Lorenzo Perosi Chamber Works for Strings

Priest-composer Lorenzo Perosi wrote more than 3,000 sacred works, many of them still unpublished, making him the 20th century’s most prolific composer in the genre. But he also wrote some 30 chamber works, including string trios, string quintets and four piano quintets, which help dispel the oversimplified picture of him as a composer of nothing but sacred and liturgical music. The string trio and piano quintets on this release were written during the period 1928–31.


8.574375

Lorenzo PEROSI (1872–1956)
Piano Quintets Nos. 1 and 2
String Trio No. 2

Matteo Bevilacqua, Piano
Roma Tre Orchestra Ensemble –
Leonardo Spinedi and Hinako Kawasaki, Violins
Lorenzo Rundo, Viola • Angelo Maria Santisi, Cello

Puccini once said, ‘there is more music in Perosi’s head than in mine and Mascagni’s put together’. Priest⁠-⁠composer Lorenzo Perosi achieved international celebrity by the late 1890s for his sacred music, and he also composed a fine selection of chamber works that are little known today. Perosi’s Piano Quintets have a fresh and spontaneous feel, even though they were written while he grieved the loss of his brother. Combining bold rhythms and solemn spiritual depth, these works along with the Second String Trio are all respectful of tradition while representing an exploration of new paths unique in Italian music of the time.

Listen to an extract from Piano Quintet No. 2:
III. Vivo
About the Artists
Roma Tre Orchestra (R3O) is the first university orchestra to be established in Rome and Lazio. Founded in 2005, it aims to promote dedication, excellence and passion for great music, especially among the younger generation. It organises chamber music and symphonic concerts at the Roma Tre University, Teatro Palladium and other cultural sites across Rome. Violinists Leonardo Spinedi and Hinako Kawasaki, violist Lorenzo Rundo and cellist Angelo Maria Santisi serve as principals of the orchestra.

Pianist Matteo Bevilacqua has given over a hundred recitals at renowned festivals and venues across Europe, and received more than 25 prizes at international piano competitions. In 2015 he was awarded a scholarship from the International Keyboard Institute & Festival to participate in the festival and study in New York with Arnaldo Cohen and Alexander Kobrin. His repertoire ranges from Baroque to contemporary music, with a particular emphasis on the promotion of 19th- and 20th-century Italian music.

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