Vittorio Rieti – Piano Concertos

Often infused with Parisian joie de vivre and the subtle humour of Les Six, Vittorio Rieti’s works for solo piano are refreshingly unstuffy and accessible. His piano concertos share that lightness of touch while also probing a wider emotional spectrum.

‘When I discovered the music of Vittorio Rieti, I was surprised by the beauty of his largely unknown piano concertos. The music is full of great liveliness, joy, rhythm, and brilliance—certainly deserving of a place in the great repertoire for piano and orchestra. During the recording, I also noticed a high degree of satisfaction on the part of the orchestra, which not only accompanies the piano solo but also features challenging solo passages for individual instruments in dialogue with the piano, all presented in a very original, brilliant and unpredictable style.’

Alessandro Marangoni, piano soloist


Vittorio RIETI (1898–1994)
Piano Concertos

Alessandro Marangoni, Orazio Sciortino, Pianos
Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano
Giuseppe Grazioli

Dedicated to Francis Poulenc, Vittorio Rieti’s First Piano Concerto formed part of his early success in Paris during the 1920s, the work’s high spirits reflecting Rieti’s recent marriage and the birth of his son Fabio. The Second Piano Concerto started out as a harpsichord concerto for Wanda Landowska but was later recast. The Third Piano Concerto is notable for its deeply felt central Andantino, while the Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra is exuberant with cinematic themes. All of these works feature witty passages for orchestral soloists in dialogue with the piano, imbued with Rieti’s original and unpredictable style.

Listen to an extract from Piano Concerto No. 3 (first version):
III. Allegro
About the Artists

Pianist Alessandro Marangoni, winner of several national and international awards that include an International Classical Music Award and the Franco Abbiati Prize, has appeared throughout Europe, America and China as a soloist and a chamber musician. He is artistic director of Almo Collegio Borromeo in Pavia and professor of piano at the Conservatorio Guido Cantelli in Novara. His recordings for Naxos include albums of works by Rossini, Clementi and Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

Pianist, composer and conductor Orazio Sciortino was nominated as Composer of the Year at the 2024 International Classical Music Awards. He collaborates with major musical institutions in Italy and abroad, including Teatro alla Scala, MITO SettembreMusica, Teatro La Fenice, Festival dei Due Mondi di Spoleto, Bologna Festival, Sociedad Filarmónica de Lima, Konzerthaus Berlin, Megaron Athens Concert Hall and Orquesta de València. He is a professor and head of the piano department at Brescia Conservatory.

Conductor Giuseppe Grazioli specialises in recording lesser-known music from his native Italy, with extensive experience as a conductor of both orchestral music and opera. With a large repertory of classical, romantic and contemporary music, he has conducted many rare Italian operas as well as the world premiere of Marco Tutino’s opera Vita with the Orchestra della Scala. In 2019, he became the principal conductor and casting manager of the Opéra de Saint-Étienne in France.

Founded in 1993, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano was initially based in the Sala Verdi of the Milan Conservatory before eventually finding a permanent home in the Milan Auditorium, which they inaugurated in October 1999 with a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’, conducted by Riccardo Chailly. Other distinguished guest conductors have included Carlo Maria Giulini, Peter Maag, Georges Prêtre, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Helmuth Rilling and Riccardo Muti.

More albums by Alessandro Marangoni, and of the music of Vittorio Rieti
GP938
‘The performances by Koukl and Rossetti have just the right understated quality. Short though they may be, these pieces hang in the mind … This is wonderful music that even listeners familiar with the mid-20th century American scene will not know; all are world premiere recordings.’
AllMusic.com ★★★★
GP921
‘The pianists give flawless performances, deft and with a light touch, to showcase these superb compositions.’
MusicWeb International
8.501306 [13-Disc Boxed Set]
‘For scholarship and comprehensiveness alone, the Naxos edition leaves no “sin” unturned, and as such will be self-recommending to serious Rossini fans.’
ClassicsToday.com
8.572823
★★★★
‘[T]he performances fizz and sparkle under the direction of Andrew Mogrelia, and Marangoni’s dedication to the cause is just as apparent in his vivid playing as in his musicological endeavours. Excellent.’
International Record Review


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