Francesca Sbardellati

On her second PENTATONE album Maria & Maddalena, star soprano Francesca Aspromonte explores the Two Marys in oratorios by Lulier, Bononcini, Leopoldo I d’Asburgo, Caldara, Perti, Handel and Scarlatti, partly in new editions, documenting the extremely bloom of the genre in the years around 1700. She performs these works together with violinist Boris Begelman as well as the seasoned players of I Barocchisti under the baton of the eminent Diego Fasolis. Traditionally seen as two feminine opposites, with far-reaching moral implications, Aspromonte brings the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene together as two beautiful and strong women who turned their lives upside down by making the choice to dedicate themselves completely to an ideal. Her interpretation of these exceptional pieces explores all the emotions of the Two Marys, constituting a fascinating and profoundly moving portrait of what it means to be a woman.

The virtuoso violinist Francesca Dego joins forces with the legendary conductor and period performance pioneer Sir Roger Norrington for this recording of Mozart’s Third and Fourth Violin Concertos – the first time either soloist or conductor has recorded the works. The outstanding musicians of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra provide the accompaniment, with reduced numbers of strings and antiphonal violin seating to replicate the size and seating of the Salzburg court orchestra which gave the first performances of these works. Norrington’s attention to detail and style is enthusiastically embraced by soloist and orchestra, resulting in a beautifully fresh and captivating interpretation of these well-known works. Dego completes the album with the Violin Sonata in E minor, Op. 1 No. 4, with her regular recital partner, Francesca Leonardi.

Paganini’s violin, the legendary ‘il Cannone’, made by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù in 1743, is one of the most important musical instruments in the history of Western music. Paganini was the greatest virtuoso of his time, acclaimed throughout Europe and an inspiration to performers and composers alike.

My Bach Partitas: I got to know Johann Sebastian Bach before I started playing, with the Motets on an LP disc that I wore out listening to, and with a short passage from the St Matthew Passion that I sang while my father accompanied me on the piano. Bach has always been present in my musical life and has been the safe harbour from which I have departed to discover other routes and then return regularly.

Following her critically acclaimed recording with Sir Roger Norrington and the RSNO of violin concertos by Mozart, Francesca Dego turns to a selection of his violin sonatas with her long-term recital partner, Francesca Leonardi. Dego comments: ‘Francesca and I have been playing together for seventeen years, more than half my life and the totality of my career. To work as a duo on a regular basis means reaching common interpretative solutions, ones that sum up each player’s qualities, and creates a great sense of mutual responsibility. What you do together somehow feels naturally complete. We decided to build this album around our very favourite Sonata, KV 454 in B flat major, which we had been performing for many years and in which Mozart’s simplicity and flamboyance coexist in perfect harmony.’

Five years ago, Stile Galante dedicated a CD recording with the renowned Swedish mezzosoprano Ann Hallenberg to the celebrated soprano castrato Luigi Marchesi (1754-1829). Accompanied by soprano Francesca Cassinari, Stile Galante is now going back to this extraordinary musician and presents his work as a composer of chamber vocal music. Marchesi published during his stay in London two different collections of ariettas with fortepiano and harp accompaniment. The Ariette op. 1 & 2 are sweet musical cameos dominated by remarkable elegance. They perfectly embody the taste of the time and represent Marchesi’s wish to use his popularity as an opera singer to push in front of the audience a more all-round image of himself as an artist. The programme is rounded off with brilliant instrumental pieces for fortepiano and harps by female composers Anne- Marie Krumpholz (1766-1824) and Veronika Rosalia Cianchettini (1769-1833) who worked with Marchesi in London.

Soprano Francesca Aspromonte and violinist Boris Begelman present an all-Handel programme exploring the vicissitudes of love, together with Arsenale Sonoro. On Un’alma innamorata, Aspromonte urges us to take ownership of our amorous infatuations, rather than blaming it on Cupid’s arrows. The programme consists of several worldly cantatas with violino concertante – including the famous Mi palpita il cor and a world premiere recording of S’un dì m’appaga la mia crudele – interspersed with instrumental sonatas. The overall chamber-musical approach of Un’alma innamorata increases the emotional impact of the tragic heroines depicted by Aspromonte.