Benjamin Bernstein
The Quartet is passionately and stylistically competently presented by the violinists Carlo Lazari and Valentino Dentesani, the violist Benjamin Bernstein (who also pens well-informed liner notes), and the cellist Marianna Sinagra; they are joined by Vincenzo Sandro Brancaccio for the Quintet op. 143, perhaps Castelnuovo's chamber music masterpiece, of which a lively interpretation is offered here, characterized by the consistently round sound provided by the Neapolitan guitarist and by a particularly expressive "Andante mesto" with gently twilight tones; the recording is balanced, refraining from placing the guitar in an artificial foreground, as sometimes happens.
Roberto Brusotti,
Musica october 2023
NEW RELEASE!!!
"This album also comprises one of Tárrega’s most iconic compositions, i.e. his splendid Capricho Arabe. It is actually one of the best-known guitar works in absolute terms, and fascinatingly, skillfully alternates long held notes with vaguely shaped melismas. It has been argued that this piece might have been conceived as a serenade for an unknown lady; still, if it is a serenade, then it is entirely atypical for Spain since the Spanish serenades are always in a 3/4 time, whereas the Capricho is in the common time.[...] Similarly “exotic” is the inspiration of the Danzamora, which is said to have been inspired by Tárrega’s journey to Algiers, in 1900. ere, he witnessed the performance of traditional musicians on traditional instruments, and was enthused by the repetitive rhythm played by one of them. Other influences from the Arabic or Eastern traditions are found in the Danza Odalisca, with its enigmatic intervals and pace. Less “exotic” but also marked by an unusual inspiration is the Cartagenera, which derives from old styles of fandango; in particular, here reference is made to the miner area of Cartagena, in the Southern province of Murcia.
Together, these works certainly will provide hours of pleasant listening experiences to those who are seduced by the warmth, sympathy, elegance, and refinedness of Tárrega’s music and of his handling of the musical material."
Chiara Bertoglio © 2023