Release Date: 01 January 2000
Label: Naxos / Naxos Classics
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 636943419427
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: Coste,Guitar Music Volume 2
Description
Napoleon Coste(1805-1883) Guitar Works Opp. 2-6Napoleon Coste(1805-1883) was France's greatest guitar composer and, together with Mertz, theguitar composer most representative of the Romantic style. He was born in thevillage of Amondans, south of Besan?ºon and not far down the picturesque Loueriver from Ornans, immortalized by the painter Gustave Courbet. Coste's father,the village mayor and a former infantry captain, named his son for the newEmperor and groomed him for a military career. From the age of six, youngNapoleon began to play guitar, taking his first lessons from his mother; afterhis recovery from an extended and serious illness which struck him at ageeleven, the family seems to have abandoned any plans for his military career.The teen-aged Coste, living in Valenciennes, gained local fame as a performerand teacher of the guitar, and in 1828 even played duets with the visitingItalian virtuoso Luigi Sagrini (they performed Giuliani's Op. 130). In 1830,the year of the July Revolution, Coste moved to Paris to pursue his career.Paris was not only one of the great cultural centers of the world; it was also,in the 1820s, home to a guitaromanie, a rage for the guitar, whichprobably did not so much abate in the 1830s as become less remarkable in a citywhich saw new fads commencing daily. Coste studied theory and composition andalso became the friend and pupil of Fernando Sor (1778-?¡1839), the esteemedSpanish composer and guitarist.The critic Fetisstated that Coste came to know all of the great guitarists of the city. Thiswould have included, in addition to Sor, his compatriot Dionisio Aguado and theItalians Carcassi, Carulli, Castellacci, and Molino. There is evidence thatthese guitarists were divided into several rival groups; the 'Carullists' and'Molinists' were not particularly friendly if we are to believe thetongue-in-cheek illustrations of Charles de Marescot, and Sor's few writingsseem to indicate little love for most of the Italians. Coste probably tried tocultivate a broad and popular following with his earliest works, which includedcharming dances and variations on popular themes. His youthful talent wasreadily recognized, since several of his early compositions were immediatelyissued by the prestigious publisher Richault. His earliest known work (no 'Opus1' has been identified) was a brilliant set of Variations et finale ... surun motif favori de la famille suisse de Weigl, Op. 2, published in about1830. Given this date, it is likely that Coste composed this piece eitherbefore or shortly after he arrived in Paris. Joseph Weigl's popular Vienneseopera Die Schweizerfamilie had been revived in Paris in 1827, and thecuckoo's theme also inspired several other guitarists, notably PietroPettoletti (Op. 23).English country dances(contredanses) had become a rage in France during the Ancien Regime; bythe nineteenth century a 'quadrille' (originally the name given to a square orgroup of dancers) had itself become a dance, consisting of five co
Tracklisting
Dariia Lytvishko
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop
Alice Di Piazza; Basel Sinfonietta; NDR Bigband; Titus Engel
Anna Alas i Jove; Miquel Villalba
David Childs; Black Dyke Band; Nicholas Childs
Various
Various
Lully
