Armida Records 11-071023
artist: ANDREA CORTESI violin | FRANCESCO TEOPINI guitar
NICCOLÒ PAGANINI
Sonata no. 1 in A minor – from Centone di Sonate, MS 112, Op. 64 (1828):
Introduzione (Larghetto) – Tempo di marcia (Allegro maestoso)
Rondoncino (Allegro)
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Sonata no. 21 in E minor, KV 304/300c (1778):
Allegro
Tempo di minuetto
ANTONIO VIVALDI
“Vedrò con mio diletto” – aria from the opera “Il Giustino”, RV 717 (1724)
ERIK SATIE
Gnossienne no. 1 (1890)
THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT
“Don’t let it show” – from the album I Robot (1977)
LUDOVICO EINAUDI
“I Giorni” – from the album I Giorni (2001)
NICCOLÒ PAGANINI
Sonata Concertata in A major, MS 2, Op. 61 (1803):
Allegro spiritoso
Adagio assai espressivo
Rondò (Allegretto con brio. Scherzando)
This recording represents the culmination of the 15-year long friendship and musical connection between Andrea Cortesi and Francesco Teopini. As suggested by the tongue-in cheek title of the CD (inspired by the well-known name of the theoretical framework in physics, i.e. String Theory, attempting to unify quantum mechanics with Einstein’s theory of relativity), Andrea and Francesco have a highly individual yet all-embracing perspective on how back and forth in time a violin-guitar duo can be pushed from Niccolò Paganini’s core repertoire for this instrumental combination, and yet sound stylistically (as well as emotionally) appropriate. In this regard the music for this recording, consisting mostly of transcriptions of repertoire encompassing five centuries of Western classical and popular music, was selected and worked on in full awareness of the major strengths of both violin and guitar and of how the two instruments sound best together.
The result of their efforts is a musical journey which starts and ends with Paganini’s most iconic violin-guitar duo pieces, i.e. the Centone di Sonata No. 1, MS 112, Op. 64 and the Sonata Concertata, MS 2, Op. 61; in between, the listener is carried through a musical experience chronologically ranging from the 18th to the 21st century. In Vivaldi’s “Vedrò con mio diletto” (from the opera Il Giustino, RV 717 – 1724) the violin’s imitation of the human voice is sustained by the harpsichord-like accompaniment of the guitar. The transcription of Mozart’s Sonata in E Minor, KV 304 pushes the boundaries of the guitar’s accompanying possibilities and of the balance between the two instruments with the goal of keeping the airy, longing qualities typical of the music from the Salsburg-born genius. Both adaptations of Satie’s Gnossienne No. 1 (1890) and Einaudi’s “I Giorni” (2001) explore how the two instruments can complement each other in terms of register and colors, creating a quasi-piano effect. Finally, Andrea and Francesco’s version of “Don’t Let It Show” (1977) by The Alan Parsons Project finds its structural inspiration from the title itself. The minstrel-like accompaniment to the violin (again in charge of the melodic lines assigned to the vocals in the original version) is constructed by using quotations coming from music by Dowland, Pachelbel, Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, and Schubert; however, the quotations are only rhythmically accurate, so as to intentionally conceal them from the listeners – “don’t let them show”!
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Recorded at the Gothic Hall, Museum of the Cathedral of Saints Florido and Amanzio – Città di Castello, Perugia (Italy),
7 and 8 July 2022
Editing: Andrea Cortesi
Cover photo: Carlo Rocchi Bilancini
Sound Engineer and Recording Producer: Luca Ricci