The Art of Luigi Alberto Bianchi (10CD)

The Art of Luigi Alberto Bianchi (10CD)

Alberto Bianchi, viola/ violin
Salvatore Accardo, violin
Aldo Orvieto, piano
Maurizio Preda, guitar
Bruno Canino, piano
Franco Maggio Ormezowski, cello
Piernarciso Masi, piano
Dubra Kovacevich, piano
Caroline Haffner, piano
Jacques Delacote, conductor (RIAS orchestra)

The most comprehensive collection of Luigi Bianchi's performances.
In the course of Dynamic's thirty-three-year history the CDs recorded by Luigi Alberto Bianchi represent an important part of the Genoese record publisher's catalogue. This relationship is no chance occurrence but is the fruit of a long-standing friendship between the maestro and the founder of Dynamic, professor Pietro Mosetti Casaretto.

This 10-CD box set is a tribute to a friend and a remarkable musician, as well as a comprehensive outline of a cherished collaboration and a multicoloured music journey spanning two centuries (1757, birth date of Alessandro Rolla - 1967, death year of Zoltan Kodaly). It features Bianchi in his double capacity as viola player and violinist.
Born in Rimini in 1945 into a family of musicians, Bianchi started to study the violin when he was six years old and then devoted himself mainly to the viola, the instrument which has brought him his most important successes. He was a member of the Quartetto di Roma from 1964 to '72 and soloist at the Royal Albert Hall in London (1969) and at the Gstaad Festival (in 1970, '72 and '74). In 1970 he won the Carl Flesch competition in London. When he was just twenty years old he was appointed first viola with the RAI Symphony Orchestra in Milan and from '73 to '78 he taught the viola at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan. This period of intense professional activity found one of its pinnacles in the recording of Mozart's Sinfonia concertante K364 in which he performed with Yehudi Menuhin in 1982.
On 7th October 1980 Bianchi suffered the theft of his precious and celebrated viola, known as "del crocifisso", created by Antonio and Girolamo Amati of Cremona in 1595, an instrument of extraordinary beauty with a sound that was immediately recognisable to the expert ear (and can be appreciated in CDs 4 and 5 of this collection). For many years there was no trace of this Amati viola until, fortunately, it was found again a few years ago, in 2006, by the Carabinieri force specialising in art thefts.
For an artist the theft of an instrument is often a source of deep sadness. It may have been in part the loss of his Amati viola that made Bianchi decide to dedicate himself mainly to the violin.
Despite the greater numbers and fiercer competition in the violin arena, Bianchi succeeded in creating room for himself for a highlevel career. He played with such conductors as Ashkenazy, Temirkanov, Leinsdorf, Nelson, and Olmi directing prestigious orchestras like the English Chamber Orchestra, the Montecarlo Philharmonique, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome and the Italian-Swiss Orchestra.

As a violinist Bianchi not only helped Dynamic expand its Paganini catalogue - which is now the most complete in the world - but recorded the works of many composers, at times proposing recording projects himself.
This is the case, for example, of the Works for Violin and Piano by Antonio Bazzini (CD 1) and those by the French composer of Spanish origin Edouard Lalo (CD 9) Bianchi's musicality has often been extolled by critics. There is little doubt that without his fine art and deep sensitivity works such as Paganini's Lucca Sonatas for Violin and Guitar (CDs 2 and 3) would not come across as the little gems they are. Another fine example of how Bianchi could make lyricism soar can be found on CD 8, dedicated to famous encores by Fritz Kreisler.

In this collection of recordings Bianchi plays some instruments of great renown: the already-mentioned Amati Viola four Stradivari violins: the "Nanchez" (1709), the "Falmouth" (1692), the "Rivaz" (1707), and the "Colossus" (1716) and a Maggini violin dated 1620.
Bianchi was the victim of another astonishing theft when his Stradivari, known as "Colossus" on account of its unusual dimensions, was stolen in November 1998. Bought at an auction at Christie's in London for nine hundred thousand dollars in 1987, the violin had also belonged to the famous Italian violinist-composer Giovanni Battista Viotti. Unlike the Amati viola, this instrument has sadly never been found.
Alongside Bianchi, in this box-set, are artists of renown, such as Salvatore Accardo (the beautiful Duets for Violin and Viola by Alessandro Rolla, CD 6), Bruno Canino and the RIAS Orchester Berlin conducted by Jacques Delacote (CD 4), and Franco Maggio Ormezowski (the works for violin and cello by Ravel and Kodaly (CD 7) (DYNAMIC)

Track List:
1- Antonio Bazzini (Brescia, 1818 - Milan, 1897)
Works for Violin and Piano
3 Morceaux en forme de Sonate Op. 44 (1864) 19:42
3 Morceaux caracteristiques Op. 45 (1864) 16:16
3 Morceaux lyriques Op. 41 (1863) 15:44
Menus propos! Causieres musicales.
Premiere suite Op. 47 (1865) 10:54
Reverie Opus posth. (Andante mesto) 03:14
Running Time 65:56
Luigi Alberto Bianchi, violin (Maggini, 1620)
Aldo Orvieto, piano

2- Nicolo Paganini (Genoa, 1782 - Nice, 1840)
Lucca Sonatas
Sonatas for Violin and Guitar Opp. 1 / 2 / 4
Opus 1 (M.S. 9) * 17:03
Opus 2 (M.S. 10) * 21:32
Opus 4 (M.S. 11) ** 13:03
Running Time 51:38
Luigi Alberto Bianchi, violin - Maurizio Preda, guitar
*A. Stradivari ”Nachez”, Cremona 1709
** A. Stradivari ”Falmouth”, Cremona 1692

3- Nicolo Paganini (Genoa, 1782 - Nice, 1840)
Lucca Sonatas
Sonatas for Violin and Guitar Opp. 4 / 5 / 6
Opus 4 (M.S. 11) ** 12:11
Opus 5 (M.S. 12) ** 19:26
Opus 6 (M.S. 13) *** 21:15
Running Time 52:24
Luigi Alberto Bianchi, violin - Maurizio Preda, guitar
* A. Stradivari ”Nachez”, Cremona 1709 - ** A. Stradivari ”Falmouth”, Cremona 1692
*** A. Stradivari ”Rivaz”, Cremona 1707

4- Gran Viola: Luigi Alberto Bianchi plays the 1595 Amati Viola
Paganini Sonata per la Gran Viola* (M.S. 70) 13:11
Paganini La Campanella** 05:27
Kreisler Liebeslied** 03:27
Kreisler Liebesfreud** 03:45
Sarasate Playera** 04:50
Sarasate Malaguena** 05:16
Sarasate Romanza Andalusa** 05:09
Sarasate Zapateado** 03:43
Bloch Nigun** 07:51
Debussy La fille a cheveux de lin** 02:50
Ravel Habanera** 02:52
Running Time 58:26
Luigi Alberto Bianchi
* Rias Orchester Berlin - Jacques Delacote
** Bruno Canino, piano

5- Max Reger (Brand, 1873 - Leipzig, 1916)
Violin Sonata No. 7 Op. 91
The 3 Viola Suites Op. 131 d
Violin Sonata No. 7 in A minor 22:57
Viola Suite No. 1 in G minor 12:27
Viola Suite No. 2 in D major 10:31
Viola Suite No. 3 in E minor 10:01
Running Time 56:02
Luigi Alberto Bianchi, violin and viola

6- Alessandro Rolla (Pavia, 1757 - Milan, 1841)
Three Duets for Violin and Viola Op. 15
Duet No. 1 in E flat major 21:30
Duet No. 2 in A flat major 18:26
Duet No. 3 in C major 18:07
Running Time 58:14
Salvatore Accardo, violin
Luigi Alberto Bianchi, viola

7- Zoltan Kodaly (Kecskemet, 1882 - Budapest, 1967)
Maurice Ravel (Ciboure, 1875 - Paris, 1937)
Works for Violin and Cello
ZOLTAN KODALY
Sonata for Cello solo Op. 8 30:59
Duo Op. 7 for Violin and Cello 26:47
MAURICE RAVEL
Sonata for Violin and Cello 20:17
Running Time 78:16
Luigi Alberto Bianchi, violin
Franco Maggio Ormezowski, cello

8- Fritz Kreisler (Vienna, 1875 - New York, 1962)
Famous Encores
Tambourin Chinois Op. 3 (1910) Allegro molto, quasi presto 03:58
SchOn Rosmarin (1910) Grazioso 02:08
Liebesleid (1910) Tempo di ”Landler” 03:38
Liebesfreud (1910) Allegro 03:47
Caprice Viennoise Op. 2 (1910)
Allegro molto moderato, andante con moto 04:39
Gypsy Caprice (1927) Allegretto, molto ritmico 05:36
La Gitana (1918) Allegro moderato, quasi recitativo - Allegro giusto e ritmico 03:28
Syncopation (1925) Allegretto grazioso 01:59
Londonderry Air (1922) (Old Irish song) Andante con moto 04:30
Dancing Doll (1924) (Eduard Poldini) Tempo di Valse 02:36
Polichinelle Serenade (1917) Allegro giocoso e ritmico 02:22
Rondino (1915) (On a theme by Beethoven) Allegro grazioso 02:41
Toy Soldiers March (1917) 02:09
The Old Refrain (1915) Andante con moto 04:13
Marche Miniature Viennoise (1930) 03:26
Viennese Rapsodic Fantasietta (1914)
Tempo moderato e rubato 09:28
Recitativo und Scherzo - Caprice Op. 6 (solo violin)
Lento con espressione - Presto e brillante 04:41
Running Time 65:26
Luigi Alberto Bianchi, violin (Stradivari ”Colossus”, 1716)
Piernarciso Masi, piano (Steinway Concert Grand)

9- Edouard Lalo (Lille, 1823 - Paris, 1892)
Works for Violin and Piano
Fantaisie Originale Op. 1 09:58
Allegro maestoso Op. 2 in C minor 11:30
Two Impromptus Op. 4 08:01
Pastorale Op. 8 in G Major 03:37
Scherzo alla Pulcinella in E flat Major 05:09
Sonata Op. 12 in D Major 20:13
Soirees Parisiennes. Trois morceaux caracteristiques par Ch. Wehle et Ed. Lalo Op. 18 09:27
Arlecchino. Morceau caracteristique in G Major 03:50
Guitare Op. 28 in B minor 03:44
Running Time 75:36
Luigi Alberto Bianchi, violin
Dubra Kovacevich, piano

10- Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - London, 1826)
Sonatas for Violin and Piano
IX Variations on a Norvegian Aria 15:25
Sonata Op. 10 (b) No. 1 (1810) 09:07
Sonata Op.10 (b) No. 2 (1810) 09:43
Sonata Op. 10 (b) No. 3 (1810) 04:47
Sonata Op. 10 (b) No. 4 (1810) 06:06
Sonata Op. 10 (b) No. 5 (1810) 11:06
Sonata Op. 10 (b) No. 6 (1810) 10:30
Running Time 67:37
Luigi Alberto Bianchi, violin (Stradivari ”Colossus”, 1716)
Caroline Haffner, piano