Matteo Mancusso

The cello was a beneficiary of the remarkable flowering of high culture sponsored by both ecclesiastical and aristocratic patrons in early 18th-century Naples. In 1717, Rocco Greco (1650-1718) became the last appointed player of the viola da gamba in the Royal Chapel dedicated to the treasure of St Januarius, the patron saint of Naples. Both Greco and his colleague Gaetano Francone (c.1650-1717) produced new music for the cello which was suitable for performance within the liturgy of the chapel.

Scarlatti’s sonatas are among the most original compositions of the Baroque period, bursting with rhythmic and harmonic invention, contrast and colour. Matteo Mela and Lorenzo Micheli take up this exceptional production and record, on two guitars, twelve of his 555 sonatas. Scarlatti was well acquainted with the instrument, which he heard in Spain and Italy, where it permeated his keyboard compositions. By going back to one of Scarlatti’s most obvious and greater musical sources of inspiration, the two performers underline the eloquence and inexhaustible invention of these rhapsodic miniatures, masterpieces of their composer’s art as a colourist.

Rare manuscripts from the library of an Italian abbey, rediscovered and recorded for the first time.

Romantic miniatures by a forgotten Italian cellist and composer: the first album ever dedicated to the music of Domenico Laboccetta.

This exceptional recording was made using three original instruments that belonged to Paganini himself: the powerful 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin; a six-string guitar by Ory, Paris, dated 1797; and a magnificent 1736 Stradivari cello, property of the Nippon Music Foundation and entrusted to Clemens Hagen, cellist of the Hagen Quartet. The three instruments are played together for the first time on this release. It was Giulio Plotino who conceived this project and took upon himself the difficult task of reuniting the three instruments. Indeed, this unique recording would not have been possible without him.

Solos is a sonic exploration of the acoustic guitar. But that glib description gives short shrift to the daring and abstract worlds unearthed from within the instrument by Matteo Liberatore (using such unconventional tools as metal springs, alligator clips, a bass bow, and a kick drum beater). The mountainous, medieval region of Abruzzo, Italy, where Matteo grew up, inspired an overarching darkness in his sound as much as being the son of an architect fostered his deep appreciation of textured expression and modern art movements. Now resident in Brooklyn, Matteo's new album draws from his early experience of life in America - the rawness of a world where incredible art and expression flourish alongside money market-driven politics.