Giorgio Trione Bartoli, Martina Frezzotti, Emma Abbate, Julian Perkins, Emanuele Torquati Romantic Music

Initially enjoying popularity first in Germany-speaking lands and then in France, the genre of the piano duet (four hands, one piano) went on to blossom in England during the 20th century. On this album Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins present the complete works for piano duet by each of the composers selected. Palm Court Waltz, the Sonatina and Theme and Variations from Lennox Berkeley display Gallic traits, the consequence no doubt of his studies in France and his keen interest in the music of Satie, Ravel and Poulenc. While showing an evolution in the composer’s approach to tonality, every hint of seriousness is constantly balanced by elegant playfulness and diaphanous textures.

This beautifully conceived program brings together the complete works for piano duet by three major American composers: Edward MacDowell (1860-1908), Amy Beach (1867-1944) and Samuel Barber (1910-1981).

“Belgian pianist Matthieu Idmtal creates a wonderfully colorful and profound universe that not only surprised me, but even more completely captivated me. His great technical vocabulary leads to an interpretation that combines a refined sound with penetrating expressiveness in a sublime way.” – Opus Klassiek

Academy of Ancient Music, Cambridge Handel Opera Company, Cambridge Early Music and Julian Perkins are proud to present the first professional recording of John Eccless Semele (c.1707), a notable early setting of the great English libretto by William Congreve better known in a version by GF Handel from 1744. Academy of Ancient Musics mission is to explore, reveal and preserve the great treasure house of baroque and classical music, and a spirit of newfound discovery runs through all our work.

This album celebrates the delicacy and intimacy of the clavichord, the harpsichord’s quieter cousin, which was central to the daily life of musicians for centuries. The title is inspired by the story that Handel’s early biographer John Mainwaring tells, ab out the young Handel secretly going up to the attic during the night to practise on the clavichord, in defiance of his father.