Rhythm and Irony in Music and Vision 23 April

Rhythm and Irony Eighteenth century Neapolitan cello concertos fascinate GIUSEPPE PENNISI In the eighteenth century, Naples was one of Europe's most important capitals. With a population reaching a million (including the suburbs), it was larger and more densely populated than Paris, London or Berlin. According to the travel diary of French intellectual Charles de Brosses, in 1739 'Naples was the cultural capital of Europe'. The city featured two state-owned theatres (San Carlo and Il Fondo), several commercial theatres, many small theatres and especially concert halls within aristocratic palaces. More importantly, a large number of musicians from elsewhere in Italy took residence there: the two Scarlattis, di Vinci, Leo, Pergolesi, Porpora, Farinelli, Jommelli, Piccinni, Treatta and several others. It was from Naples, in the last decades of the century, that the main musical innovations reached Paris, during a Neapolitan company' tour to France; there, they ignited a cultural war (la guerre des bouffons) and fostered a real revolution in the world of music. During the nineteenth and part of the twentieth century, much of the very lively music composed in that period was left to gain dust in the archives of the city's four major musical institutes. A revival started just before World War II and now there are specialized ensembles who play the music of those years on period instruments. Also, Riccardo Muti has dedicated five years of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival (and related tours in Europe) to rediscovering the eighteenth century's 'Neapolitan Opera School'. The chamber music chest, of course, is much richer and more easily portable from city to city than the operatic drawer. I Turchini, a specialized ensemble created by Antonio Florio in 1987, is one of the best musical groups devoted to this mission of making the eighteenth century Neapolitan treasury better known. They have a long list of successful recordings and have performed in the best concert halls on five continents. I Turchini directed by Antonio Florio, with Giovanni Sollima, cello, performing at Rome's Parco Della Musica. Photo © 2013 Musacchio & Ianniello. Click on the image for higher resolution During a tour, I caught them in the Parco della Musica 'Giuseppe Sinopoli' auditorium in Rome on 19 April 2013. The concert focused on Neapolitan cello concertos. The ensemble was strengthened by the presence of Giovanni Sollima, cellist and composer (even of operas, such as Ellis Island, on the Italian emigration to the United States). Sollima is known internationally: the Chicago Symphony Orchestra commissioned a new work from him for the 2013-14 season. Giovanni Sollima with Antonio Florio and members of I Turchini performing at Rome's Parco Della Musica. Photo © 2013 Musacchio & Ianniello. Click on the image for higher resolution The concert included cello concertos by Giuseppe De Majo, Nicola Fiorenza and Leonardo Leo, as well as a new composition by Giovanni Sollima. As encores, the ensemble and Sollima also played music by Pergolesi and Paisiello. Antonio Florio and Giovanni Sollima at Rome's Parco Della Musica. Photo © 2013 Musacchio & Ianniello. Click on the image for higher resolution What are the main features? Firstly, the difference in orchestral colors between the eighteenth century cello concertos and Sollima's new work; the first group is delicate and light, but full of rhythm and irony, whereas Sollima's concerto is dark, bleak and tormented, even though resolved in a bursting allegro in the final movement. Secondly, the Neapolitan School anticipated Haydn and Mozart by nearly half a century, especially the dialogues between the soloist and the rest of the ensemble. Finally, a veil of Mediterranean melancholy pervades even the lighter concertos. The audience was quite young and exploded in an ovation and requests for encores. Copyright © 23 April 2013 Giuseppe Pennisi, Rome, Italy NAPLES GIOVANNI BATTISTA PERGOLESI ROME ITALY  << M&V home       Concert reviews        Don Carlo >>