Michele Garruti Intimate & Classical

Born in Granada in 1934, Antonio Ruiz-Pipó learnt the guitar in his youth but trained as a pianist in Barcelona, where he was taught by Frank Marshall, doyen of the Spanish piano school made famous by Alicia de Larrocha. Further study in Paris refined Ruiz-Pipó’s compositional technique, and he taught at the École Normale from 1977 until his death in 1997.

The second instalment of the complete keyboard works by Johann Wilhelm Hässler. Johann Wilhem Hässler lived from 1742 to 1822, the transition of the Baroque to the Classical era. His style embraces the Empfindsamkeit initiated by W.F. Bach and C.Ph.E. Bach and the heritage of J.S.Bach. These different idioms perfectly coexist to create his complex language, however, Hässler progressively abandoned the baroque heritage to develop a more modern style embracing a more classical aesthetic. The works on these 4 CD`s clearly mark the stylistic development of Hässler, from Baroque polyphony and counterpoint to the graceful classical language in Haydn style.