Leone Sinigaglia - Complete Works for String Quartet, Vol. 2 (Archos Quartet)

Information

Composer: Leone Sinigaglia

• Romanza, Op. 3
• Ave Maria for String Quartet
• Allegro energico
• Gavotta for String Quartet
• Novelletta
• Moderato mosso
• Scherzo in D Major
• Adagio
• Momento antico (Version for string quartet)
• String Trio in A Major
• Trio-Serenata (Serenade), Op. 33

Wawrzyniec Szymański, horn

Archos Quartet

    Filip Jeska, violin

    Maria Odvody, violin

    Radenko Kostadinov, viola

    Francesca Fiore, cello

Date: 2023

Label: Naxos

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Review

The first volume in this series focused on Sinigaglia’s half-hour String Quartet in D major, composed in 1902, a charming work somewhat reminiscent of Dvořák and Schumann. This second volume majors on two trios, the Trio in A major and the Trio-Serenata (Serenade), and adds a sequence of very much smaller character pieces for string quartet.

The String Trio dates from 1889, so was written at the same time as those deft little character pieces, whose characteristics it shares. In four movements it’s mellifluous, gentle and attractive, with a second movement Theme and Variations of changeable character. The cello leads in the finale where Sinigaglia kicks up some contrapuntal fun and games: a light-hearted and pleasurable work of few intellectual pretensions. The Trio-Serenata (Serenade) dates from 1906 and shows the composer’s command of salon gesture most prominently in the delightful B section of the Intermezzo. The finale is a Capriccio, a slightly circus-like galop with splendid writing for the violin and zestful pizzicati. Neither work has been recorded before. Maria Odvody plays the violin in the String Trio whilst Filip Jeska takes over for the Trio-Serenata. Violist Radenko Kostadinov and cellist Francesca Fiore are ever-present throughout the disc.

The series of quartet works includes only two pieces that have received previous recordings, one of which is the Romanza for string quartet and horn, played by Wawrzyniec Szymański. The luscious romantic textures, either for the quartet or in the accompanying horn passages, show Sinigaglia at the apex of his burnished charm. The other previously recorded work is the Momento antico, in this version for string quartet, a very brief piece – less than two minutes. Elsewhere, we find Sinigaglia in largely nostalgic, reflective and occasionally loquacious form, packing detail into very small canvasses. He’s extrovert in the Allegro energico with its cellistic March theme and series of episodes. He’s whimsical in the baroquerie of the Gavotta, spins an easy going narrative in the Novelletta and encourages a romantically rich Moderato mosso. ‘Classical’ charm is the core of the Scherzo, perhaps with the deftest of sidelong looks at Respighi, whereas the Adagio is all languorous elegance and sublimated romance.

The Archos Quartet reprises the qualities of its excellent earlier disc and those looking for light-hearted, romantically ripe and conversational generosity will find much to enjoy in this latest, finely recorded volume.

— Jonathan Woolf

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Leone Sinigaglia (14 August 1868 – 16 May 1944) was an Italian composer and mountaineer. Born in Turin, he studied composition with Giovanni Bolzoni at the local conservatoire and was passionate about climbing, often spending time in Cavoretto, where nature inspired his music. His travels across Europe shaped his artistic development: he met Brahms in Vienna in 1894 and Dvořák in Prague in 1900. Returning to Turin in 1901, Sinigaglia focused on arranging and preserving Italian folk music. His most acclaimed work is Vecchie Canzoni popolari del Piemonte, Op. 40, a six-volume collection of Piedmontese folk songs.

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The Archos Quartet, founded in 2009 at the Musikhochschule Lübeck, studied under renowned teachers including Gerhard Schulz and Peter Buck, and now pursues advanced degrees at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig. They have held residencies at West Dean College and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, receiving mentorship from Levon Chilingirian and the Belcea Quartet. The ensemble has performed internationally at venues such as the Barbican Centre and major European festivals. Supported by numerous scholarships, they have earned prizes at the Val Tidone and Luigi Boccherini competitions.

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