SANDRO FAZZOLARI....Finalmente! Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano String Quartet No. 1 A Prelude On A Pianist s Name

Transcript

1 SANDRO FAZZOLARI...Finalmente! Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano String Quartet No. 1 A Prelude On A Pianist s Name

2 Program Notes Of three works on this recording, the prelude (2010) and the quartet ( ) are amongst my more recent while the sonata dates back to my NYC days being composed in The Sonata is a in simple tertiary form with an introduction, the ABA sections and a coda. It is not strictly in sonata-allegro form as the tonality changes differ from classical expectations and usage. Of note is the transformation of the first theme (Allegro, a minor) into the second theme (Adagio, b flat minor) by way of extension of its opening interval by a semitone (a P5 th becomes a minor 6 th ). The same semitone used in the main modulation from a to b flat minor. The themes otherwise resemble themselves and are really one developed guise of the other. The piece is introspective and hopefully inspires thought about one s inner self. The String Quartet No.1 is a program piece inherently connected to the paintings of Anne Delaby. Please view the paintings when listening to each movement, it will make more sense. In each of its seven movements, I have tried to harmonically represent the color pallet used by the French artist. The melodic content was chiefly inspired by their titles and I imagined a little story for each work, literally taking pictorial elements, i.e. the Egyptian mythological symbols in L Alchemiste, and writing themes that would recall, in this case, dancing serpents in the marketplace. There are musical references to several symbols: water, matter, animals, light, birth and death. The leitmotif of the piece is the enigma that people today are being called upon to resolve in their rapport with nature. One which I found fascinating and provided a reoccurring thread to all seven of the movements. The Prelude was written for a fellow Canadian pianist whose name, when pronounced simply sounded to me like the first four notes. There are no letter relationships involved, but rather it is a very tightly wound piece entirely based on those four notes representing the syllables of the name. They are in the harmony, the motives, intertwined in countermelodies and developed throughout. I used harmonics during the middle section and ultimately these suggested that I harmonize those four notes tonally. This piece aims at combining both tonal and atonal styles in a uniform way. ENJOY! Sandro Fazzolari Copyright Worldwide Sandro Fazzolari, 2012 Use for performance program notes by request only: sfazzolari@tin.it -

3 Anne Delaby - Ondes (I) Dino Sossai, first violin Ugo Martelli, second violin Giambattista Pianezzola, viola Annamaria Bernadette Cristian, cello

4 Anne Delaby - Sulfur (II) Sandro Fazzolari was born in Toronto, Canada in 1966 and began his musical studies at the age of four. At five, he composed his first piano piece. Years of study at the Royal Conservatory of Music ( ) in Piano under M Solon Reyes, Harmony and Counterpoint under M Anthony Dawson followed. An injury to his right hand all but eliminated his possibilities of a career as a pianist, so he turned to composing full time. A B.Mus at the University of Western Ontario under composer Peter Paul Koprowski followed, where he composed his Prelude for Orchestra Astolfo (1989) premiered under M Jerome Summers in (1990). He then travelled to Siena and at the Academia Chigiana worked with avant-garde composer M Franco Donatoni. A Master s degree at City University of New York under M David Del Tredici, brought new works to light such as Sonata No.1 for violin and piano (1990) which won the Mark Brunswick prize for new chamber music. Other major works included the opera Astolfo (1991) (libretto by Giuseppe Raffa). A Ph.D. at The University of Minnesota under M Dominick Argento, brought another opera to life The Man with a Flower in his Mouth on a Pirandello play (1995). Dr. Fazzolari moves to Milan in 1996 and writes incidental music for director Coco Leonardi. Two other operas followed Amedeo (1997) (libretto and story by the composer on the life and works of painter Modigliani) and Lolek (1999) (libretto and story by the composer based on the life of Pope John Paul II). In 2011 he collaborated with a local music academy where he organized group composition lessons for children. He now lives near Lake Como (Albavilla), Italy and this CD includes two recent pieces: Prelude on a pianist s name for solo piano (2010) and his String Quartet No.1 called Quartetto D Arte, a seven movement piece based on seven paintings of French painter Anne Delaby ( ). Recent efforts also saw the creation of a new ballet The Flower on an original story by the composer ( ). Lastly, his most recent commissions include: one from The MAI SOLI project of Trento Italy, for the creation of An Artist s Soliloquy for solo soprano sax and sax quartet to be world premiered by sax soloist Lars Mlekusch (Vienna) and the Milano Sax Quartet (Papa, Mocci, Damiano and Girardi) during an upcoming Italian tour in Fermo, Trento, Bolzano and Milan (December 2012), Il Mondo è Nostro for children s chorus in two parts, violin and piano (based on his Sonata), and his latest work Ave Maria for soprano, flute, string orchestra and percussion, commissioned for the opening concert of the orchestra Nuovi Archi Novesi to be premiered on December 20 th, 2012 with soloist Laura Ansaldi, soprano and Marco Baragli, flute.

5 Sandro Fazzolari è nato a Toronto, Canada nel 1966 ed inizia i suoi studi musicali all età di quattro anni. A cinque anni compone il suo primo pezzo per pianoforte. Seguono anni di preparazione al Royal Conservatory of Music ( ) in pianoforte, armonia e contrappunto, ma un infortunio alla mano destra lo spinge sempre più verso la composizione e quindi si iscrive all University of Western Ontario dove si laurea con i massimi voti in teoria e composizione studiando con il compositore polacco Peter Paul Koprowski. Vince il concorso per giovani compositori con il suo preludio per orchestra Astolfo (1989). Segue un estate in Italia all Accademia Chigiana a Siena dove frequenta il corso del Maestro Franco Donatoni. In autunno dello stesso anno, si trasferisce a New York per conseguire un Master alla City University of New York con il Maestro David Del Tredici, compositore in residenza della New York Philharmonic Orchestra, che organizza l ultima master-class di Leonard Bernstein. A New York compone vari pezzi da camera compreso la Sonata No. 1 per violino e pianoforte (1990) che vince il premio Mark Brunswick per nuova musica da camera. Si interessa molto alla composizione vocale e compone l opera lirica Astolfo (1991) (libretto di Giuseppe Raffa). Dopo la permanenza a New York, vince una borsa di studio alla University of Minnesota per conseguire un dottorato (Ph.D.) in composizione con il Maestro Dominick Argento, il più importante compositore di lirica negli USA. Qui compone pezzi per voce e orchestra e piccoli ensemble e voce. Per la sua tesi compone The Man with a flower in his mouth (1995) opera lirica basata sulla piece teatrale di Luigi Pirandello. Dopo la permanenza americana, decide di trasferirsi a Milano dove inizia a insegnare e comporre musica per il teatro lavorando con il regista italo-argentino Coco Leonardi. Seguono due opere liriche Amedeo (1997) (libretto e sceneggiatura del compositore sulla vita e opere di Modigliani), e Lolek (1999) (libretto e sceneggiatura del compositore basata ed ispirata alla vita di Papa Giovanni Paolo II). Nel 2011 ha collaborato con una scuola musicale locale organizzando un corso di composizione d insieme per bambini. Ora vive ad Albavilla (Co). Gli ultimi brani comprendono: un Prelude on a pianist s name (2010) per pianoforte; Quartetto D Arte (2011), un quartetto d archi in sette tempi basato e ispirato a sette quadri della pittrice francese Anne Delaby; un nuovo balletto The Flower ( ) per orchestra e min. 8 ballerini; il brano An Artist s Soliloquy (2012) per solo soprano sax e sax quartet, commissionato dalla MAI SOLI project per il sassofonista Lars Mlekusch e il Milano Sax Quartet che avrà la sua prima assoluta a Fermo il 1 dicembre al congresso internazionale del sassofono. Seguiranno repliche a Trento, Bolzano e Milano. Il Mondo è Nostro, per voci bianchi a due parti, violino e pianoforte è un altra recente commissione da parte di una scuola elementare nelle Marche. Suo ultimo brano Ave Maria (2012) per soprano, flauto, orchestra d archi e continuo è stato commissionato da I Nuovi Archi Novesi e sarà eseguita in prima assoluta il 20 dicembre 2012 con i solisti Laura Ansaldi (soprano) e Marco Baragli (flauto). Sandro Fazzolari

6 DINO SOSSAI A graduate of Italy s Castelfranco Veneto Conservatory in Violin Performance under the guidance of Michele Lot. In 2001, he was accepted into the prestigious performance class of Tibor Varga at the Conservatorio Superiore Di Musica in Sion, Switzerland. He has gone on to win numerous national and international competitions. In 1995 he won first prize at the international call for violinists at Milan s prestigious Teatro Alla Scala, where he continues to play first violin to this day. He has won several competitions for concert master both in Italy and abroad, and has served in the concertino role (assistant concert master) both for the Teatro Alla Scala Orchestra as well as the Filarmonica della Scala. He plays an Enrico Ceruti violin, Si diploma con il massimo dei voti e la lode sotto la guida di Michele Lot al Conservatorio di Castelfranco Veneto. Nel 2001 è ammesso nella prestigiosa classe di violino del M Tibor Varga presso il Conservatorio Superiore di musica di Sion (Svizzera). È risultato vincitore di numerose borse di studio e di premi in concorsi solistici nazionali e internazionali. Nel 1995 è vincitore assoluto del Concorso internazionale per posti di orchestra dell Orchestra del Teatro Alla Scala di Milano. Vincitore di numerosi concorsi ed audizioni per spalla d orchestra in Italia ed all estero ha ricoperto il ruolo di concertino presso l orchestra del Teatro alla Scala e la Filarmonica della Scala. Ha effettuato registrazioni radiofoniche per Rai 3 ed inciso per Dynamic, Azzurra e I solisti d accademia. Suona un violino Enrico Ceruti del MICHELE BOLLA Also from Italy s Veneto region, pianist Michele Bolla graduated in Piano Performance from the Castelfranco Veneto Conservatory with Francesco Bencivenga as his principal teacher. He then attended specialist master-classes with important teachers from The Moscow Conservatory. A multi-prize winner in numerous Italian competitions (Osimo, Albenga, Taranto, The City of Treviso, A.R.A.M in Rome) as well as international events such as the Sydney International Piano Competition, the M.Marcoz in Aosta, Porrino Competition in Cagliari,, the Spanish Councurso Ciudad de Ferrol and the Premio Sassari. His performances have been recorded and broadcast by RAI 3, ABC and 2MBS (in Australia) and SWR2 (in Germany). Concerts have taken him to throughout Italy and to Spain, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria and Australia. Si è diplomato con il massimo dei voti presso il Conservatorio di Castelfranco Veneto sotto la guida di Francesco Bencivenga e si è perfezionato con insigni docenti del Conservatorio di Mosca. Si è aggiudicato numerosi premi in prestigiosi concorsi nazionali (Osimo, Albenga, Taranto, Città di Treviso, A.R.A.M. di Roma) e internazionali (Sydney International Piano Competition, Concorso M. Marcoz di Aosta, Concorso Porrino di Cagliari, Councurso Ciudad de Ferrol Spagna, Premio Sassari ) e ha effettuato importanti registrazioni radiofoniche per Rai 3, ABC e 2MBS (in Australia), SWR2 (in Germania) e discografiche. Ha svolto e svolge un intensa attività concertistica in Italia, Spagna, Germania, Danimarca, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria e Australia.

7 DINO SOSSAI e MICHELE BOLLA As a DUO, Sossai and Bolla have been playing together since They also team up in the piano quartet Quadro Veneto, one of the most exciting young chamber music groups in Italy, having won prizes at the Osaka Chamber Music Competition, the Trio Prize of Trieste and the International Chamber Music Competition in Pinerolo, Italy. They are regulars at Italy s most important venues and festivals abroad. Suonano insieme dal 1993 in duo e nel quartetto Quadro Veneto, uno dei migliori giovani gruppi da camera italiani, con il quale hanno vinto numerosi premi in prestigiosi Concorsi internazionali (Osaka Chamber Music Competition, Premio Trio di Trieste, Concorso internazionale di musica da camera di Pinerolo) e si sono esibiti in importanti sale in Italia e per importanti festival internazionali. Duo Bolla-Sossai Anne Delaby Noces Mystiques (III)

8 UGO MARTELLI Ugo Martelli was born in Venice, Italy and later moved to Milan where he graduated from its prestigious Conservatorio G. Verdi in Violin peformance with Umberto Oliveti. He simultaneously pursued Viola studies with Felice Cusano, Baroque Violin with Enrico Gatti and Recorder with Daniele Bragetti specializing in Renaissance Music at Urbino with John Tyson. He has performed with numerous specialist ensembles touring throughout Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, USA and Argentina. As a quartet player he has won several national competitions, exploring both the Classical-Romantic repertoire as well as the Baroque (Bach s entire Art of the Fugue in its string quartet version), and Contemporary periods. He has recorded for Fonit Cetra and Era Nuova labels recording several world premiers as member of the Erasmus quartet. Ugo Martelli, nato a Venezia, ha compiuto gli studi musicali presso il Conservatorio G. Verdi di Milano, diplomandosi in violino sotto la guida di Umberto Oliveti. Ha poi studiato la viola con Felice Cusano, la prassi violinistica barocca con Enrico Gatti e il flauto diritto con Daniele Bragetti, perfezionandosi in musica rinascimentale ai Corsi di Musica Antica di Urbino con John Tyson. Membro di importanti ensembles cameristici, si è esibito nelle principali città italiane e ha effettuato tournées in Spagna, Francia, Germania, Svizzera, Ungheria, Stati Uniti e Argentina. In formazione di quartetto d archi ha ottenuto premi e riconoscimenti in vari concorsi nazionali. Ha esplorato non solo il repertorio classico-romantico, ma anche la musica antica (esecuzione integrale dell Arte della Fuga di Bach nella versione per quartetto d archi) e la musica contemporanea. Numerose le incisioni discografiche, per Fonit Cetra e Nuova Era tra cui prime registrazioni assolute con il Quartetto Erasmus. Anne Delaby - L Alchemiste (IV)

9 Giambattista Pianezzola Violinist and violist Giambattista Pianezzola studied with various teachers: O. Scilla, S. Vegh, S. Kaltchev, F. Rossi and P. Masi. He has served as both first violinist and first violist for diverse Italian orchestras and established himself as a leading chamber musician as well as a specialist in Baroque music. After his violin performance degree, he also completed a performance degree in viola and dedicates part of his schedule to this wonderful instrument. He is a founding member of the Musical Association Ettore Pozzoli ( and currently is violin professor at The State Music School B. Zucchi in Monza, Italy. Violinista e violista. La sua formazione strumentale si è svolta sotto la guida di vari maestri: O. Scilla, S. Vegh, S. Kaltchev, F. Rossi, P. Masi. Ha ricoperto ruoli primari in diverse orchestre italiane e ha lavorato a lungo nel campo della musica da camera e della musica antica. Diplomatosi anche in viola nel 2004, dedica parte della sua attività a questo meraviglioso strumento. È Socio fondatore della Associazione Musicale Ettore Pozzoli ( È docente di violino nella scuola secondaria ad indirizzo musicale e presso il Liceo Musicale Statale B. Zucchi di Monza. Anne Delaby - Arc (V)

10 Annamaria Bernadette Cristian Hungarian Cellist Annamaria Bernadette Cristian started her musical studies at an early age combining cello, piano and organ with chamber music. In 1993 she won first prize in the Antal Friss Cello Competition in Budapest. She graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and later at Milan s Conservatorio G. Verdi in Cello Performance. Her list of teachers at specialist master-classes include: Filippini, Podhoransky, Scano, Dindo, Bellisario. She studied Baroque Music with Renè Clemencic, Nanneke Schaap and Rodney Prada. Her active concert schedule sees her perform with various chamber ensembles and is a member of the Trio Euphonia, which performs in Italy and abroad. She was first cellist at the Orchestre Symphonique du Mont-Blanc in France and has performed with the U.E.C.O, Pomeriggi Musicali Orchestras in Milan as well as the Philharmonie of Nations and The Orchestra Filarmonica E. Pozzoli. Concerts have taken her to Hungary, Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, England, USA and China. She currently teaches cello at Milan s English School and the City Music School in Gessate, Italy. Ungherese, ha iniziato precocemente lo studio del violoncello, affiancando molto presto la pratica della musica da camera, lo studio del pianoforte e dell organo. Nel 93 vince il primo premio del Antal Friss Competizione di Violoncello Budapest. Dopo aver ottenuto la laurea all Accademia Franz Liszt di Budapest con il massimo dei Anne Delaby - La Revanche (VI) voti, si è diplomata brillantemente in violoncello al Conservatorio di Milano. Ha frequentato corsi di perfezionamento e master-class con i Maestri Filippini, Podhoransky, Scano, Dindo, Bellisario e il corso di musica antica con Renè Clemencic, Nanneke Schaap e Rodney Prada. Svolge vivace attività concertistica con diversi ensemble di musica da camera e fa parte del Trio Euphonia con il quale si esibisce in Italia e all estero. E stata primo violoncello dell Orchestre Symphonique du Mont-Blanc in Francia, ha collaborato con l Orchestra U.E.C.O. e con l Orchestra dei Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, la Philharmonie of Nations e l Orchestra Filarmonica E. Pozzoli. Si è esibita in concerti in Italia, in Ungheria, in Svizzera, in Austria, in Francia, in Ingliterra, in Germania, in America e Cina.Da diversi anni insegna violoncello presso la Scuola Inglese di Milano e presso la Civica Scuola di Musica di Gessate.

11 Anne Delaby Anne Delaby, of French origin, was born in Beirut (Lebanon) on Her paintings are in collections in Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Russia, Canada, and Japan. I m a symbolic-figurative painter whose research is oriented towards human beings & contemporary society s abuses which contrast their transcendental aspirations. Anne enters the art scene in 1998, with a personal near Lake Como. Since then, she has evolved from mystically inspired works, resulting from interior exploration of the self ( my paintings strive to reveal the mysteries of the human soul, its trials and its ultimate victories ) to human sentiment. Her latest works ( ) are a human cry: if man doesn t exit from a dualistic way of thinking that divides life from nature, his Divine Essence, the world is headed straight for ruin!. There is no more time for excuses, one needs to choose between being and living or having and dying. These works are testimony to the debacle a one fold vision with surprising traits tied to matter, which represents a profound uneasiness of an epoch that just cannot find its place in history (O. Karasso)... one of a soulless humanity, almost without hope. Anne Delaby nasce nel 1964 in Libano. Dipingere per Anne è quasi un rimedio, in simbiosi con la vecchia idea dell arte come portatrice di bene, come messaggera degli dei, il Mercurio dei medici, che - per riprendere Kandinsky - deve trascinare in alto il pesante carro dell umanità. Conseguentemente affiora l interesse per l Arteterapia, la professione parallela: inizia una scuola di specializzazione e si diploma nel L intrinseco potere di trasformazione dell arte permette di portare luce nel buio, ordine nel caos, e di trovare soluzioni in situazioni apparentemente prive di speranza. Anne fa il suo ingresso nel mondo dell arte nel 1998, da allora la sua ricerca si sta evolvendo fino ad un sentimento dell uomo quale sintesi armonica dell universo, concentrato di ogni opposto esistente, vertice supremo della creazione (B. Marsano). Dei suoi ultimi quadri ( ) dice: La mia pittura è un grido: se l uomo non esce dal pensiero dualistico che lo divide dalla vita, dalla natura, e dalla sua essenza divina, il mondo va dritto alla rovina! Non c è più tempo per scuse o storie. Questa è la sfida di oggi: deve scegliere tra essere e vivere, o avere e morire. Quadri testimoni di uno sfacelo, e visione onirica pur a tratti sorprendentemente legata alla materia a significare l inquietudine profonda di un epoca che non trova più collocazione (O. Karasso). Anne vive e lavora ad Albavilla in provincia di Como. ( - annedelaby@teletu.it) Anne Delaby

12 THANK YOU Thank-you! If you re reading this, it is because you ve purchased this CD and your support of my music is much appreciated. This, my first CD, has taken more than 2 years to produce and I must admit that I have experienced a lot during this period. Perhaps the most important thing I ve learnt is that good people exist! They are out there, you just have to seek them out, ask for their collaboration and treat them with respect, which is what I have tried to do. First of all, my thanks goes to the musicians who performed my music. Despite their busy and important performing schedules, my friends Detty, Dino, Giamba, Michele and Ugo, took the time to meet with me for rehearsals and studied their parts to the best of their abilities. What more can a composer ask for? Secondly, I would like to express my gratitude to my dear friends Alberto Brunelli Bonetti, Giordano Caprara and Gian Marco Moratti, as well as to my two sisters Sylvia Fazzolari and Cristina Tassopoulos for their generous contribution in helping support this project. I would also like to thank Enrico Cramer, for allowing us to record the quartet in his fabulous villa s music room, and Ignazio Parravicini for all his help with the pictures that day. Thanks to my copyist, friend and fellow composer André van Haren and Dario Valenta for his fabulous graphics. Thanks to Antonio Chindamo (for his exceptional ear) and Giordano Colombo of Auditoria Records who managed the quartet session all by himself, and Andrea Gorini of Studio 75 in Milan, where the piano music was recorded. Merci to Anne Delaby, to whom the quartet is dedicated and whose paintings have brought so much inspiration to my music and indeed my life. And lastly to my mother and father, who bought me my first piano at age 4 (to stop me from banging on kitchen pans), and always told me all you can do is try your best. Spero di avercela fatta FINALMENTE! Sandro Aki e Sandro Anne Delaby Homo Sapiens? (VII) Executive producer Sandro Fazzolari - Produced by Antonio Chindamo Recorded, by Antonio Chindamo and Giordano Colombo at Villa Tassera, Auditoria records and Studio 75 Mixed and mastered by Antonio Chindamo at Auditoria records