PROGRAM
MOZART- SULTIKOV /VILLANI : Lacrimosa (from the Requiem Mass) (‘5)

BRAHMS : Ballade op.10#1 ‘Edward’ (‘5)

BRAHMS : Intermezzo op.116 no.6 (‘4)

BRAHMS : Rhapsody Op. 79 no.2 in Gm (‘5)

CHOPIN : Nocturne Op.27 no.1 in C#m (‘5)

CHOPIN : Raindrop Prelude Op.28 no.15 (“5)

GLUCK-SILOTI/ VILLANI : Melody from ‘Orfeo’ (‘3)

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SATIE : Gnossienne no.1 (‘4)

LISZT : Harmonies du Soir (from 12 Transcendental Etudes 1852) (‘9)

TCHAIKOVSKY- VILLANI : Valse-Paraphrase on Swan Lake (‘6)

TCHAIKOVSKY/ VILLANI : ‘Lamentoso‘ (from Symphony #6 ‘Pathetique“(’10)

PROGRAM NOTES:

MOZART- SULTIKOV /VILLANI : Lacrimosa (from the Requiem Mass)

Kirill Saltykov (pupil and muse of the great Russian pianist Maria Yudina), made a superb, if somewhat ‘skeletal’ arrangement of this sublime movement that even surpasses those made by Liszt and Thalberg. After Saltykov’s untimely death, Yudina continued to include this work in her programs as a tribute, until her own death in 1970. Angelo has expanded the arrangement in true Romantic-Gothic style by filling out textures for sonorous affect, adding greater emotional power and weight. 

 
BRAHMS : Ballade op.10#1 ‘Edward’

Inspired by the Scottish Ballade ‘Edward’, this is a dramatic work with contrasting sections. The opening is stark and brooding, evoking a sense of fate or foreboding via question and answer by Edward’s mother : “Edward, Edward, why is your sword dripping with blood..??” The heroic build up that soon follows explodes into a full blown confession of patricide and the relenting final figures convey the macabre droplets of blood in vivid fashion. Although Brahms was merely 20 years of age when he composed this it remained one of his most  dark and programmatic works.

BRAHMS : Intermezzo op.116 no.6

This brief Intermezzo is a delicate and introspective piece showcasing Brahms’ mastery of lyrical expression within a concise form. The flowing melody is gentle and wistful with liltingly subtle harmonic shifts that evoke a sense of quiet longing. Typical of Brahms’ later works, its introspective mood is magically intertwined with simplicity and emotional depth.

CHOPIN : Nocturne Op.27 no.1 in C#m

Perhaps one of the most quintessentially Romantic of all of Chopin’s Nocturnes, this work captures Chopin’s gift for emotional depth and lyricissm. It opens with a haunting, rather improvisatory melody, leading to a passionate middle section marked by swelling turns and cascading arpeggiated intervals. The return of the initial theme ushers the listener from declamatory intensity to reflective calm and conciliatory consolation. 

GLUCK-SILOTI/ VILLANI : Melody from ‘Orfeo & Euridice’ 

This timeless melody carries a weight of melancholic resignation depicting Orfeo’s undying devotion as he journeys to the Underworld to rescue Euridice. Although Gluck crafted the melody with great simplicity within the Classical ideals of his time, its almost yearning tone seems to preempt Romanticism, generating much more than a mere emotional undercurrent. Although there are several piano transcriptions of this (most notably by Sgambati and Kempff respectively) Angelo took the sublime (and arguably grander) Siloti version as the basis of his arrangement which exploits the wider and more orchestral registers of the keyboard, creating an almost mystical synergy between intimate prayer and grandeur distilled with pathos.

LISZT : ‘Harmonies du Soir’ (from 12 Transcendental Etudes 1852)

Arguably the greatest of all of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes, ‘Harmonies du Soir’ is a highly evocative work that paints the serene yet powerful atmosphere of dusk. Opening with bell-like harmonies, Liszt builds from delicate arpeggios to passionate climaxes, symbolizing twilight’s transformation into night. Expansive textures and vast dynamic contrasts showcase Liszt’s extraordinary ability to convey dramatic moods of kaleidoscopic colour.  

TCHAIKOVSKY/ VILLANI : ‘Lamentoso‘ (from Symphony #6 ‘Pathetique”)

This final movement is one of the most devastatingly moving ‘swan-songs’ of any composer. It is a profound meditation on despair and resignation that gave its creator the opportunity to express sorrow and vulnerability for a very final time. Tchaikovsky died on November 6th 1893, nine days after the work’s Premiere in St. Petersberg, Russia. The Symphony’s highly uncharacteristic subdued ending (suggesting fading heartbeats) challenges traditional symphonic closure  lending an intimate, haunting quality devoid of sentimentality.      

In his transcription, Angelo utilises many pianistic devices to expand the huge symphonic textures including leaping octaves and chord doubling between the hands to create the necessary voluminous sonority throughout the various shattering climactic points. From the age of fourteen, Angelo collected many different recordings (over 40) which offered a hugely diverse range of interpretative styles, greatly influencing his own creative development and listening. Foremost amongst these was the justly fabled 1938 account by Wilhelm Furtwangler, , which perhaps remains his favourite version to this day.

Recommended further listening:

Mozart-Sultykov ‘Lacrimosa’ (Maria Yudina) Live Rec. Moscow, 1960’s

Brahms Ballade no.1 ‘Edward’ Michelangeli, Gilels, Kempff

Brahms Intermezzo op.116 no.6. Wilhelm Kempff, Rubinstein, Klien,

Chopin : Nocturne op.27 no.1 Rubinstein, Lupu, Horowitz,

Gluck-Sgambati ‘Melody’ : Rachmaninoff, Hoffman, Novaes

Tchaikovsky Symphony no.6 ‘Pathetique’ : Furtwangler, Toscanini, Mravinsky, Golovanov, Cantelli, Karajan,

Liszt Harmonies du Soir : Richter, Berman, Cziffra,