Fabrizio Corda

With the present release of this Donizettian masterpiece, recorded live in 2001, Dynamic makes an historic move, becoming the first Italian label to produce a DVD opera. This very high quality production by Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo features, in the roles of the two queens, Carmela Remigio (Maria Stuarda) and Sonia Ganassi (Elisabetta), two great artists here making a fine display of their excellent vocal and acting skills. Francesco Esposito’s direction and costumes, and Italo Grassi’s sets are very effective and superbly highlighted by the filming. What makes the release even more interesting is the use of a new critical edition made by the renowned Swedish musicologist Anders Wiklund for Casa Ricordi.

The trumpet has a curious fate. On the one hand, it is one of the oldest instruments created by humankind, and, with its many variants (in shape, matter, size and sound) it is found in most cultures through time and space. On the other hand, its standing as a solo instrument has been recognized only relatively recently in Western music, although the twentieth century saw a sudden and magnificent flowering of solo works for this instrument, not only in the classical repertoire but also in a wide range of other musical styles.

For his 1981 eponymous release Fabrizio De André picks off where his last album Rimini had left. Pursuing the fruitful collaboration with Massimo Bubola, with whom De André co-wrote the totality of the material, this album extends the country & western musical and thematic references introduced in Rimini into a full-blown analogy between two oppressed communities, the Native American Indians and the Sardinians. In fact, the record is usually referred to as "Indiano," since its cover features a Frederick Remington painting of a Sioux hunter on a horse. In addition, the key track " "Fiume Sand Creek" depicts the harrowing massacre of his tribe at the hands of the U.S. Cavalry through the eyes of an Indian child. Based on an actual historical event, this song became a De André concert staple…

Angelo Berardi (Sant’Agata Feltria, Urbino, 1630 – Rome, 1694) was a pupil of Giovan Vincenzo Sarti and Marco Scacchi, of the Roman school, the latter a fundamental figure in his training. Committed supporter of the Seconda Prattica, Berardi maintained that modern music had reached “greater perfection compared to the past” and that the practice of music was more important than theory. He asserted, moreover, that a good composition should also elevate the soul to virtuous thoughts.

Fabrizio Bosso started learning the trumpet at the age of five, graduating at fifteen from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Turin. Upon graduating he was awarded a scholarship to study at St. Mary’s College in Washington D. C. In 2000 Bosso released “Fast Flight”, his debut album as bandleader. 2002 saw the release of “Jazz For More”, the first of a series of recordings with the High Five Quintet, namely “Jazz Desire” in 2004, “Five For Five”, issued in 2008 on the prestigious label Blue Note, and “Split Kick” in 2010 on Blue Note Japan. “Handful of Soul”, Mario Biondi’s album released in 2006 on Schema Records is yet another of the High Five Quintet’s noteworthy recordings, which catapulted the Italian singer into worldwide fame.