Notturno, op.70, no.1, Giuseppe Martucci, English Chamber Orchestra, Alfredo Bonavera

A tribute to my nocturnal hours that I have spent navigating in the wonderful, parallel worlds of the internet. They were not in vain. A tribute to these hours of physical absence that were comforted by the discovery of sites in the other side of the world, by letters to friends and enemies, by chats with strangers and beloved people. They ment much to me. Giuseppe Martucci (Capua 1856-Naples 1909) composer, conductor, teacher and virtuoso pianist lived shortly and intensely. A major figure in the italian musical scene at the end of the 19th century. As a composer his ears were directed towards Wagner and Brahms. As a performer he presented composers of all kinds and times. He conducted the first Tristan in Italy. He composed numerous works for piano, some vocal music (la canzone dei ricordi is purely splendid) and orchestral music including two piano concertos and two symphonies resisting to the opera production of his compatriots. The Notturno op.70, no 1, that we are listening was created in 1901 and was arranged from its piano verion of 1891. A popular composition, a nocturnal world of poetry and delicacy painted in wagnerian colours. Conductor Alfredo Bonavera and the English Chamber Orchestra respond prefectly to their task being tastefully in tono by not rendering melodramatic this poetic score. The photo was taken in Caruaru, BR. Enjoy.