Braccioli Riccardo

Of the artists active today, Ricardo Muti has been a welcome guest at the Festival for more than 40 years. His first conducting engagements there did not just provide the basis for his current “telepathic” relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic, but also brought collaborations with important soloists of the older generation. Thus the new CD in the series FESTIVAL DOCUMENTS includes the Piano Concerto by Robert Schumann under Muti’s baton, with Sviatoslav Richter once more proving the uniqueness of his pianistic gifts. Over and above all its virtuoso challenges, Richter and Muti together give an account triumphant in its formal cohesion and in which they sculpt it as a large-scale musical arch.

During Riccardo Muti s 19-year tenure as La Scala s music director, his relationship with the Filarmonica della Scala extended beyond the opera pit. The seven-CD set Riccardo Muti conducts Italian Masters celebrates their shared Italian heritage with a mixture of much-loved Verdi overtures, modern classics from Nino Rota ( uniformly stunning AllMusic Guide) and enticing works from the turn of the century by the likes of Casella, Martucci and Busoni (on an album successful in every respect , according to Gramophone). Busoni s Turandot Suite (like the orchestral works also released here by operatic composers Ponchielli, Catalani and Puccini) is perfectly suited to an orchestra and conductor at home in both dramatic and symphonic repertoires. How is it possible for so attractive, witty and artful a work to lay neglected for so long? enthused Gramophone.

Born in Forlì (Italy) in 1951, Riccardo Zappa is widely recognized as the greatest Italian acoustic guitarist. For five consecutive years he was voted the best in the poll promoted by the famous monthly magazine "Guitar Club". After that, he was declared to be no longer eligible for nomination. His music is in fact quite unique in the whole Italian prog scene; not can many other comparisons be found outside Italy, except perhaps Mike Oldfield, for his long, acoustic-based instrumental compositions.
His unmistakable trademark is the "Ovation" guitar, an instrument with a striking nasal sound, very suited to being handled with special effects. His first work, "Auhlela & Zappa" was recorded in 1974 as a duo, with lyrics and vocals by Klaus Auhlela and music by Riccardo Zappa himself…

Riccardo Chailly - Kapellmeister of the Gewandhaus in Bach's city of Leipzig - conducts the city's famous Gewandhausorchester in the glorious Christmas Oratorio. An outstanding vocal cast includes Martin Lattke as the evangelist, acclaimed English soprano Carolyn Sampson and the voices of the Dresdner Kammerchor. The six parts which make up the Christmas Oratorio tell the biblical story from Christ's birth to the adoration of the shepherds and the Magi, and the flight in to Egypt to escape Herod's slaughter of the infants. Having first conducted the Gewandhausorchester in 1986, Riccardo Chailly's association with Leipzig is now only one year less than Bach's.

Melancholia is Italian bass Andrea Mastroni's most recent recording project. Mastroni is a true custodian of this type of singing, and this release represents a journey of discovery of the work of Handel that was written especially for Antonio Montagnana, one of the most exceptional singers in England during the period the German composer was working there. Desperation, anger, incantations, warrior instincts and human passion are some of the diverse elements captured in these pieces. A worthy companion for this vocal marathon is the Accademia dell'Annunciata, a baroque orchestra of great quality, conducted by Riccardo Doni.

Theodor W. Adorno regarded Mahlers Symphony No. 9 as the first work of modern music. Adornos teacher, Alban Berg, saw in it the expression of a tremendous love for this world, a longing to live in peace and to savor Nature to its depths before the arrival of Death. For it will inevitably come. This live recording of the composers last completed symphony is part of an ongoing Leipzig cycle of Mahlers symphonies. It confirms once more the Gewandhaus Orchestras reputation as an exemplary ensemble for the performance of Mahlers music. The highest level of performance culture combined with a sharply contoured, transparent, polished, and detailed manner of playing, plus infectious verve and an unmistakable sound characterized by a darkly golden color these are qualities responsible for the Gewandhaus Orchestras international reputation. Since the time of Bruno Walter, the orchestra has developed over the years a deep understanding of the works of Gustav Mahler, which in their collaboration with Riccardo Chailly has been continued.