This is the second of a pair of albums devoted to composer
Vittorio Rieti
by pianist
Giorgio Koukl
, accompanied in the duo pieces by
Virginia Rossetti
.
Rieti
's large-scale scores were programmed by major conductors after he fled to the U.S. during World War II, but he was largely swept away by High Modernism, and these two albums are most welcome.
's style changed little over his long career; the
Four Piano Pieces
of 1992, written when he was 94, are in the same basic language as his Italian works from before the war. The first album covers some highlights; the second is chronologically organized, and one might really choose either one.
works on small canvases, with most of these pieces just a few minutes long and some of them under a minute. They are neoclassic, with influences from
Poulenc
,
Stravinsky
, and
Ravel
, but their extreme concision comes from somewhere else and shows that, no matter how different his final results,
was not insensible to the growth of the serialist language. It is a fascinating combination that stays true to the Baroque dances that are at the root of
's style (he was known as a composer of ballet) but makes something new of them. The performances by
Koukl
and
Rossetti
have just the right understated quality. Short though they may be, these pieces hang in the mind; to these ears, the six
New Waltzes
of the mid-'50s are the most successful. They are waltzes but somehow have an un-waltzlike effect.
Chironomos
(1972) has the most progressive language harmonically but remains firmly rooted in tonality. This is wonderful music that even listeners familiar with the mid-20th century American scene will not know; all are world premiere recordings. ~ James Manheim