Costantino Catena

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948) is a composer difficult to classify. A child of his time he kept aloof from the innovations of the modernists and dodecaphony.

Sumptuous, late-Romantic but little-known piano music including several world premiere recordings. The name of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948) is now emerging from the shadow cast by his wartime collaboration with Italy’s Fascist regime. Operas such as I quattro rusteghi and I gioielli della Madonna occupy a place on the fringes of the repertoire, and Brilliant Classics have made a persuasive case for him as a composer of chamber music in a post-Brahmsian mould with the release of his piano trios (BC95624). This album was recommended by Classics Today for the ‘eloquently sustained’ performance of Trio Archè, displaying ‘a whimsical discursiveness… that might be described as the lovechild of Schubert and Fauré.’

The Brilliant Classics series 'ITALIAN ROMANTICS' pays tribute to the rich heritage of instrumental (as opposed to vocal, operatic) music by Italian composers in the Romantic/Late-Romantic era. This comprehensive 6-CD set presents cello sonatas by Wolf-Ferrari, Cilea, Pizzetti, Martucci, Pilati, Sollima, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Pilati and Casella. A generous survey of full-blooded romantic music, often rooted in German Romanticism but always ablaze with Mediterranean passion and warmth. Played by excellent Italian cellists and pianists, with great affinity for the tonal language of their compatriots.

The Brilliant Classics series 'ITALIAN ROMANTICS' pays tribute to the rich heritage of instrumental (as opposed to vocal, operatic) music by Italian composers in the Romantic/Late-Romantic era. This comprehensive 6-CD set presents cello sonatas by Wolf-Ferrari, Cilea, Pizzetti, Martucci, Pilati, Sollima, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Pilati and Casella. A generous survey of full-blooded romantic music, often rooted in German Romanticism but always ablaze with Mediterranean passion and warmth. Played by excellent Italian cellists and pianists, with great affinity for the tonal language of their compatriots.

One of Italy's foremost violinists, Davide Alogna has attracted notice for performances of several neglected violin concertos of the 20th century. He is also an important educator. Alogna was born in Palermo in 1980. He studied at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Como, earning an honors degree with concentrations in violin and piano, and he went on to the Conservatoire de Paris for master's studies. There, he earned the school's First Prize of Unanimity in 2006.

The Brilliant Classics series 'ITALIAN ROMANTICS' pays tribute to the rich heritage of instrumental (as opposed to vocal, operatic) music by Italian composers in the Romantic/Late-Romantic era. This comprehensive 6-CD set presents cello sonatas by Wolf-Ferrari, Cilea, Pizzetti, Martucci, Pilati, Sollima, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Pilati and Casella. A generous survey of full-blooded romantic music, often rooted in German Romanticism but always ablaze with Mediterranean passion and warmth. Played by excellent Italian cellists and pianists, with great affinity for the tonal language of their compatriots.

306 d.C., anno 1059 dalla fondazione di Roma. L'imperatore Galerio decide di censire i cristiani dell'irrequieta provincia di Palestina con lo scopo di indurli a riconoscere la religione ufficiale e dà l'incarico a Elio Sparziano, fidato ufficiale di cavalleria, storico e biografo. Questo sulla carta, perché ciò che preme davvero a Galerio è mettere le mani sul leggendario tesoro dei Maccabei, nascosto in un luogo segreto circa vent'anni prima. E soprattutto, deve impedire che il tesoro cada nelle mani dell'ambizioso Costantino, pronto a succedere al trono. Mentre si diletta a "censire" anche i migliori bordelli dell'Impero, Sparziano si mette sulle tracce del prezioso bottino. Ma non è il solo: con lui Elena, madre di Costantino, donna intrigante e priva di scrupoli, disposta a tutto per promuovere l'ascesa del figlio ai vertici dell'Impero…