Nino Rota - Trios; Nonet (Pahud; Meyer; Le Sage; Kashimoto)

Information

Composer: Nino Rota

• Trio for Flute, Violin and Piano
• Valzer sul nome Bach
• Piccola offerta musicale
• Nonetto
• Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano
• Prelude XIII. Andante cantabile
• Prelude II. Allegro, ma espressivo e delicato

Emmanuel Pahud, flute

Paul Meyer, clarinet

Éric Le Sage, piano

Daishin Kashimoto, violin

Joaquín Riquelme García, viola

Aurélien Pascal, cello

Claudio Bohórquez, cello

Olivier Thiery, double bass

François Meyer, oboe

Gilbert Audin, bassoon

Benoît de Barsony, horn

Date: 2021

Label: Alpha

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Review

In addition to his many film scores, Nino Rota also composed numerous concert and stage works as well as working as a faculty member and later director of the Liceo Musicale in Bari for much of his adult life. The chamber works on this album come from the middle and later parts of his composing career. Piccola offerta musicale, composed for wind quintet in 1943 when Rota was 32, was dedicated to Alfredo Casella on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Its pastoral warmth, lyrical freshness and deft scoring make a strong impression despite its duration of only four minutes. Both the Trio for flute, violin and piano of 1958 and the Trio for clarinet, cello and piano from 15 years later are compact works formed of two faster outer movements and a slower central one. The former is notable for the pungency of its opening movement and the seriousness and depth of its Andante, the latter for its quirky humour and melancholic expressiveness.

The longest work in this collection is the Nonetto, which was commissioned in 1957 but not completed until the mid-1970s. Its five movements encompass a variety of styles and moods, and frequently find Rota’s invention striking off in unexpected and rewarding directions. Particularly enjoyable is the third-movement Allegro con spirito, with its ear-catching and haunting Trio section. The collection also includes a small sample of Rota’s writing for piano. The two items from the 15 Preludes of 1964 both convey feelings of mystery and nostalgia, and are among the most cinematic pieces here, although it was in fact the lively and characterful pair of Waltzes on the Name Bach of 1975 that Rota would later put to use in a film soundtrack, namely that of Fellini’s Casanova (1976).

All of the performances here by Alpha’s distinguished line-up of musicians are as involving as they are virtuoso, and the recording is clear and well balanced. If the programme appeals, don’t hesitate.

— Christian Hoskins

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Nino Rota (3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and educator, internationally acclaimed for his film scores. He is best known for his collaborations with Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti, as well as for scoring The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, the latter earning him an Academy Award. Over a 46-year career, Rota composed more than 150 film scores, in addition to operas, ballets, orchestral and chamber works, including a notable concerto for strings. He also wrote music for theatre and served for nearly three decades as director of the Liceo Musicale in Bari.

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Emmanuel Pahud (born 27 January 1970) is a Franco-Swiss flautist. Trained at the Paris Conservatoire, he studied with several eminent flautists and gained early recognition through major competition successes. In 1992 he was appointed Principal Flute of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he continues to hold. Pahud performs worldwide as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, collaborating with distinguished conductors and artists. He is a strong advocate for contemporary music, commissioning numerous new works for flute. He has received many honors, including the 2024 Léonie Sonning Music Prize.

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Éric Le Sage (born 15 June 1964 in Aix-en-Provence) is a French pianist. A graduate of the Conservatoire de Paris, he further studied in London with Maria Curcio and won prizes at the Porto Competition and the Robert Schumann International Competition. Recognized for his refined artistry and commitment to chamber music, he has performed internationally with leading orchestras and conductors such as Simon Rattle and Yannick Nézet-Seguin. Particularly acclaimed for his interpretations of Robert Schumann and Gabriel Fauré, Le Sage has produced award-winning recordings for RCA, Naïve, EMI and Alpha.

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