Dal
Repertorio ottocentesco per strumenti ad ancia libera alla musica
del Novecento – Alessandro
Mugnoz and Claudia Menghi
The piano
and the accordion have always been a difficult pairing of two
diverse sonorities and therefore it is not by chance that music
written for this duo has not had popular acclaim – the only
possible exception being the work of the Danish composer Poul
Rovsing Olsen “Duo”. The sonoric challenge is taken
up, on this CD, by the “courageous” Alessandro Mugnoz
and Claudia Menghi. It is a challenge which they win and with
some ease.
The journey is planned along an “evolutionary ” route
and takes us from compositions of 1856 to today. Only their correct
(musicological) vision of the development of the accordion has
allowed them to present such an irrefutable work. The CD has been
made using the “modern “ accordion and thus it si
specified on each tune whether the original was intended for concertina,
physarmonika, harmonium or bandoneon. In fact in the excellent
accompanying booklet, Mugnoz affirms that the modern accordion
in an historical perspective , is the amalgam of all these instruments.
This in sharp contrast for example to the many times that Piazolla
is performed with out mention of the bandoneon.
The duo have a wonderful harmony and are never apprehensive from
the technical point of view, instead simply enjoying the beautiful
melodies.
The high point of the record is the first recording of two works
of Angelo Panzini (1820-1886) for piano and physarmonika, which
Mugnoz discovered in the library of the Verdi conservatorio of
Milan. The style of these pieces has been missing in the accordions’
repetoire and the level of interaction between the two instruments
makes these very valuable compositions.
The Cd opens with Flying Leaves by Bernhard Molique and after
Panzini we have Prelude, Fugue and Variation Op 18 by Cesar Franck.
There follows two works by the Italian composer Adamo Volpi which
Mugnoz uses as a link between the two halves of the Cd. One of
Felice Fugazza’s later works “Dialoghi senza tempo”
follows before leading to Astor Piazolla and Richard Galliano
with Neuvo Tango and New Musette. To finish we get another double
helping of Italian accordionist /composers –Italo Salizzato
and Peppino Principe and their “ Danza erotica “ and
“Cecilia”
To conclude , this Cd has great value in not only bringing us
compositions never previously recorded but also in the explanations
in the accompanying booklet which give valuable insight to the
listener.
Reviewed by Paolo
Picchio, February 2007
This CD is available on the Alessandro
Mugnoz site on MusicForAccordion.com - high security eCommerce
site run by WorldPay.com, part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group
|