Matteo Mancusso

Matthias Weckmann (1616-1674) was an organist and composer of the North German School. His musical training took place at the Dresden court, where he was a pupil of Heinrich Schütz, studying organ and singing. In 1633 he went to Hamburg to study with the famous organist Jacob Praetorius. He influenced by Schütz as well as pupils of Sweelinck who settled in Hamburg. The rest of his life he held important posts in Hamburg (organist of the Jacobskirche) and at the Dresden Court.

The piano was a constant presence throughout Berio’s life, from the charming early Petite Suite to the compelling drama of the Piano Sonata, one of his last works. Berio’s profound exploration of this instrument’s timbres and possibilities is further in evidence in the Webern-like concision of Cinque variazioni and the famously virtuoso Sequenza. The obsessiveness of Rounds and the deeply personal Six Encores complete a recording that marks the 20th anniversary of Berio’s death in 2023.

A meeting of four of the greatest talents that Italian jazz has expressed in the last 15 years. This is Reverse Motion, the new album by Alessandro Lanzoni, to be released on 26 July by Jam/Unjam (Universal distribution). The album will be preceded by the pianist's signature track Mad Bog on 19 July. The album is recorded with the trio composed of Matteo Bortone on double bass and Enrico Morello on drums, a line-up that has been accompanying Lanzoni for 12 years after the three had met at Siena Jazz during the International jazz master's experience, with special guest Francesco Cafiso on alto sax. The understanding cemented by Lanzoni's trio over these years is so profound that the 9 previously unreleased tracks, composed mainly by the Tuscan pianist but with contributions from the other musicians, despite their extremely different compositional styles converge in the same direction with a surprising coherence and amalgam of sound.

Giuseppe Martucci was one of the formative figures in the re-establishment of Italian instrumental music in the second half of the 19th century. His orchestral music had advocates as powerful as Mahler and Toscanini, and his piano concertos won admirers. His solo piano music was performed mostly by him, and today remains virtually unknown. These compositions offer verdant, colourful melodies, striking dance themes, and elegant music crafted for the salon. There are also some flamboyant and virtuoso challenges, tracing a lineage back to Scarlatti.