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Alessandro Rolla: Champion of the viola Alessandro Rolla was a violist, violinist and conductor. Born in Pavia in 1757, he studied the viola and violin in Milan. On settling in Parma in 1782, he became principal violist, then leader and finally director of the Ducale Orchestra. After returning to Milan in 1802, he was appointed director of the Orchestra alla Scala, a position he held for 30 years; in 1808, when the Milan Conservatoire was founded, Rolla became professor of violin and viola, remaining in the post until 1835. Both as a virtuoso and a composer, he enjoyed immense fame throughout his life, as evidenced by this curious anecdote reported by Abbot Giuseppe Bertini in his Dizionario storicocritico degli scrittori di musica in 1815: Alessandro Rolla deservedly has the reputation of being the most accomplished viola virtuoso in Europe. It is also said that if he is forbidden to play [the viola] in public, so that women cannot hear that instrument, they will no longer suffer from nervous attacks.

In addition to various ballets, Rolla wrote a large number of instrumental compositions: concertos for violin and for viola, string quartets, quintets, trio concertanti, divertimenti and symphonies. Most of his output is handwritten. This release presents an important selection of Rolla’s compositions; evidence of his smooth and pleasant writing, anchored to formal Classical models reminiscent of Mozart, a true inspiration for his music. Compared to Classical models, however, there is a significant amount of virtuosic writing evident in Rolla’s concertos, at the expense of the orchestra, which is often limited to an accompanying role. The two symphonies, on the contrary, belong to the genre of the Italian ‘symphony in one movement’, with a short, slow introduction that introduces the Allegro section in three parts: the two subjects, of a markedly operatic character, are heard in the first part and the short middle section serves as a contrast to and tonal diversion from the home key of the piece (the episode in the central section of Sinfonia BI531, played by a solo violin, is particularly notable). The third part is a reprise of the first, returning back to the original key.

The Viola Concerto in E flat Op.3 opens with a few bars of an introductory Andante section, which serve as an ‘opening curtain’ for the Allegro, whose orchestral exposition – clearly in the style of Mozart – consists of two themes: the first, a joyous explosion of sound in E flat major, is assigned to the strings, whereas the second, delicate and almost prudish, is given to the oboe. A brief and charming coda, announced by the horns and followed by oboes and violins, heralds the entry of the soloist. The viola dominates here uncontested, animating the musical dialogue by presenting the themes and interspersing them with incisive virtuosic passages. The development section opens with some rather dramatic accents in the orchestral part; these herald some shadowy traces of melody that are gradually taken over by the viola. Significant in this regard is an episode in which the orchestra holds a long pedal note in C minor, over which a wistful melody is heard in the solo part. This nostalgia soon brightens up, however, with the reprisal of the main themes, entrusted to the viola, which alternates between them in moments of playful virtuosity. A long cadenza, which harks back to some of the passages in the development section, brings us back to the final orchestral coda. In the Largo movement those wistful melodic elements first heard in the development of the Allegro are reintroduced, this time developed and enhanced. The orchestral introduction first plunges us into an ambience of bitter resignation, immediately reprised by the viola. A few snatches of the melody are then heard in the tutti part as it moves back towards the original major key, but this is short-lived; instead, the bleak and shadowy hues heard at the beginning return, characterising the rest of the movement. The soloist’s cadenza is long and elaborate, taking place shortly before the orchestral coda. The final Rondo, once again in the style of Mozart, is delicate and rather coquettish. The viola is the absolute protagonist, not just in the theme but also in the four virtuosic interludes. The musical discourse flows fluid and serene; the tutti parts are well measured and serve to highlight the dexterity of the soloist. The Divertimento BI330 for viola and strings is structured in two movements. The first, Andante sostenuto, opens with four intense bars in the strings that signal the

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entry of the solo viola, which is entrusted with the main theme, a tranquil and serene melody enriched by triplets and ornamental embellishments. A brief central section, dominated by the viola, precedes the reprise of the main theme, now followed by a calm coda in F major. The Allegro alla Polacca is a pleasant, flowing movement, written in the rondo form that was common at the time. Its first theme in F major is characterised by a galloping ternary rhythm, which is followed by a second, more cantabile theme, this time in the key of C. The theme is immediately repeated by the orchestra while the soloist performs a virtuosic passage of demisemiquavers. A cadenza in the viola precedes the reprise of the first theme of the movement; this is followed by the second theme (now in F major), played first by the viola and then the orchestra. A long cadential coda concludes the movement. The Concertino in E flat for viola and strings was written in 1808, the year in which Rolla took up his post at the Milan Conservatoire. The Allegro maestoso opens with a solemn orchestral introduction that signals the entry of the soloist with grand emphasis. The first theme is a motif based on the chord of E flat major; the second is a delicate, melodic, ascending line, embellished with small ornamental decorations. The two are combined by showy passages, allowing the soloist to flaunt his virtuosic ability. The short orchestral epilogue stops abruptly on a seventh chord, preparing for the attacca Andante un poco sostenuto movement. Here the powerful viola line rises above a delicate rhythmic-harmonic tapestry in the strings, leading us through a long episode in A flat major that is interrupted only by a middle section introduced by fiery octave scales in the strings. A shortened reprise of the A flat major episode leads to a brief concluding coda. The third movement, Polonese: Allegretto, is based around a motif with a unique ‘sobbing’ rhythm. The movement is structured once again in rondo form, with two episodes that alternate with the ritornello. The final coda is particularly virtuosic. The Sinfonia in D BI530 opens with a slow and solemn introduction, highly Beethovenian in style. The Allegro vivo that immediately follows begins with a lively, almost operatic theme, heard first in the woodwind and then enhanced by arabesques

in the violins. After the transition, the second theme, in A major, is heard in the first violins: the Mozartian model is very much in evidence here. The coda in the exposition is embellished with a Rossini-like crescendo and stops rather abruptly on an interrupted cadence that heralds the development section. This section, sparse and essentially devoid of motivic material, serves only to return to the original key of the piece, and to reintroduce the main theme. The second theme is also reprised, now in the key of D major, along with the coda and its Rossinian crescendo. The epilogue of the composition features playful solo horn interventions, bringing us to the closing chords. The Sinfonia in D BI531 is structured almost identically to its predecessor, and, when bearing in mind the same key of D major and some similar motivic material, we can certainly talk about ‘twin’ symphonies. A point of contrast, however, is the presence of a violin soloist in the orchestra, whose role becomes increasingly important in the middle section of the Allegro vivo section. Right from the Maestoso sostenuto opening, we can hear themes that bear strong similarities to the slow introduction of the Sinfonia BI530. The Allegro section that follows opens instead with a theme reminiscent of opera buffa; a hesitant scale in the strings, alternating notes with pauses, creates a musical image of a man creeping along with a stealthy tread. A brillante orchestral transition leads us to the dominant key, A major, in which the second theme is presented, played sotto voce by the strings, and finally a third theme, which juxtaposes the solo flute against long held notes in the strings and horns; the concluding coda skips along in a lively way. The central section of the Allegro vivo is given over to the solo violin, which plays a long solo passage in F major, supported by a simple rhythmic accompaniment in the strings. The reprise of the first section is almost identical to the exposition: the only difference is in the timbre, as the third theme is entrusted to the oboe rather than the flute. The piece concludes with a final, exhilarating coda. 훿 Alessandro De Bei

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Simonide Braconi ‘A superbly solid sound’ The Strad ‘Particularly striking was his assured virtuosity and the warmth of his instrument’ Badener Tagblatt ‘Truly excellent intonation’ Corriere della Sera ‘He clearly possesses first-class instrumental resources, boasting a velvety and homogenous sound and an excellent technique’ CD Classica ‘A true example of beautiful music transcending even the soloist himself’ L’Eco di Bergamo ‘A soloist of great talent with a superbly refined and expressive interpretation [...] Distinctive for his indescribable cantabile playing and the smoothness of his bowing, not to mention his virtuosity and delicate sound’ Messaggero Veneto

Born in 1971, Simonide Braconi graduated from the ‘Santa Cecilia’ Conservatoire in Rome and later from the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg (with honours), having studied with Sebastiano Esposito and Kim Kashkashian respectively. He specialised with renowned performers Bruno Giuranna (at the Accademia ‘W. Stauffer’ in Cremona) and Yuri Bashmet (at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena), achieving diplomas of merit in 1991 and 1992 respectively. Braconi has won various international accolades, including prizes at the Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft in Cologne, Germany, and the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, held on the Isle of Man. He was principal viola of the Orchestre des Jeunes de la Méditerranée and a member of the European Community Youth Orchestra (now the European Union Youth Orchestra). As principal viola, he has also collaborated with the Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and in 1994, at the age of just 22, he was chosen by conductor Riccardo Muti to be principal viola of the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. As both a soloist and an ensemble player, Braconi has recorded for the labels Vigiesse, Thymallus, Rhona, Stradivarius, Agorà, Tudor, DAD, Velut Luna and Dynamic. He has also broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Rai, Rete 4 and Sky Classica, and his discs have been released by the magazines CD Classica, Suonare News and La Provincia di Cremona. For Amadeus he recorded the complete music for viola and piano by Brahms. His chamber ensemble collaborations have included performances with Salvatore Accardo, Massimo Quarta, Julian Rachlin, Thomas Brandis, Marco Rizzi, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Uto Ughi, Isabelle Faust, Pavel Vernikov, Domenico Nordio, Bruno Canino, Jeffrey Swann, Itamar Golan, Paolo Restani, Giuseppe Andaloro, Boris Petruchanski, Andrea Lucchesini, Rocco Filippini, Enrico Dindo, Natalia Gutman, Franco Petracchi, Trio di Parma and mezzo-soprano Sonia Ganassi. He also performs regularly with his brother, the pianist Monaldo Braconi. Braconi is currently principal violist of the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra. Together with other section leaders, he formed the Quartetto d’Archi della Scala, which has played in

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major concert venues in Italy and abroad. He has been invited to appear as a member of the judging panel at various international competitions, including in Geneva, and has held courses at several important institutions; these include the Arts Academy in Rome, Festival delle Città in Portogruaro, Gubbio Summer Festival, Académie de Musique ‘Tibor Varga’, Accademia Perosi Associazione Napolinova, Sevino Summer Class and Accademia di Musica di Pinerolo. Braconi has collaborated with various different orchestras, including the Orchestra Stabile di Bergamo ‘Gaetano Donizetti’, Accademia I Filarmonici, Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese, Orchestra Sinfonica Basca, Orchestra del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Orchestra Cantelli, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Baden-Badener Philharmonie, Ensemble Petruzzelli, Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino, Orchestra Sinfonica Lubiana, I Solisti Aquilani, I Solisti di Pavia, Orquesta de Extremadura, Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento, Orchestra Sinfonica della Valle d’Aosta and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria. Braconi performed Hindemith’s Kammermusik No.5 for viola with the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala under Wolfgang Sawallisch, to great acclaim; he also collaborated with the Orchestra Sinfonica Cherubini, performing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante under the baton of Riccardo Muti. Braconi currently teaches at the Milano Music Master School and is also an active viola d’amore soloist. As a composer, he has had various works published with M.A.P Editions. He plays a viola by Giovanni Gagliano (1800), kindly loaned by the nonprofit association Fondazione Pro Canale. www.simonidebraconi.it

Orchestra da camera ‘Ferruccio Busoni’ ‘The Orchestra da camera “Ferruccio Busoni” is excellent as regards the quality of its sound, as well as being extremely well prepared technically. Massimo Belli has within him an emotion that he brings across; it is a positive emotion, an energy, and that is very important.’ Salvatore Accardo ‘How marvellous it is to find yourself experiencing something that plunges you into full and wholesome happiness! That’s how it was for me when I met this wonderful group of musicians – the new Orchestra da camera “Ferruccio Busoni” and their conductor Maestro Massimo Belli.’ Ivry Gitlis ‘The new Orchestra da camera “Ferruccio Busoni” is a vibrant institution, deeply rooted in the musical life of Trieste. With Massimo Belli at the helm, the orchestra has begun to produce results that highlight Massimo’s qualities as a conductor, results that are truly satisfying – I would almost say astonishing.’ Renato Zanettovich The Orchestra da camera ‘Ferruccio Busoni’ was founded in 1965 by Aldo Belli. It was one of the first chamber orchestras to appear in Italy during the post-war period, and it is the oldest in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. It has maintained a consistently high artistic standard for 50 years, and in 2008 it was recognised by the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region as an ‘institution of regional importance’. In 2005 and 2010 the orchestra celebrated its respective 40th and 45th anniversaries with concerts at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste and the Teatro Verdi in Pordenone. Featuring the special appearance of the violinist Salvatore Accardo, they met with great popular and critical acclaim. The orchestra has also garnered acclaim from the public and critics alike, with performances in Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, Switzerland, Tunisia, Russia and 9

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Italy; these featured soloists of exceptional calibre, such as Salvatore Accardo, Ivry Gitlis, Domenico Nordio, Roberto Plano, Gianluca Littera, Michael Flaksman, Lucio Degani, Federico Agostini, Massimo Gon, Friedemann Eichhorn, Peter Bannister, Markus Placci, Priya Mitchell, Mauro Maur, Yvan Chiffoleau, Cristiano Rossi, Sandro De Palma, Dan Zhu, Niek de Groot, Mirel Iancovici, David Cohen and Daniel Rowland. As enthusiastic performers of contemporary music, the orchestra is proud to have premiered a number of new works – some of them dedicated to the ensemble itself – by such contemporary composers as Fabio Nieder, Marco Sofianopulo, Franco Margola, Diego Conti, Giulio Viozzi, Giampaolo Coral, Hans-Peter Dott, Eugenio Visnoviz, Federico Bellini, Vito Levi and Paul Glass. The orchestra’s most memorable performances to date include: the concert in October 2002 which, thanks to the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, was held in Trieste to celebrate the visit of the Italian Prime Minister as well as Foreign Ministers from a number of countries; the concert given as part of the celebrations of the 700th anniversary of the Cathedral of San Giusto in Trieste; concerts held in the Basilica della Santa Casa in Loreto and the Cathedral of Sant’Emidio in Ascoli Piceno, together with those given in the Settimane Musicali in Lugano, the Festival International de Hammamet and the Festival International de Musique Symphonique d’Eljem in Tunisia. On 6 March 2004 the orchestra gave a concert in Vittorio Veneto with the violinist Markus Placci, winner of the 26th Concorso Nazionale Biennale di Violino ‘Città di Vittorio Veneto’. In the course of the evening the MusicArchi Premio alla Carriera was awarded to Renato Zanettovich (a major award previously granted to Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Salvatore Accardo and Piero Farulli). The orchestra is made up of well-known players: several are winners of major international competitions and can boast extensive concert experience as both soloists and members of chamber groups; some even pass on the musical traditions of the Trio di Trieste and the Quartetto Italiano, whose pupils they themselves were. The orchestra is the founder of and principal performer at the Mattinate Musicali at Trieste’s Museo Revoltella, which has provided a rich variety of chamber music for 14 years. The ensemble has recorded a CD for Velut Luna with the violinist Domenico Nordio, and several others under the Rainbow label, two of which include world premieres of 10

music by Franco Margola. In 2013 the orchestra recorded a world premiere CD, containing music by Andrea Luchesi and Mozart, with the pianist Roberto Plano for Concerto, based in Milan. The CD was released in July of that year, and in May 2014 a second CD was released – this time a world premiere recording of Andrea Luchesi’s Symphonies – which was awarded five stars by CD Classico and named CD of the Month, and for which the magazines Musica and Amadeus also gave a rating of four and five stars respectively. The orchestra has also recorded for the Italian national broadcaster Rai, for Sky Classics and for Italy’s Channel 5. On 30 October 2013 the ensemble, representing Italy, gave the opening concert at the Silver Lyre International Festival, organised by the Philharmonic Society of St Petersburg, which was very well received by the audience. Reviews by various distinguished Italian critics have appeared in eminent journals: ‘… the extraordinary institution that is the Orchestra da camera “Ferruccio Busoni”, conducted, as a united body, by Massimo Belli.’ Alberto Cantù, Amadeus ‘Conductor Massimo Belli surpasses himself in the second part, which is given over to the instrumental passages of glorious Italian opera … But the merit of the orchestra that Belli conducts with such dedication is particularly evident in Verdi’s Quartet in E minor: a rendition of striking formal emphasis within the well-blended quality of the sound.’ Gianni Gori, Musica

Players Lucio Degani, Nicola Mansutti, Giuseppe Dimaso, Verena Rojc, Paola Beziza violin I Martina Lazzarini, Furio Belli, Sinead Nava violin II David Briatore, Federico Furlanetto, Valentina De Filippis viola Luca Fiorentini, Leo Morello cello · Mitsugu Harada double bass Giorgio Di Giorgi, Claudia Mauro flute · Paola Fundarò, Giovanni Scocchi oboe Sergio Lazzeri bassoon · Imerio Tagliaferri Prina, Simone Berteni horn 11

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Massimo Belli Massimo Belli began studying the violin with his father, Aldo Belli – founder of the Orchestra da camera ‘Ferruccio Busoni’ – and went on to study with Bruno Polli. Under the tutelage of Renato Zanettovich he graduated cum laude from the ‘Benedetto Marcello’ Conservatoire in Venice. He specialised with the Trio di Trieste and Piero Farulli in Fiesole, and at the Accademia Chigiana di Siena with Henryk Szeryng. For two years he studied under Salvatore Accardo at the Accademia ‘W. Stauffer’ in Cremona. He also studied conducting with Aldo Belli and Julian Kovatchev. The winner of numerous national and international violin competitions, he made his debut at the age of 16 at the Teatro Politeama Rossetti in Trieste for the Concert Society; later, as a soloist, he performed at some of the most prestigious venues in Italy, including the Teatro Verdi

in Trieste, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Bologna’s Sala Bossi, the Sala Verdi of the Milan Conservatoire, the Milan Press Club, Turin Conservatoire, Milan’s Teatro Litta, Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo, the Todi Festival in Umbria, the Estate Fiesolana festival in Florence, Padua’s Sala dei Giganti and the Aterforum in Ferrara. He has also performed throughout Europe, in the former Soviet Union, Turkey and South America. He has performed the major concertos in the violin repertoire, accompanied by such notable orchestras as the Prague Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra (Tchaikovsky), the Angelicum Orchestra of Milan (Beethoven), the Orchestra Filarmonica at Teatro Verdi in Trieste (Bruch), the Haydn Philharmonia (Mendelssohn) and the Salzburg Chamber Orchestra (Mozart). He has led the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, the Orchestra da camera ‘Ferruccio Busoni’, the Haydn Philharmonia, and both led and conducted the Orchestra I Virtuosi dell’Ensemble di Venezia. He has worked with Salvatore Accardo, Ivry Gitlis, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Adriano Vendramelli, Aldo Bennici, Piero Bellugi, Stefan Milenkovich, Tiziano Severini, Dan Zhu, Michael Flaksman and Domenico Nordio. The great Triestine composer Giulio Viozzi dedicated a piece for solo violin to Massimo Belli: Tema variato, published by Pizzicato. Belli has broadcast on radio and television in Italy, the former Soviet Union, Germany, Brazil and Austria. He has recorded for Sipario Dischi, and performed world premieres of works by Donizetti and Tartini for, respectively, Nuova Era (together with the pianist Victoria Terekiev) and Tirreno Gruppo Editoriale| di Lugano. Belli currently teaches violin at the ‘Giuseppe Tartini’ Conservatoire in Trieste. He has also taught at the United World College of the Adriatic and at the Solighetto summer courses. He has recently been invited to give masterclasses at the Conservatorio Real de Murcia (Spain), the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Mannheim (Germany), and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn.

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In August 2002 he had the honour of conducting the Orchestra of the 40th, made up of former prizewinners of the National Competition of Vittorio Veneto, on the occasion of its 40th anniversary. For five years he held the post of Vice-Director of the ‘Giuseppe Tartini’ Conservatoire of Trieste and was also on the Administrative Council of Trieste’s Fondazione Teatro Lirico ‘Giuseppe Verdi’.

Sources Sinfonia BI530* Parma, Biblioteca Palatina. Borbone 977/1 – XII Sinfonia BI531* Parma, Biblioteca Palatina. Borbone 976/1 – XIV The manuscripts of the symphonies are preserved in the Music Section of the Biblioteca Palatina in Parma. *Su concessione del Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo. Recorded with the permission of Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.

Recording: 28–30 September 2013, Church of St Francis, Muggia, Trieste, Italy Artistic directors: Massimo Belli & Simonide Braconi Sound engineer: Raffaele Cacciola  & 훿 2015 Brilliant Classics