Mendelssohn - Europa Galante - Audio CD (Arrives in 50 days)

In this new album, Fabio Biondi shares with us his discovery of six never-before recorded string quartets by the Milanese composer Carlo Monza (1735-1801): works with the delicate style, flirtatious tone and flighty moods characteristic of the late eighteenth century, strongly inspired by opera. This programme is undoubtedly a revelation – for listeners, because this is the first ever recording and the composer is virtually unknown to the general public, but also for Fabio Biondi, who discovered these works ten or so years ago in the catalogue of a private library. Frustratingly unable to consult or play them, he later chanced upon a copy in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. A long search led him to these six little gems of polished writing, among the first composed for four stringed instruments. This album is also an opportunity to discover some of Mendelssohn’s lesser-known works, including the noteworthy Salve Regina sung by the soprano Monica Piccinini, several solitary fugues, a Largo and Allegro for piano and strings and a Concerto for violin and string orchestra in D minor. “This is a profound work,” says Biondi, who also plays the violin solo here, “with a rich orchestral part, which does not merely accompany the soloist, but is also fully engaged in all its sections, and a particularly interesting violin part. It conveys a constant good humour, in a huge kaleidoscope of formulations, while always retaining its formal construction.”

Tracklist

1. Sinfonia For Strings In D Major No.2
2. Fuga For String Quartet
3. Concerto For Violin and Strings
4. Sinfonia For Strings In B Flat Major No.5
5. Largo and Allegro For Piano and Strings In D Minor
6. Salve Regina For Soprano and Strings In B Flat Major
7. Fuga a Tre In G Minor - Fuga a Tre In D Minor

Label: Naive | Origin: Holland