Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

Hyperion offers both CDs, and downloads in a number of formats. The site is also available in several languages.

Please use the dropdown buttons to set your preferred options, or use the checkbox to accept the defaults.

Click cover art to view larger version
Track(s) taken from CDA67685

Violin Concerto in C major 'No 1'

composer
Library of the Paganini Conservatoire, Genoa, MS Sc.1 n.n.

Francesco D'Orazio (violin), Auser Musici
Recording details: June 2007
Oratorio di S Domenico, Pisa, Italy
Produced by Sigrid Lee
Engineered by Roberto Meo
Release date: June 2008
Total duration: 20 minutes 11 seconds

Cover artwork: A Neapolitan Musical Party (c1775) by David Allan (1744-1796)
Sotheby’s Picture Library
 

Reviews

‘The enchantingly radiant quality of D'Orazio's playing and Lidarti's music … D'Orazio possesses just the right kind of lithe, flexible and elegant and pure sound this music cries out for, and he directs Auser Musici (familiar from an enchanting disc of Boccherini Flute Quintets) with flair, imagination and in the slow movements a moving sensitivity to line, dynamic and harmonic pacing’ (International Record Review)

‘The three violin concertos … would happily stand comparison with Haydn's works in the genre. Soloists Francesco D'Orazio gives fine accounts of Lidarti's technically demanding music and his cadenzas are nicely in the style of the period … all four works reveal a composer with a keen sense of dramatic melody … these are all world premiere recordings, and violinists looking for new repertoire should certainly hear it’ (Early Music Today)

‘Tunefulness, energy and general amiability … a true Classical period sensibility … the violin concertos are directed with verve and grace by the virtuoso soloist, Francesco D'Orazio … he is a lithe, elegant and characterful performer and his elaborate cadenzas are delightfully playful’ (Goldberg)

‘Christian Joseph Lidarti (1730–95) is another new name to learn and not forget again. Re-discovered for these premiere recordings by a Pisan vocal and instrumental ensemble, this is another composer to scotch the 'canon' which dominates concerts and recordings. Some 400 works of his can be found in the British Library and in a collection in Tuscany. These here are undated, but this eighteenth-century Italian composer bridges the baroque and classical periods. They are superbly realised by the consummate artistry and virtuosity of Francesco D'Orazio … an excellent first for Hyperion’ (MusicalPointers.co.uk)
As in the D minor Concerto, the first movement of the Violin Concerto in C major, Allegro maestoso, is long. For the first time, however, the structure is divided equally into two parts, as in Haydn’s model. The first theme can be defined as ‘symphonic’, with virtuoso variations for the soloist (more demanding than in Mozart’s concertos, for example); the second theme is more ‘operatic’ in character, although still with a surprising richness of technical resource, including parallel thirds and the picchiettato technique usually associated with Paganini. The soloist offers another surprise (from 4'52), in a sort of accompanied gypsy cadenza, Moderato, before the cyclical return to the first theme. The brief Adagio (for strings only) develops a series of dissonant chords in a movement rich in affetti, echoing Sturm und Drang; in the final bars Lidarti seems to evoke the painful opening of Pergolesi’s Stabat mater. The Presto is like a dynamic military march that stands between a Viennese Divertissement and an Italian comic-opera-style symphony.

from notes by Dinko Fabris © 2008

Ici, comme dans le Concerto en ré mineur, le premier temps a d’amples dimensions (262 mesures) avec cependant une structure nettement bithématique qui nous reporte au modèle de Haydn. En simplifiant, nous pourrions définir le premier thème comme symphonique, avec des variations virtuoses au violon (plus que dans les concerts de Mozart) et le second comme thème d’opéra, mais avec de surprenantes apparitions de ressources techniques—comme les troisièmes parallèles ou la note piquée—que nous considérions des caractéristiques de l’époque de Paganini. Le solo nous offre encore une surprise à partir de la mesure 156 (Moderato, une sorte de «cadence tzigane») avant de reproposer cycliquement le premier thème. (ii) Adagio (seulement pour instruments à cordes): une série d’accords dissonants se succèdent en 51 mesures sottovoce (tout bas) très riches de affetti, à partir des échos de Sturm und Drang mais qui dans les dernières mesures semble rappeler le mouvement douloureux du Stabat mater de Pergolesi. (iii) Presto: ce mouvement se présente comme une marche militaire dynamique, à mi-chemin entre le Divertissement viennois et la symphonie d’Opéra Comique italien. Ici également nous avons un second thème court qui dérive du premier et enfin la conclusion.

extrait des notes rédigées par Dinko Fabris © 2008
Français: Céline Mongason

Wie im d-Moll-Konzert ist auch der erste Satz des Violinkonzerts in C-Dur, Allegro maestoso, lang. Zum ersten Mal wird die Struktur jedoch wie im Haydnischen Modell gleichmäßig in zwei Abschnitte unterteilt. Das erste Thema lässt sich als „symphonisch“ beschreiben, mit virtuosen Variationen für den Solisten (anspruchsvoller als etwa in Mozarts Konzerten); das zweite Thema ist „opernhafter“ im Charakter, obwohl immer noch mit einem überraschenden Reichtum technischer Mittel einschließlich paralleler Terzen und der picchiettato-Technik, die gewöhnlich mit Paganini assoziiert wird. Der Solist bietet (ab 4'52) mit einer Art begleiteter Zigeunerkadenz, Moderato, vor der zyklischen Wiederkehr des ersten Themas eine weitere Überraschung. Das kurze Adagio (für Streicher allein) verarbeitet eine Serie dissonanter Akkorde in einem Satz reich an Affetti, Affekten, die an Sturm und Drang anklingen; in den letzten Takten scheint Lidarti den schmerzlichen Anfang von Pergolesis Stabat Mater evozieren. Das Presto ist wie ein dynamischer Militärmarsch, der halbwegs zwischen einem Wiener Divertissement und einer Symphonie im Stil einer italienischen komischen Oper steht.

aus dem Begleittext von Dinko Fabris © 2008
Deutsch: Renate Wendel

Concerto in do maggiore: (i) Allegro maestoso: anche in questo caso come nel Concerto in re minore, il primo tempo ha dimensioni davvero ampie (262 battute) con una struttura però per la prima volta nettamente bitematica, che riporta al modello di Haydn. Semplificando si potrebbe definire sinfonico il primo tema, con variazioni virtuose al violino (più che nei concerti di Mozart) e operistico il secondo, ma con sorprendenti apparizioni di risorse tecniche—come le terze parallele o il picchiettato—che pensavamo caratteristiche dell’epoca di Paganini. Il solo offre ancora una sopresa da batt. 156 (Moderato, una sorta di «cadenza tzigana») prima di riproporre ciclicamente il primo tema. (ii) Adagio (per soli archi): in 51 battute «sottovoce», molto ricche di «affetti», si dipana una serie di accordi dissonanti, dagli echi Sturm und Drang, ma che alle ultime battute sembra citare l’andamento doloroso dello Stabat mater di Pergolesi. (iii) Presto: si presenta come una dinamica marcia militare, a metà strada tra il Divertimento viennese e la sinfonia d’opera comica italiana. Anche qui si ha il tempo di ascoltare un breve secondo tema derivato dal primo e poi la conclusione.

Dinko Fabris © 2008

Waiting for content to load...
Waiting for content to load...