Archi

At the dawn of the 60’s, well before pop’s ascensionnotes along with its given extravagances, a few turbulent arrangers and other exceptionally gifted orchestrators were already attempting out of the ordinary musical experiences, amusing themselves by using major orchestras in a fully-fledged laboratory capacity. They would do so by using stereophonic effects, exotic percussion and alternatively played instruments to give their compositions strange colours and audacious perspectives. Michel Legrand, a rapidly rising young composer at this time and breaking with the most complex writing techniques, was part of this generation of untamed conductors with very big ideas within which included a wide array of personalities from Esquival, Les Baxter and Lalo Schifrin to Quincy Jones.

The Arcana label continues its fruitful collaboration with the Archi di Santa Cecilia, the Rome-based ensemble formed from members of the famous Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. The ensemble is conducted by Luigi Piovano, the orchestra’s principal cellist and since 2007 a regular partner in a cello-piano duo with Sir Antonio Pappano, its chief conductor (their recording of the Brahms cello sonatas will be released later this year). The Archi di Santa Cecilia now offer us a brand new recording devoted to Mozart: the famous Serenade Eine kleine Nachtmusik K525 and the less familiar but equally brilliant Divertimenti K136, K137 and K138.

At the dawn of the 60’s, well before pop’s ascensionnotes along with its given extravagances, a few turbulent arrangers and other exceptionally gifted orchestrators were already attempting out of the ordinary musical experiences, amusing themselves by using major orchestras in a fully-fledged laboratory capacity. They would do so by using stereophonic effects, exotic percussion and alternatively played instruments to give their compositions strange colours and audacious perspectives. Michel Legrand, a rapidly rising young composer at this time and breaking with the most complex writing techniques, was part of this generation of untamed conductors with very big ideas within which included a wide array of personalities from Esquival, Les Baxter and Lalo Schifrin to Quincy Jones.

Following the huge success of the 2017 release, “Cinema per archi”, featuring the music of Rota, Morricone and Piovani, the Arcana label is back with another recording by the Archi di Santa Cecilia conducted by Luigi Piovano, the eminent cellist whose duo performances with Antonio Pappano have met with widespread acclaim among chamber music aficionados.

The concertos for strings are a very special genre in Vivaldi's output. Contrary to the concertos for solo instruments, those offer a real balance and amazing range of colours between all the intruments concerned. Following a very successful first volume, released in 2004, Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano offer a new milestone recording in Vivaldi's instrumental music, full of colours and refinement.

Bach’s cycle of seven concertos for keyboard and orchestra has come down to us in an autograph score which – in view of the loss of most of the other original manuscripts of his music for instrumental ensemble – is one of the most important sources in this area of his output.

Pietro Antonio Locatelli's arrival on the musical scene during the first half of the eighteenth century was like a bolt from the blue. He wrote and performed things which had never been heard before on a violin; he was able to play in such acute regions 'that a canary lost its balance and fell off its perch' according to an anecdote of the times. His contemporaries had nicknamed him 'Earthquake', and he possessed great performing power and charisma.