Art Songs + Works for Piano: Duo Vanini-Coni Interview
One of the most memorable sessions of last summer’s Italian- Jewish Studies Conference in Camaldoli, Italy was a lecture and concert by the Duo Vanini-Coni (mezzosoprano Valentina Vanini and pianist Giuseppina Coni), during which they focused on the art songs Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco wrote during his early years in Florence. The Duo has recently released a two CD box set (Tactus), which features both these early art songs as well as works for solo piano of the same period, along with interesting and in depth liner notes by Professor Cesare Orselli. The project includes the premiere recordings of three songs: La sera fiesolana, based on Gabriele D’Annunzio’s celebrated poem; La canzone della vita, with words by Mario’s elder brother Ugo Castelnuovo-Tedesco; and the brief cycle Il libro di Dolcina, set to poems by Laura Milani Comparetti, the mother of Elisa Milani, a childhood friend of Mario’s. Valentina and Giuseppina kindly agreed to tell us about their experience studying and recording this music.
Read more