Details: A detailed portrait of a 'one-work composer': nocturnes, studies and miniatures by Giovanni Sgambati, as well as the famous Melodie de Gluck which has linked his name with many of the world's most illustrious pianists. When Richard Wagner visited Rome in 1876, he was so impressed by Sgambati's two piano quintets that he introduced him to Ludwig Strecker - head of Schott in Mainz - and invited the publisher to bring Sgambati «to the attention of the wider musical world, since in Rome 'he is not in the right place'. Although he was highly regarded by the likes of Wagner and Liszt, Sgambati was almost totally forgotten after his death in 1914. The Piano Classics label has played a leading part in the composer's renaissance, with an ongoing survey on record of the composer's complete piano music. 'I am a pianist and a music populariser,' says Cecilia Faccini. 'I have always seen music as the best form of language through which I can express myself. When I play I try to establish a deep and intimate communication with the listener.' She has applied herself to reviving Sgambati as both a scholar and a performer, and on this new album she makes a personal selection which is designed to reflect various aspects of the composer, as a teacher, an arranger, and an original tone-poet. Inevitably, the album opens with the Melodie de Gluck which transcribes the Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Orfeo ed Euridice for the 19th-century keyboard. In her booklet essay, Facchini remarks that the Nocturnes are among 'the most interesting of Sgambati's compositions. Composed between 1873 and 1897, these pieces require a refined use of the touch and pedalling to create contrasting musical atmospheres. The heritage of Liszt's pianism and style of composition seems to be evident even on first listening.' She also includes a set of Concert Etudes Op.10 to illustrate Sgambati's importance as a composer-pedagogue, whose didactic works were reprinted in many significant 'piano methods'. A violinist who played Beethoven with Sgambati remarked that 'his piano technique was impeccable, clear and pure even in the most difficult passages. His sound was smooth and harmonious, his use of pedals as accurate as ever. Gifted with a touch of great beauty, his fingers could sing on the keyboard.' In this regard, Cecilia Facchini is a worthy successor and advocate for Sgambati in the 21st century. - Born in Rome, to an Italian father and an English mother, Giovanni Sgambati (1841-1914), received his early education at Trevi, in Umbria. In his early twenties he met Franz Liszt in Rome, where the great composer resided for a period each year from 1861. The young man immediately became his favorite pupil, a faithful interpreter of his compositions and a precious collaborator for the mission that warmed both their hearts: to spread classical music in the Roman society of the time. Liszt's Roman school was based in Sgambati's home, where the master trained the best pianists of the time. Sgambati was the first to conduct his Dante Symphony. Liszt took him with him on his travels and introduced him to Richard Wagner, who deeply admired his compositions. His fame grew rapidly, leading him to give concerts all over Europe and in Russia. He received invitations and signs of esteem from the most important musicians of his time: in addition to Liszt and Wagner, he was friends with Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Massenet and Busoni. - Sgambati's piano music consists of a wide variety of shorter pieces. This new recording presents his 6 Nocturnes, 2 Etudes de concert and a set of Morceaux, works with a solid and well-defined structure, innovative ideas and interesting harmonic choices, showing mastery of the musical discourse and a unique expressiveness, all concentrated in a few minutes. - Cecilia Facchini graduated in piano at the Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali in Ravenna under the guidance of Alessandra Ammara and continued her studies at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, where she obtained a Master in Music Performance in Anna Kravtchenko's class. She followed master courses with Roberto Prosseda, Paul Badura- Skoda, Boris Berman, Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Lilya Zilberstein, Jeffrey Swann and, for chamber music, with the Parma Trio.

Cecilia Facchini - Sgambati: 6 Nocturnes, Etudes & Other Works (CD)