Sgambati: Nocturnes, Morceaux, Etudes

Description

Born in Rome, to an Italian father and an English mother, Giovanni Sgambati (1841-1914), received his early education at Trevi, in Umbria. In his early twenties he met Franz Liszt in Rome, where the great composer resided for a period each year from 1861. The young man immediately became his favorite pupil, a faithful interpreter of his compositions and a precious collaborator for the mission that warmed both their hearts: to spread classical music in the Roman society of the time. Liszt's Roman school was based in Sgambati's home, where the master trained the best pianists of the time. Sgambati was the first to conduct his Dante Symphony. Liszt took him with him on his travels and introduced him to Richard Wagner, who deeply admired his compositions. His fame grew rapidly, leading him to give concerts all over Europe and in Russia. He received invitations and signs of esteem from the most important musicians of his time: in addition to Liszt and Wagner, he was friends with Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Massenet and Busoni. Sgambati's piano music consists of a wide variety of shorter pieces. This new recording presents his 6 Nocturnes, 2 Etudes de concert and a set of Morceaux, works with a solid and well-defined structure, innovative ideas and interesting harmonic choices, showing mastery of the musical discourse and a unique expressiveness, all concentrated in a few minutes. Cecilia Facchini graduated in piano at the Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali in Ravenna under the guidance of Alessandra Ammara and continued her studies at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, where she obtained a Master in Music Performance in Anna Kravtchenko's class. She followed master courses with Roberto Prosseda, Paul Badura- Skoda, Boris Berman, Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Lilya Zilberstein, Jeffrey Swann and, for chamber music, with the Parma Trio.