SOMM RECORDINGSĀ is pleased to announce a sparkling recital ofĀ Virtuoso Piano TranscriptionsĀ spanning two centuries from Bach to Gershwin by pianistĀ Alessandro Taverna.
During its peak popularity in the century from 1820, the art of transcription provided access in both the home and the concert hall to the riches of the symphonic and operatic repertoires through the conduit of the piano.
Recorded as part of the 2018/2019 Piano Series at Turner Sims, Southampton, Alessandro Taverna celebrates a lost art that made great music available to the widest audience in an era before the first recordings and radio.
Treated to a masterly re-imagining by Rachmaninov, Bachās Third Violin Partita opens a recital that also showcases Taverna elegant virtuosity at the keyboard.
A characteristically combustible re-working of themes from MozartāsĀ Don Giovanni, LisztāsĀ RĆ©miniscences de Don JuanĀ takes full advantage of the pianoās full orchestral range and sounds all the more remarkable in Tavernaās by turns poetic and powerful performance.
Lisztās transcriptions of three Schubert songs reveal his sensitivity to the originals and his appreciation of the pianoās ability to conjure fantasy to mesmeric effect, his āparaphraseā of VerdiāsĀ RigolettoĀ a miniature marvel for the piano.
Echoes of Liszt can be heard in Ernst von DohnĆ”nyiās delightfully dancing re-working of Johann Strauss the YoungerāsĀ Schatz WalzerĀ and in George Gershwinās electric, effervescent arrangement of his ownĀ Rhapsody in Blue, a thrilling display of pianistic fireworks brilliantly realised by Taverna.
Alessandro Tavernaās previous recordings for SOMM include Sonatas by Nicolai Medtner (SOMMCD 0142) and music by Debussy and Ravel (SOMMCD 0168), of whichĀ FanfareĀ magazine said: āBoldness and refinement keeps the playing interesting at every momentā¦ Taverna distinguishes every textural strand with clarityā¦ this superb release will add lustre to his reputationā.
On This Recording
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J.S. Bach: Partita for Violin No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006
- Prelude
- Gavotte
- Gigue Liszt-Mozart
- RĆ©miniscences de Don Juan Schubert
- Gretchen am Spinnrade
- Die Forelle
- Erlkƶnig Liszt-Verdi
- Rigoletto Concert Paraphrase J Strauss II (arr. Ernst von DohnƔnyi)
- Schatz-Walzer Gershwin
- Rhapsody in Blue (includes 20 seconds of faded applause)
Reviews:
āThis latest album from the young Italian pianist Alessandro Taverna comprises recordings of highly demanding repertoire captured live at the UKās Turner Sims 2018/19 Piano Series. There is poetry as well as virtuosity in Tavernaās vocabularyā¦ an intelligent reading, full of verve. An interesting recital.ā āColin Clarke, International Piano āTaverna delivers a suavely shaped and freshly phrased Verdi/Liszt Rigoletto Paraphrase, followed by a Strauss/DohnĆ”nyi Schatz-Walzer that simply soars off the page.ā āJed Distler, Gramophone