The complete works for mandolin and piano by Ludwig van Beethoven performed in a World Premiere in Savona.
Sunday, 6 September 2020 – Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption – Savona. Carlo Aonzo, mandolin – Sirio Restani, piano.
On Sunday, 6 September 2020, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, Carlo Aonzo (mandolin) and Sirio Restani (piano) performed together at the Savona International Music Festival to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven.
For this important occasion, the complete works were performed in their entirety and in an absolute world premiere: not only the four “Canonsci” pieces for mandolin and piano, but also two previously unpublished works never before presented to the public, edited by Graziano Denini and by our Beethoven Music Research Centre (www.lvbeethoven.org): a melody and a rondo, whose historical and musicological details can be consulted on the pages of our website.
Regarding the Canonic pieces (WoO 43A and B, WoO 44A and B), please refer to the dedicated pages:
WoO 43a – Adagio for mandolin and piano in C minor
WoO 43b – Adagio for mandolin and piano in E-flat major
WoO 44a – Sonatina (Allegro, sonata movement) in C major for mandolin and piano
WoO 44b – Andante con variazioni in D major for mandolin and piano
A special commendation from the Music Research Centre goes to FRANCESCO OTTONELLO (Artistic Director of the Ensemble Nuove Musiche Musical Association), who worked tirelessly to make this concert possible.
Photo by Paola Sogliani
Photo by Paola Sogliani
Now in its eighth edition, the festival has become a regular fixture in the Savona area. The programme continues in its aim of presenting artists of international standing, while also celebrating local musical talents — on this occasion featuring the internationally renowned Savona-born mandolinist Carlo Aonzo.
Aonzo and Restani — organist, pianist, harpsichordist and composer, and for over thirty years répétiteur at the Teatro Carlo Felice — will perform the complete works for mandolin and piano by Ludwig van Beethoven. The programme will be completed by works by Hummel, Mozart and Schubert.
Among Carlo Aonzo’s many international experiences in the field of classical music, special mention should be made of his concerts at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York, for the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, and the GOG (Giovine Orchestra Genovese) in Genoa.
Noteworthy are his longstanding collaborations with distinguished classical musicians such as Giulio Plotino (violin), Rene Izquierdo (guitar) of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Dmitri Zubov (harpsichord) of the St Petersburg Philharmonia (Russia), and with Il Falcone of Genoa (early music ensemble), as well as collaborations with the Minsk Soloists (Belarus), the McGill Chamber Orchestra of Montreal (Canada), the Nashville Chamber Orchestra (USA), and the Dartmouth College Orchestra of New Hampshire (USA).
It would have been impossible to find a more fitting setting in which to open the casket and restore to the world two splendid Beethoven compositions for mandolin — Melody (Andante) and Rondo.
The setting: the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Savona.
The casket: the Beethoven Fischhof 28 manuscript.
Above all, the painstaking reconstruction by Graziano Denini, which has allowed us to hear what had remained hidden for nearly 200 years.
The magic was brought to life by the performers: mandolinist Carlo Aonzo and Sirio Restani at the piano.
A world première — and it would be difficult to imagine a more exclusive tribute to the Master of Bonn than reviving one of his forgotten compositions.
Enjoy the listening.
Fiorella Romenzi