A Salon Opera Flauguissimo Duo A Salon Opera Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) Mauro Giuliani (1781–1829) 1. Cantabile in D major, MS 109, Op. 17 [3:26] Grande Serenade, Op. 82 10. Theme & Varia ons [4:22] Franz Schubert (1797–1828) 11. Menue o & Trio [3:18] 2. Frühlingstraum, D.911, Op. 89 No. 11 [3:00] 12. Marcia [4:19] from Die Winterreise, arr. Flauguissimo Duo 13. Allegro brillante [4:57] Flauguissimo Duo 3. An die Nach gall, D.497, Op. 98 No. 1 [1:54] arr. Flauguissimo Duo 4. Heidenröslein, D.257, Op. 3 No. 3 [1:44] Total playing me [51:03] Yu-Wei Hu flute arr. Flauguissimo Duo Johan Löfving guitar Francesco Molino (1768/75–1847) No urno II, Op. 38 for flute or violin and guitar Original French Tribout guitar, 1850, anonymous, restored by James Westbrook 5. Andante cantabile [2:36] Eight-keyed flute by Mar n Wenner, 2011, a er August Grenser, c. 1790 6. Rondo: Allegro [2:59]
Fernando Sor (1778–1839) 7. Introduc on and Varia ons on a Theme of Mozart, Op. 9 [8:40] Introduc on: Andante Largo – Theme: Andante Moderato – Varia on I – Varia on II – Varia on III – Varia on IV – Più mosso – Varia on V – Più mosso – Coda
Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787) 8. Dance of the Blessed Spirits [5:30] from Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30 arr. Flauguissimo Duo About Flauguissimo Duo: Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806–1856) [4:11] ‘Flau st Yu-Wei Hu was sublime and her handling of Gluck and Paganini, 9. Tarantelle, Op. 13 No. 6 accompanied sensi vely by guitarist Johan Löfving, was my personal highlight’ Early Music Today
‘[...] Young ar sts Flauguissimo Duo shine [...] They gave a fine performance that held our a en on throughout’ Classical Guitar Magazine A Salon Opera had their real career in the army.
The inspira on for this album stemmed Interes ngly, many composers associated from the prevailing culture of salons where with other instruments at the me were new ideas of poli cs, science, music and also competent guitarists, such as the literature flourished during the eighteenth diabolical violinist Niccolo Paganini (1782– and nineteenth centuries. Ladies and 1840). He composed a huge amount of gentlemen brought popular tunes from solo and chamber music for guitar with the opera house into their own drawing other instruments and Cantabile in D major, rooms rearranging the music for their Op. 17 is certainly one of the most beloved. own entertainment. The gorgeous, sweeping melody was set to a simple accompaniment; there could The in mate combina on of flute and hardly be a more suitable overture to guitar was at the very heart of this domes c a salon opera! music-making. Transverse flutes had been established orchestral and chamber Franz Schubert (1797–1828) was one of music instruments since the eighteenth the greatest musical minds of his me and century when many virtuosos travelled all a pivotal figure of the ‘lieder’ repertoire. over the European con nent. The newly Franz spent his rela vely short life in his developed six-stringed guitar, on the other na ve Vienna and performed mostly in hand, had received an unexpected small in mate gatherings known as renaissance and its popularity can easily ‘Schuber ades’. These evenings were an be compared to that of the lute three oasis of freedom amongst friends where centuries earlier. However, while its noble music, poetry and thoughts could be ancestor was foremost an instrument of exchanged in a safe and frivolous the courts, the guitar was an instrument environment. of the people. Compared to the highly Yu-Wei Hu Johan Löfving ornate harpsichords and fortepianos, For this disc we have selected and arranged many guitars were cheap, easy to three short songs from different parts of transport and could be used for a his life and it is extraordinary how directly variety of musical entertainments. In the music speaks even without the poetry. fact, during the Napoleonic wars a As a proficient guitarist himself, it is said significant amount of guitar composers that Franz always had a guitar hanging above his bed. It is highly plausible that the guitar’ for a reason. His Varia ons on a From one dance to another, the Tarantelle, where noble court dances were o en many of the songs were composed with theme by Mozart, Op. 9, is one of the Op. 13 No. 6 by Johann Kaspar Mertz swi ly succeeded by rowdier vigne es, a guitar in hand, which also explains why most frequently played pieces in the (1806–1856) provides a sharp contrast. just as Don Giovanni himself would have they are so suitable for the instrument. guitar repertoire. The music combines Although the Austro-Hungarian composer had it! The ‘Marcia’ alludes to the drama c opera c effects with virtuosic had never set foot on Spanish soil during outdoor quali es of guitars men oned Although Biedermeier Vienna might have brilliancy and this interpreta on is tailored his life me, this fiery piece brings our earlier while the final ‘Brillante’ is a had its own classicism, the real capital of for an original nineteenth-century guitar imagina on to southern Europe where full-blown opera buffa ending with all the guitar music was Paris. As guitars in order to bring out both the rus c and guitar playing is rooted in folk tradi ons. the joy and excitement more than were in vogue among the newly noble elements of this piece. Surprisingly, Mertz was one of the few enough to fill an opera house let emancipated middle classes, plenty of guitarists of his me inspired by the alone a salon! opportuni es emerged for travelling No salon opera would be complete without piano literature; many of his other virtuosos from the south to se le in an actual opera extract and Dance of the composi ons clearly bear traces of On Interpreta on the French capital. Blessed Spirits from Christoph Willibald Schumann and Mendelssohn. In this Gluck’s (1714–1787) Orfeo ed Euridice, context, the Tarantelle remains unique The wonderful treasure of early-nineteenth- Francesco Molino (1768–1847) was one Wq. 30 is one of the most beau ful among his other works. century guitar repertoire of both solo and of them and the Op. 38 Nocturne II opera c flute solos. Intriguingly this famous chamber music has long been a source of recorded here represents salon music at piece did not exist in the first edi on for Finally we return to Italy, the country inspira on for us. Fresh, light and joyous its best: charming, sweet and innocent. the Viennese premiere in 1762; it was associated with opera more than any pieces full of gorgeous tunes and The second movement is an unmistakable only added for the performances at the other. Mauro Giuliani (1781–1829) le shimmering virtuosity, they remain at the reference to ‘opera buffa’, with its jaunty Paris Opera in 1774 (along with a new his Italian homeland at an early age in very heart of most guitarists’ repertoire. rondo-mo f and soaring melodies. French libre o, high tenor parts and order to make a career in the wealthy more ballet scenes) conforming to the culture capital of Vienna, eventually These hidden gems are mostly opera c It is fair to say that Fernando Sor (1778– prevailing tastes in Paris at the me. becoming its leading guitar virtuoso. pieces or folk-inspired dances which might 1839) is one of the most important This opera tells a beau ful story of love, Although the opera c quali es of Italian have to be approached from a slightly guitar figures not only of the early- life and death in which a mere mortal is ‘bel canto’ remained a major influence different angle to large-scale symphonic Roman c era but of all me. His great determined to confront the immortal throughout his life, Giuliani was also works. This is rhetorical music, based on oeuvre of concert pieces and didac c gods in order to bring back his beloved strongly affected by the Viennese communica on and shared affects works places him at the heart of the wife from the underworld. The wonderful classicism. This is par cularly apparent between performers and listeners. During guitar repertoire but he was also a music, on the other hand, is a great in the second movement of his Grande the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries composer with wider interests. Ballet, tes mony to a composer who dedicated Serenade, Op. 82 where a simple minuet the musical world was very different to opera and symphonic works by his hand his life to reform the opera scene to a is followed by a trio full of lively scherzo ours; singers were at the centre of all have survived to this day and certainly place of real drama and emo on. character. This musical style was directly musical a rac ons and even the most earned him the name ‘Beethoven of inspired by the Viennese ballrooms established composers had to accommodate their demands. Obviously not all composers Flauguissimo Duo Yu-Wei Hu (flute) Baroque group Ensemble de Trianon won the were pleased with this state of affairs. Richard III Prize in RCM Early Music One story goes that when famous Flauguissimo Duo was founded by flau st As both a recitalist and orchestral musician, Compe on 2010 and was finalist in the soprano Adelina Pa (1843–1919) sang Yu-Wei Hu and guitarist Johan Löfving in 2008. Yu-Wei has performed baroque and classical Fenton House Compe on 2012. Les Na on one of Rossini’s own arias to him, he Their wide repertoire, spanning from early flutes throughout the UK and Europe, Réunis, the other baroque ensemble she politely asked her who the composer music on period instruments to collabora ons including concerts at MuTh – Konzertsaal co-founded in 2010, is winner of the was! Though we don’t know what kind with new composers, has led to a par cularly der Wiener Sängerknaben, Palace of Interna onal Early Music Compe on of extreme liber es she might have taken diverse performing career. They have Versailles, Royal Fes val Hall, Royal Albert in Middelburg, The Netherlands in 2011. herself, it nevertheless shows a natural performed many concerts in pres gious Hall, Royal Opera House, Kings Place, outcome of this musical climate. As venues including Kings Place and Cadogan St Mar n-in-the-Fields, St John’s Smith Yu-Wei was awarded a Bachelor of Arts instrumentalists, we were deeply inspired Hall in London as well as St George’s Bristol Square, St Paul’s Cathedral, Canterbury and a Master of Fine Arts degree from by the power of rhetoric and hoped to and Sage Gateshead in Newcastle. They were Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. She the Na onal Taiwan Normal University bring opera c drama, humor and also invited to perform in the Stra ord-on- also performed in Radio France Fes val in 2004 and 2006. In the UK, Yu-Wei conversa on into chamber music Avon Fes val, Honiton Fes val, Bath Montpellier, BBC Proms, Bachwoche completed the Master in Performance making in the in mate se ng of a salon. Guitar Fes val and Kings Lynn Fes val; Fes val Vienna, Carinthischer Sommer programme with dis nc on at the RCM abroad they have performed in Utrecht Fes val, Opera Barga Fes val Italy and in 2010, a er studying Baroque flute With ‘tempo rubato’ (rhythmic flexibility), Early Music Fes val Fringe, Swedish London Fes val of Baroque Music. Her with Lisa Beznosiuk and Rachel Brown, ornamenta on and the sound of period Guitar and Lute Fes val and the Bach performances have been broadcast on and modern flute with Susan Thomas instruments, we wished to explore the Hall in Taiwan. Flauguissimo is keen on BBC Radio 3, Radio France and Austrian and Daniel Pailthorpe. During this me, subtle colours in the very nature of these outreach projects, especially those bringing Radio Ö1. Yu-Wei appeared on the album she was supported by the Kit and John instruments and their performance live music to new audiences. They have The Oriental Miscellany with prominent Gander Award 2008-9, and the Taiwan prac ce. Intriguingly, playing on an given workshops at Bristol University and Bri sh harpsichordist Jane Chapman Government Scholarship for Studying original instrument always seems to a number of schools across the UK. released under Signum Classics in 2015. Abroad 2008-10. Generously supported bring out more characters and variety Addi onally, they were selected for several by a Parnassus Award, Yu-Wei con nued instead of mere homogeneity. Above all, schemes aimed at young musicians such as Yu-Wei has performed with many renowned her study at the RCM and was awarded it is this constant ‘diversity of subtle es’ Brighton Early Music Fes val Live!, period chamber ensembles and orchestras, an Ar st Diploma degree in 2013. that keeps the music alive and listeners Interna onal Guitar Founda on Young including Florilegium, St James’ Baroque, engaged. Ar st Pla orm, Concordia Founda on Oxford Baroque Soloists, The Hanover www.yuweihu.com Young Ar sts and Live Music Now. Band and London Handel Orchestra. © Flauguissimo Duo Flauguissimo also performs regularly as a Yu-Wei took part in the OAE Experience www.flaugussimoduo.com larger ensemble in various constella ons, Scheme for Young Players in 2011 and with a repertoire spanning from Baroque Jeune Orchestre Atlan que in France trio sonatas to classical orchestral works. 2011–12. Besides Flauguissimo, her More titles from Resonus Classics Johan Löfving Apart from his long term work with Flauguissimo Duo and Improviso, he has Classical Vienna: Music for Guitar and Piano Since being a prize winner in the pres gious worked with some of the finest musicians, James Akers (romantic guitar) & London Interna onal Guitar Compe on, such as Barokksolistene, baritone Thomas Gary Branch (fortepiano) Johan Löfving has established himself as Guthrie, tenor Rob Murray as well as RES10182 a truly exci ng musician of a new pianist David Owen Norris, who invited him ‘Just lean back and take in the warm sound of genera on with a par cular passion for to take part in the ‘Playlist Series’ on BBC these persuasive artists imagining you are at a the music of the eighteenth and early- Radio 4. His passion for new music has Viennese house concert in the early 19th century.’ nineteenth centuries. His performances resulted in several world premieres of both Early Music America have taken him to some of the finest solo and chamber works, notably by the concert halls such as Wigmore Hall, Kings highly acclaimed Bri sh composer and Place, The Sage Gateshead, Wiener Saal guitarist Sam Cave. Louis-Gabriel Guillemain: Flute Quartets, Op. 12 Salzburg and MuTh- Konzertsaal der Wilbert Hazelzet (Baroque flute) Wiener Sängerknaben in Vienna. Johan graduated with First Class Honours Fantasticus from the Royal College of Music in London, RES10222 Addi onally, he has appeared in major where he studied guitar with Gary Ryan, fes vals including Spitalfields, King’s Lynn, theorbo with Jakob Lindberg and conduc ng ‘This quartet of finely-honed musicians captures Stra ord-on-Avon, Brighton Early Music with Natalia Luis-Bassa. At RCM he was the vivacious galanterie and witty discourse’ Fes val, Cambridge Summer Music awarded both the Guitar Prize and the Early Music Review Fes val, Bath Guitar Fes val, Saxå Hilda Anderson Dean Prize. Subsequently, Chamber Music Fes val, Styriarte Fes val he completed his studies at the Mozarteum Graz and Carinthischer Sommer in in Salzburg with Professors Robert Wolff Villach, Austria. and Hans Brüderl and was awarded a © 2019 Resonus Limited è 2019 Resonus Limited scholarship from the Swedish Royal Recorded in Holy Trinity Church, Weston, Hertfordshire on 11–13 September 2017 In 2011 Johan was awarded the First Prize Academy of Music. Producer & Engineer: John Taylor in the Young Talent Concert at the Executive producer: Adam Binks Uppsala Guitar Fes val in Sweden and www.johanlofving.com Cover image: Aiga Ozo the performance was recorded and RESONUS LIMITED – UK broadcast later by the Swedish Radio P2. The following year he was awarded [email protected] www.resonusclassics.com the Jörgen Rörby Prize and the audience prize from the Swedish Guitar and Lute Big thanks to Lisa Beznosiuk, Rachel Brown, Ashley Solomon, Robert Wolff, Gary Ryan, Bo Hansson, Society. Sven Lundestad, Lars Eriksson, Sam Cave and John Taylor. Also big thanks to our family and friends for your con nuous support. RES10233