Capriccio's
Pianorarities: Luigi Dallapiccola is a survey of Dallapiccola's earlier acknowledged works that runs from his final music in a neo-classic style through to his earlier serial compositions. It does feature at least one relatively rare Dallapiccola composition; his Piccolo Concerto per Muriel Couvreux par Pianoforte e Orchestra da Camera (1938-1941), a neo-classical work dating from a period when Dallapiccola was living under fascism and hating it; it has only been recorded once before. It is a sparkling, brightly colored piano (not a piccolo, rather a "little") concerto and a near masterpiece as far as late European neo-classicism is concerned. The Piccolo Concerto is played with dedication and some measure of flair by pianist
Pietro Massa with the support of
Peter Hirsch and the
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. Apart from the Due Pezzi per Orchestra (1948) -- which is played by
Hirsch and the
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin alone and concludes the program -- the other selections are not particularly rare, especially the Quaderna musicale di Annalibera (1952), probably the most frequently recorded keyboard piece of Dallapiccola. The recording quality is a little inconsistent; the extremes of volume in Quaderna musicale di Annalibera are not well bridged, and one might find themselves jockeying the volume knob a bit. There is a similar disjunction of volume found between the quiet and loud movements of the Due Pezzi; the "Fanfara e Fuga" will make one jump after the calm, reflective "Sarabanda." Overall, it is unusual to see so many relatively early Dallapiccola pieces on a single disc; nothing here post-dates 1952. Capriccio's
Pianorarities: Luigi Dallapiccola may prove more palatable to listeners who have a hard time getting a grip on his later bill of fare, and the already converted will likely be awestruck by the Piccolo Concerto.