Grazia Nll

The recording collaboration with the great violinist Salvatore Accardo continues, which began 29 years ago.

Domènech Terradellas, born in Barcelona in 1713, finished his studies in Naples, with Durante amongst others, and became one of the most popular composers of his time. His operas rivalled those of Handel, Hasse and Jommelli and were to be seen on the major stages of Rome, Naples, Florence,Venice but also London, and his name was revered as a model for good taste by Rousseau and Burney. After his premature death in 1751, the Catalan composer fell into oblivion and it is only recently that first class interpreters have showed an interest in him once again.

Following acclaimed discs exploring some of the more fascinating byways of the Italian eighteenth century, Auser Musici and its founder-director Carlo Ipata turn to the man Beethoven regarded as the finest of his contemporaries, Luigi Cherubini. It’s not difficult to understand why Beethoven was so impressed: this is music full of character and seriousness of intent, from the strong-jawed Sinfonia for the opera Armida abandonnata, written when Cherubini was just twenty-two, to the dark drama of the Overture to Démophon (which unaccountably failed to wow the sniffy Parisian audiences). And there are vocal delights too, showcasing a virtuosity that looks forward to Rossini and sung here with effortless agility by Maria Grazia Schiavo.