Mattino Padova 2006

The idea for this album came about during the recording of its predecessor Cinema Suites (BBC Music Magazine’s “Screen Choice”, Album of the Week on WDR3 etc.), when the Morricone family sent Marco Serino a number of rarities that they hoped could also be recorded, particularly “Dedicated to Maria” (from the film The Sleeping Wife ) that the composer had dedicated to his wife. These works, along with others that Serino rediscovered in his own archives, make up the backbone of Cinema Rarities , an ideal sequel to the previous recording. After twenty years as Ennio Morricone’s chosen violinist, Serino continues his exploration of the compositions for violin and orchestra, but this time with a particular focus on pieces that, besides being less well known to the wider public, all share a degree of “Italianness”.

It is a concert performance, given and broadcast in Vienna in 1979, with one result being reasonably good sound. Another result is that the performers seem to warm up as they go, really hitting their strides about halfway through. In the case of Plácido Domingo, that could have been because he learned the role over a weekend, filling in for an ailing member of the planned cast. He is nevertheless one of the drawing cards of this recording, as is the presence of the young Italian soprano Mara Zampieri as the romantic lead Elaisa; her sheer dynamic range, with a slashing, edgy fortissimo, is impressive, as was the late-'70s engineering that captured it for posterity.

German composer Hans Werner Henze’s (1926–2012) admiration for the great masters of the Baroque and musical Classicism manifested in compositions born from a desire to transcribe, rework and transform 17th- and 18th-century masterpieces into new orchestral textures. The project Travestimenti (Disguises), managed by conductor Marco Angius and the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, from which this CD was created, makes reference to Henze’s ‘reinventions’ of masterpieces by Mozart, C.P.E. Bach and Vitali, clothed in new, modern fashion.

At the end of the 18th century, when Mozart went to Paris to develop, his biggest rival was Giuseppe Maria Cambini (1746-1825). The full extent of his musical charm can be seen through these elegant pieces in the album. Not only are symphonic concertos with oboe and bassoon as the main instruments very rare, but the music in the album are all recorded for the first time in the world, adding to the rarity and preciousness of the album.

At the end of the 18th century, when Mozart went to Paris to develop, his biggest rival was Giuseppe Maria Cambini (1746-1825). The full extent of his musical charm can be seen through these elegant pieces in the album. Not only are symphonic concertos with oboe and bassoon as the main instruments very rare, but the music in the album are all recorded for the first time in the world, adding to the rarity and preciousness of the album.