Stefania S

Nannette Streicher opened her piano workshop together with her husband and brother in Vienna at the end of the 18th century. They built well over a thousand instruments, of which only around 40 fortepianos have survived to this day. The piano parts on this album were recorded on Nannette Streicher's fortepiano with the serial number 1060. Ludwig van Beethoven himself was good friends with the couple and played their instruments. The three selected sonatas on this album span a period of 14 years, from 1798 (Op. 12/1 and 3) to 1812, the year of the composition of Op. 96 - two years before the piano used here was completed. Stefania Neonato is involved both in performance practice on historical instruments and the modern piano playing tradition. Christine Busch appears as a soloist and chamber musician in concerts worldwide, performing on both modern and baroque violins.

Of Grieg’s seventy-four published works, only five are for chamber music, and no less than three of these are Violin Sonatas. His favourite instrument was the piano, but the influence of Norwegian violinist and composer Ole Bull (1810-1880), patron of young Edvard’s career, was enormous. Grieg confessed to considering the Violin Sonatas among his best works, each representing a different phase in his development: ‘the first a little naive, but rich in ideas, the second Nordic, and the third with a broader horizon’, he wrote to his friend Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. The composer’s connection to his homeland, Norway, was very deep.

The main singers are all terrific in this video. Bonfadelli as Lucia is a delight, and very pretty. She has a darker voice than you generally hear in this role, but it is not super-dark, and her high notes are rock-solid. Alvarez' voice is gorgeous and he sings with great passion becoming Edgardo. The Enrico has a very strong voice and solid high notes and his facial expressions remind me of Renato Bruson - not as pretty of a voice as Bruson's, but pleasant enough and easy to hear. The Chaplain has a beautiful voice and is a good singer. The Normanno (captain of the guard), isn't as good as the principles; the Arturo, with his handful of lines, is awful; and the Alisa (Lucia's companion), is quite good.

By figaro "jacoba"