The Italian-American composer Vittorio Giannini wrote large, sweeping works, full of unabashed lyricism in a "Romanticism for the 20th century"style. Giannini cared little for the musical trends surrounding him, and for this reason his impeccably crafted compositions remained lesser-known than that of his contemporaries (even whilst the works of stylistically kindred-spirits Hanson, Creston, W. Schuman etc. managed to capture the spotlight). Giannini was one of the finest American symphonists, and for those of you who are not yet acquainted with his music, I think this recording will bear this out.
Giannini was not without his supporters, among them no less the composer and music critic Virgil Thompson who had this to say: "Giannini's talent has long been known as phenomenal, and now . . . he writes like a master . . . with such fine skill and such pretty taste that no one can deny him a place among the authentic composers of our time. By following none of the contemporary trends, in fact, he has arrived at a highly individual position."
The Piano Concerto is a purely Romantic work, and while the Symphony No. 4 is almost half the duration of the Concerto, it is a substantial and moving affair.
Enjoy!
V.Giannini_Piano_Cto_Symphony_4-Tzadik.zip
http://www85.zippyshare.com/v/DLiuq126/file.html
21 comments:
Beautiful and impressionant discovery...many thanks!!!
Maravilloso cd,hace años lo compré,siempre lo difundo por mi ignoto y modesto programa radial´´Coral de las francas´´,gracias amigo Tzadik.
Thanks for the introduction to a new composer! I am excited to listen on your recommendation TZ.
Again Mr. TZ a sincere thank you for bringing to our attention another Gem of Great Price!
I always look forward to accessing your site in eager anticipation to more gems.
Thank you for all your hard work.
Regards
Paul P.
Down Under
Giannini cared little for the musical trends surrounding him
I swear, does anybody?
Q: "Mr Composer, what do you look for when casting about for a new piece?"
A: "Well, first, I look at the taste-makers and trend-mongers, and then I follow them slavishly. Second, I look at it carefully to see if there's anything new has crept in. You'd be surprised how easily novelty sometimes happens; you've got to stamp it out wherever it appears, otherwise you might confuse or confound your audience. Mm, yes. Watch your step! should be the watchword for any composer."
;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)
Hello esperverany, thank you for commenting! You are welcome, I hope you find endless listening pleasure
visiting here. Please visit and (comment!) often :)
TZ
El doctor T ¿Ya tiene los otros discos Naxos Gianinni?
su TZ
DarkS I am happy the composer is new to you, that's always an exciting prospect, no?
Enjoy my friend,
TZ
Hi Paul, you are quite welcome! And thank you very much for taking the time to share your kind words once again - it means a lot to me. Keep enjoying, with your excitement and curiosity, gems posted and gems to come!
G'day, mate ;)
TZ
Haha, oh you Scraps, you ;)
Well said. One of the best examples however of a composer swimming like a salmon upstream in defiance of the river of pompous academia is Hovhaness. When you look at what was going on during his early years especially, you see "innovation" (I would argue though that the true source was coming from the likes of Hovhaness, Cowell, Cage and so on) by 12-toners and other noise-makers.
Traditionalists get the tip of my hat for sure. Musical trends come and go just like a good mullet, girls with New Jersey hair, acid-washed anything, pomegranate facials, coffee enemas..
Of course one only needs to know a little bit about vocal musics over the centuries (esp the guttural style of 'throat' singing found among the Tuvans in Mongolia/rural areas of Russia, the Xhotas in South Africa, the Inuits from Northern Canada as well as vocalizations and chanting from East and Central Asia, the Balkans, and so on) to know that such ancient music beat Schoenberg, Webern, Varese and the 'gang' to the punch! So ya innovation is, ultimately, a form of emulation and admiration in most cases; for the composer it's innate and thus can be subconscious - and at it's worst AND best it's loud like nature itself, the ultimate 12-tone row, serial soundtrack. ...But thank god we have songbirds ;)
TZ
I was just funnin'. :-)
THAT'S all you have to say after I preach to you is such a jejune manner!!!!!!!!??????????
Yes, I know you were funning'...but well you got me on a roll
damn it!! I meant funnin' What 'fun' is an apostrophe if auto check takes over??
Many thanks and regards from The Netherlands.
Veel dank en groeten uit Nederland.
No,ningun otro cd naxos,por cierto tengo de este luminoso composer USA,ojalá,espero que subas otras sinfonias del autor,en especial la que es para banda sinfónica,tiene un Power finale estupendo,abrazos!!!!
Actually I was abashed. I tried to make a serious comment that your comment could appreciate, but sometimes funny comes easier than sober.... i did appreciate it!
Thank You!
Many your welcomes from the States Toon ;)
TZ
Oh ok doctor T. Bueno, entonces cuando puedo voy a tener que publicar sus otros discos para ti :)
-buena fin de semana mi hermano!
TZ
Scraps my dear friend - please don't be, like I said I try not to get on a roll about things, I'm sure it would only be tiresome for most ;) It almost a good thing that I don't always have the time to post when I'd like to, which really is always - I would type and type and type. I have (mostly) given up on this anyhow, it takes too long. In many ways you remind me of myself; or at least I can tell that you are the type of bloke who I would be happy to hang with, perhaps a few ales and good conversation. I'm always very happy to hear from you, that's all there is to it. Needless to say funny is always better - it power-washes the cerebral toxicity off for me, if only for a while!
Anywho - you best keep corresponding around here or I will hunt ya down ;P
TZ
Hi Mike, you are welcome! Thank you for commenting!
TZ
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