This collection brings together the chamber output of prolific and varied composer Giuseppe Martucci. The pieces on this disc span roughly ten years of his career, the earliest of which – the Sonata in F sharp minor Op.52 – was composed when Martucci was just 24. Thanks in part to his exploration of Neopoliatan music salons, however, the work nevertheless has a distinct richness and maturity to go alongside the young composer’s creativity. These qualities only become more pronounced as we are taken to Tre Pezzi Op.69, a trio of pieces for the piano and cello that are ‘among the foremost chamber works of the entire late 1800s’, and which Martucci was later to transcribe for orchestra. So significant was this trio that Martucci continued to write the chamber music of which he was so fond throughout his career, first at the urging of his publishers and later as a refuge from more demanding compositions. The pieces that emerged from this – the Due Romanze and Melodia Op.71 (later transcribed into a Romanza) – make up the latter half of the disc.
Works:
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Martucci: 2 Romanze, Op. 72
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Martucci: Romanza (transcribed by the author from Melodia,Op. 71)
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Martucci: Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 52
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Martucci: Tre Pezzi, Op. 69