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Puccini: Orchestral Music

Sinfonia of London, John Wilson

Format: Digital

Giacomo Puccini is regarded as one of the greatest opera composers of all time and his early works - before 'Manon Lescaut' catapulted him to international fame - offer a fascinating insight into his development as a composer. John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London explore this repertoire with their characteristic style and dedication and take us on a journey through student compositions and orchestral fragments from his earliest operas. From 1880 to 1883 he studied under Amilcare Ponchielli at the Milan conservatory and created the "Preludio sinfonico" (loosely adapted from Richard Wagner's prelude to "Lohengrin"), the Scherzo, Trio and Adagetto and the "Capriccio sinfonico", his final piece, which anticipates the opening of "La Bohème" by a decade. The one-act opera "Le villi" was composed for a competition organized by publisher Sonzogno (Puccini did not win), while themes from the contemporaneously composed "Tre minuetti" and "Crisantemi" (both for string quartet) were later reused in "Manon Lescaut". Giuseppe Verdi's publisher Ricordi purchased the rights to "Le villi" and simultaneously commissioned a new work: "Edgar", which is probably Puccini's only failure, mainly due to its absurd plot, although it contains some mature musical pieces that are no less accomplished than the better-known scores.

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Tracklist

01 Preludio sinfonico, SC 32 07:12
02 Capriccio sinfonico, SC 55 10:53
03 Le villi, SC 60: Preludio to Act I 02:08
04 Le villi, SC 60: La tregenda 03:40
05 Scherzo-Trio, SC 34a 02:51
06 Adagetto, SC 51 03:47
07 Manon Lescaut, SC 64: Preludio to Act II 04:12
08 Manon Lescaut, SC 64: Intermezzo to Act III 04:33
09 Crisantemi, SC 65 (Adapted for String Orchestra by John Wilson) 06:32
10 3 Minuetti, SC 61 (Adapted for String Orchestra by John Wilson): No. 1, A S.A.R. Vittoria Augusta di Borbone Principessa di Capua 03:33
11 3 Minuetti, SC 61 (Adapted for String Orchestra by John Wilson): No. 2, All'esimio violinista prof. Augusto Michelangeli 02:45
12 3 Minuetti, SC 61 (Adapted for String Orchestra by John Wilson): No. 3, Al'amico maestro Carlo Carignani 02:47
13 Edgar, SC 62: Preludio to Act I 03:26
14 Edgar, SC 62: Preludio to Act III 04:22