Under many aspects, Bach was one of the greatest innovators in the history of music. Few things he created from scratch; but none of the elements he received from tradition he left untouched or adopted supinely. And one of the most impressive innovations that should be ascribed to his genius is the creation of a repertoire of unaccompanied works for the solo violin and cello, which demonstrates the possibility for these two instruments to sustain and support a whole musical discourse without the need of an accompaniment.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Clavierübung III, published in 1739, is a cornerstone of organ literature, demonstrating the composer’s unparalleled mastery of counterpoint and his deep theological insight. Commonly referred to as the “German Organ Mass,” this collection of works for organ is more than just a technical display; it serves as a profound reflection on Lutheran liturgy, doctrine, and Trinitarian symbolism. With this work, Bach created a comprehensive musical discourse that encapsulates the essence of his spiritual and artistic philosophy.

Heitor Villa-Lobos was one of the least prolific composers of guitar music in the early 20th century, with only 24 pieces published during his lifetime, including Chôro No. 1, Suite Populaire Brésilienne, Cinq Préludes, and Douze Études. It is remarkable that despite his vast catalogue of composition and his affinity for the guitar, he has produced relatively few works for the instrument. Nonetheless, Villa-Lobos gained prominence in concert and recording programs starting in the 1960s due to the high musical quality of his works and his deep connection to the instrument. His relationship with the guitar has often been compared to that of Chopin with the piano; highlighting his natural and joyful style, though different in musical language.

Roberto Loreggian si diploma in organo e in clavicembalo con il massimo dei voti. Successivamente studia con Ton Koopman, perfezionandosi in entrambi gli strumenti. Specializzato nell'esecuzione di musica rinascimentale e barocca, Loreggian, oltre a svolgere attività concertistica in Italia e all'estero, è attualmente docente presso il conservatorio Cesare Pollini di Padova. Ha inoltre inciso numerosi CD per diverse case discografiche.Nel 1997 si aggiudica, grazie alle trascrizioni per clavicembalo e all'incisione dell'integrale delle composizioni di Giovanni Battista Ferrini, il Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Nel 2004 vince il Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik per la registrazione delle opere per clavicembalo di Bernardo Pasquini, e, nel 2009, si aggiudica il Premio nazionale del disco classico per il Primo libro di toccate di Girolamo Frescobaldi.

A question arising rather naturally when one considers the piano repertoire for the left hand alone is “why should one play with one hand instead of two?”. There may be a number of reasons, and the works recorded on this Da Vinci Classics album represent a variety of answers to this question.A first reason may be mere virtuosity, or even “showing off”. It is almost a refined, artistic version of people riding a monocycle instead of a bicycle, or riding a horse without using a saddle.

The curse put on her by an unrequited god has condemned her to foretell the truth in the middle of the desert. Cassandra is alone because nobody listens to her monitions. Cassandra thus lives two lives: one in foresight, one in reality. Apollo has spitted in her mouth in revenge for having been rejected and after having promised her the gift of divination: a simple gesture that would deprive her, once and for all, of credibility.A Trojan priestess, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba, Cassandra does not own the gift of persuasion, yet does not give up: she keeps speaking. This, to me, defines her strength and her potent modernity.

Boccherini was born in the Tuscan city of Lucca in 1743. He was the third child of Maria Santa and of Leopoldo Boccherini. Having received his first musical instruction from Leopoldo, Luigi, became a student of music at the local seminary, where he met Abbot Vannucci, an appreciated professor of cello, of harmony, and of counterpoint. Luigi’s progress was steady and quick, and already at thirteen he was employed as a cellist at theatres and churches of his birth city.

Francesco Molino was an Italian guitarist, oboist, violist, and composer, born In Ivrea, Piedmont, on June 4, 1768.
His father Giuseppe Ignazio was an oboist in the service of the Piedmontese troop band. Francesco followed his father in choosing a military career, at the age of 15 years he joined the Piedmont Regiment as a volunteer, thereby also learning his father’s instrument, the oboe. He also undertook training on the viola, and by the age of 18 years he was active as a violist in the orchestra of the Royal Theater of Turin. He often travelled to Spain to give concerts. He was orchestral conductor during 1796–97.

The fascinating itinerary to which the listener of this Da Vinci Classics album is invited touches a series of little-known masterpieces written for unaccompanied solo violin in the twentieth century. Although Bach was not the first to state, with his music, that violins did not perforce need the harmonic support of an accompaniment, his six Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin are the first, impressive example of how that belief could be embodied in music. In spite of this, and of the extreme beauty of this cycle, the works it contained had to wait for several decades before gaining acceptance, in their original form, on the concert scene. A kind of horror vacui was felt, and it seemed necessary to provide the solo violin with a background against which it could shine.

Dei sei figli di Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart raggiunsero l’età adulta solamente due: Carl Thomas e Franz Xaver. Il primo, seppur allievo di buoni maestri come Bonifazio Asioli e František Xaver Dušek, si dedicò alla musica con una vocazione meno accesa mentre il secondo affrontò una serie di generi e composizioni che ne fanno di lui un musicista tutto da riscoprire e apprezzare. Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart nasce a Vienna nel 1791 a pochi mesi prima dalla morte del padre, figura che conoscerà solamente attraverso i racconti della madre. Constanze cercherà di trasformarlo in un enfant prodige, offrendogli la possibilità di studiare con maestri del calibro di Albrechtsberger, Hummel e Salieri (sic!) ma allo stesso tempo alimenterà un confronto tutt’altro che sereno con la figura paterna che tormenterà Franz Xaver fino alla morte. Darà il suo primo concerto a 14 anni e inizierà altrettanto precocemente a dedicarsi alla composizione terminando pagine cameristiche, sinfoniche e solistiche. Nel 1808 si stabilì a Leopoli, nell’attuale Ucraina, lavorando per un lungo periodo come insegnante di pianoforte, concertista e compositore. Una nuova tournée di concerti tra il 1818 ed il 1821 lo portò in diverse città europee per ritornare nuovamente a Vienna. Morì nel 1844 durante il soggiorno a Karlsbad, si era recato per tentare di guarire da una grave malattia che lo affliggeva da anni…

The compositions on this CD mark the final forays of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco into expansive works crafted for concert guitarists, bound together by a cohesive concept and a consistent unity of inspiration. Most importantly, they stand as the ultimate pieces for solo guitar that the Italian composer managed to fully complete.

Napoléon Coste was born on the 27th of June 1805 in Amondans in the department of Doubs in eastern France, a date that was not established until 1982. He grew up in the neighbourhood of Ornans, to which he later dedicated several compositions. In 1813 he was in the Dutch town of Delfzijl with his father, a captain in the French army, he passed the Zuiderzee and crossed the river Rhine. The memory of these places returned in his compositions, the Souvenirs. He started his career as a guitarist in 1826 in Valenciennes, where he lived as a youth, began to compose, and played in a concert with the travelling virtuoso Sagrini. At the end of 1828 he settled in Paris, where he stayed for almost the rest of his artistic career. There, in the centre of important musical developments, he joined the circles of musicians who originated from Valenciennes, and also of famous guitarists, among whom Sor became of great importance to him, as he studied harmony and counterpoint with him and became his friend, joining him in concerts. His life in Paris is expressed in several programmatic compositions, after Berlioz’ invention of musical drama.

Even today, more than seventy years after his death, Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff remains an enigmatic figure. Despite access to his writings and music, defining him is no straightforward task. His message was far from a simple directive aimed solely at his contemporaries. It was a profound teaching, gleaned from his extensive travels to the East, which came at the cost of immense personal sacrifices. It is a call to inner evolution, charting a course for both current and future generations. His teachings act as a bridge between Eastern wisdom and Western science.

Myth and Memory, intertwined like the two faces of a coin, at times are indistinguishable and at other times alternate in their appearance. This journey through epochs marks the progression from an era brimming with noble aspirations to one tinged with deterioration. At this passage’s extremes, the Waltzes of Brahms and Ravel emerge, with the epicenter being the intimate universe of my memories, encompassing my origins (Symphonic Pieces) and my lineage (Nené Waltz). Dance, especially the waltz, is a dominant theme here, symbolizing both the twilight of the 19th century and the closure of an entire period.

This project was born with the intention of shed light on female composers and their compositions that I consider essential to the guitar repertoire.