Keyboard Music in Piedmont in 18th Century

Amongst the many states that divided Italy until the first half of the 19th century, the Savoy kingdom was the one thatprobably enjoyed the least consideration under the musical point of view.
This definitely is an ungenerous andobjective judgement if, in particular, the comparison is taken with Venice, Rome or Naples, cities that, starting with theRenaissance, enjoyed an artistic development that through the 18th century saw them becoming the most marvellouscities in the entire world.
Between the eighteenth and nineteenth century, in Piedmont grew a violin school of great importance, starting with theGiovanni Battista e Giovanni Lorenzo Somis brothers – still stylistically tied to the French tradition that in thoseyears was dominated by Jean-Marie Leclair – that, through Gaetano Pugnani, would have reached Giovanni Battista Viotti,virtuoso and composer of great talent of European level.
Up to now discographic catalogues have been really greedy with Piedmont.
Now, with the 150th Anniversary of the unification of Italy that found its most important energy in Turin, Tactus presents a CD of great interest programming music by Giacinto and Vincenzo Calderara.
The most interesting aspect about this disc certainly is coming from the extraordinary stilistic variety that goes fromWeiner school elements to Venetian reminiscences with cues from the Neapolitan school of the Suonata by Vincenzo Calderara.
The great booklet notes signed by Paolo Cavallo contextualize the opera – World Premiere! – in their correcthistorical and artistic context yet at the same time emphasizing the great reserch work within the Piedmont libraries thatallowed the discovery of these works.
The absolute star of this disc is Mario Stefano Tonda (from Turin himself), that, after studying harpsichord with someof the greatest Italian and international soloists such as Ottavio Dantone, Emilia Fadini and Kenneth Gilbert, specializedin fortepiano with Malcolm Bilson.
The instrument used by Tonda, with its rich and fascinating sound, is a copy of thefortepiano manufactured by Austrian Anton Walter around 1805.
An unmissable discovery!