Metamorphoses
Alfonso Soldano is professor of piano performance at the Giordano Conservatory in Foggia, Italy, following similar posts at Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome and in Trani. He was a favorite student of Ciccolini and is renowned for his virtuosity. He was awarded the International Gold Medal for ‘Best Italian Artist’ in 2013 and has won many other competitions, and is also a busy writer and transcriber. His previous recordings for Divine Art, of the music of Rachmaninoff, Bortkiewicz and Castelnuovo-Tedesco, received glowing reviews. He has performed and given masterclasses all around Italy, and in Germany, Switzerland and Romania, and post-Covid is planning a wider international concert schedule, hoping to tour the USA.
His Rachmaninoff is especially magical. He has transcribed 15 of the composer’s romantic songs for solo piano in three books of ‘Romances’ which he performs here with works by Debussy which Soldano has also transcribed. The album is a glorious, sumptuous immersion in late Romantic and Impressionist music which will appeal equally to classical experts and the wider general public. It is a collection of sheer beauty.
Track Listing
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), arranged by Alfonso Soldano:
- Your beauty is that of a flower, Op. 8 No. 2 (2:39)
- All was taken from me, Op. 26 No. 2 (1:27)
- Morning, Op. 4 No. 2 (2:56)
- A Dream, Op. 8 No. 5 (2:49)
- Do you remember that evening, Op. Posth. (2:38)
- Oh I Beg you, do not leave, Op. 4 No. 1 (1:37)
- Dusk was falling, Op. Posth. (4:19)
- Water Lily, Op. 8 No. 1 (1:21)
- Do not believe me, friend, Op. 14 No. 7 (2:31)
- Night is sorrowful, Op. 26 No. 12 (2:51)
- They replied, Op. 21 No. 4 (2:52)
- How peaceful, Op. 21 No. 7 (3:00)
- Summer nights, Op. 14 No. 5 (2:17)
- In the silence of the secret night, Op. 4 No. 3 (3:48)
- Spring Torrents, Op. 14 No. 11 (2:28)
- L'enfant prodigue - Prelude (3:23)
- Nocturnes - I. Nuages (8:23)
- Nocturnes - II. Fêtes (6:55)
- Nocturnes - III. Sirènes (12:28)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918), arranged by Alfonso Soldano:
Reviews
“Soldano’s arrangements are very good. They don’t go over the top with virtuosic flair, but retain the musical integration of voice and piano. The creative aspect here is how well Soldano builds the complex sounds and voices of a full orchestra using just two hands. This great-sounding recording is well worth hearing.
” —James Harrington
“Alfonso Soldano’s robust sonority and rock-solid technique are tailor made for Rachmaninov.
” —Jed Distler
“Soldano’s arrangements are very good. They don’t go over the top with virtuosic flair, but retain the musical integration of voice and piano. The creative aspect here is how well Soldano builds the complex sounds and voices of a full orchestra using just two hands. This great-sounding recording is well worth hearing.
” —James Harrington
“This is a wonderful recital, loaded with colour, imagination and pianistic delight. Soldano has enriched the repertoire with these idiomatic transcriptions. Adept and warmly romantic transcriptions … in the monumental richness of Soldano’s Steinway in this big, bold and adventurous playing.
” —Rob Challinor
“Soldano… is good. [He] is obviously a world-class player, and his piano expressive and vibrant. A nice collection of romantic piano music played really well.
” —Jeremy Condliffe
“It is pleasant to hear these familiar pieces in a way that is different from the usual, and Soldano certainly shows himself to be a careful arranger as well as a caring interpreter. The arrangements are pleasantly done and the performances are well-paced and sensitive.
” —Mark J. Estren
“Soldano’s playing is glowing and red-blooded, alternating a storming eloquence with intimacy. Soldano is a pianist born for Rachmaninov, making you long to hear him in the Concertos, Preludes and Etudes-Tableaux” – Bryce Morrison (International Piano) CRITIC’S CHOICE CD
” —Bryce Morrison
