Ernia Gemelli Ascendente Milano

The album marks 45 years since Chailly’s debut at La Scala, and also the signing of his exclusive contract with Decca.

Of the 10 selections on this disc of Verdi “discoveries”, four are bona fide world premieres, though in one of those, the Variations for Oboe and Orchestra, only the orchestral part is by Verdi. In the late 1830s clarinetist Giacomo Mori hired the young Verdi to provide an orchestra accompaniment to his variations on the theme “Canto di Virginia”. Here, Verdi displays his early skill at handling large orchestral forces, and the same can be said of his Variations for Piano and Orchestra. However, there are few musical hints in these works–or in the Capriccio for Oboe and Orchestra, the Sinfonia in C, or the Adagio for Trumpet and Orchestra–that suggest the great master Verdi was to become.

This is the third in a series of "Discovery" discs dedicated to unknown or rare works by three famous Italian composers, Rossini, Verdi and now Puccini. Chailly had already recorded some Puccini rarities in the early 80's but this new issue contains quite a few works that never seem to have seen the light of day.

Leonora, the main female character of Il trovatore, embodies like no other Verdian heroine absolute devotion and faithfulness, until her ultimate sacrifice to save her lover. One of the most tragic roles of the bel canto repertoire, it is very vocally demanding, requiring a wide ambitus and virtuosity. Having triumphed in Leonora on all world stages, Maria Callas bade farewell to the role in this stunning recorded version, conducted by Karajan and surrounded by a five-star vocal cast.

Rock Symphonies' is a collection of five symphonic works, 'Rock (tribute to Ligeti)', ''Concerto Vedras', 'Sinfonia Noa Noa', 'Todo o Teatro é um muro branco de música' and 'Abertura Secondo Novecento', composed between 2001 and 2018.

Presenting this project, the Milano Saxophone Quartet leads the public through a real Metamorphosis. The audience realizes the quartet’s sound-transformation, which shows, through the performance and the different styles, one of its main idiomatic characteristics i.e. the flexibility.

Franco Alfano is remembered today for his completion of Turandot after Puccini’s death. His catalogue of works, including operas, orchestral and chamber music, reveals him to be a sophisticated and original composer. Alfano possessed an innate melodic facility combined with a talent for unexpected timbres, as heard in the luxuriously orchestrated Suite romantica which, in the composer’s own words, aims to convey ‘the feelings of two lovers travelling through Italy’. From the neo-Classical Divertimento to the noirish postwar Nenia, and from the lightness of touch of Amour… Amour… to the impressionistic and iridescent Una danza, each work reveals a different aspect of this multifaceted composer.