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	Nino Rota, Marco Boni, I Virtuosi Italiani Rota: Two Piano Concertos Genre: Classical Many years ago, the famous Hoffnung Festival classical music comedy series offered a "Concerto Popolare," a piano concerto movement made up entirely of recognizable themes from famous piano concertos. Rota's Piano Concerto... more » « less
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CD Details

All Artists: Nino Rota, Marco Boni, I Virtuosi Italiani, Massimo Palumbo
Title: Rota: Two Piano Concertos
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Chandos
Release Date: 10/20/1998
Genre: Classical
Styles: Chamber Music, Forms & Genres, Concertos, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830), Instruments, Keyboard
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 095115968123, 095115968123

Synopsis

Amazon.com

Many years ago, the famous Hoffnung Festival classical music comedy series offered a "Concerto Popolare," a piano concerto movement made up entirely of recognizable themes from famous piano concertos. Rota's Piano Concertos, two of which receive their premiere recordings here, are less amusing because the themes aren't familiar, but the styles certainly are: Rachmaninov here, Grieg there, a large dash of Ravel, and so on. The performances sound entirely competent, as though the performers actually thought this was important music. But it's just the same kind of stuff Rota churned out for his famous movie scores, only less useful. --Leslie Gerber

CD Reviews

Light, beautiful, recreational

schonne | Shanghai, China | 04/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"shamefully I haven't watched Godfather or 8 1/2 and totally forgot the music of La Strada when I encountered this disc via Internet. And before that I'd never heard of Nino Rota. But this is beautiful music enjoyable and definitely accessible.

Rota is a film composer, which means his music, even that not written for movies, is easily evocative of scenes and emotions. These two piano concertos are also of such quality. They're light -- there're rarely fortissimos, orchestration is not dense either; they're beautiful -- full of simple yet lovely melodies; they're recreational -- inflicting no mental burden as Brahms or Rachmaninov or even Chopin does. You just sit there enjoying it, with or without various kinds of colors and images passing before your eyes. That's all.

Concerto No.1 is larger and structurally more complicated, also more romantic, more dreamy; while No.2 is shorter, wittier and livelier"