The typology of the 1800's study was fixed once and for all by Cramer, in Study for the piano (1804-1810). According to Cramer, the study is a quite short piece, founded on a single instrumental scheme, whose prevailing technical aim cannot leave a valid musical content apart (unlike the exercise, that is the mere repetition of a mechanical formula). In the cramerian study the unit in the instrumental scheme (that will be an essential feature of the XIX century study) comes from Bach's model, whereas Domenico Scarlatti was set the example for the virtuous writing. The studies op.740 conform this typology in a strictest way than Cramer's ones. Every study is marked by a title that shows the pedagogical virtue: Clearness in agility (n. 3), Sweet skip and separate (op. 9), Agility in fingers alternation (op. 11) and so on. Czerny made use in order to codify the styles and the existing piano structures, of his ability in writing and his imitation capability. To a core of clementinian studies (like numbers 1, 5, 27, 28, 32, 34, 50), characterized by the powerful sonorousness and by the wide dimensions, were added studies in the more concise Cramer's style (for example nn. 8, 37, 41), whereas Hummel's influence seems to appear in studies like numbers 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 18, 29 and 30, marked by an elegant and aerial writing. But the studies op. 740 also offer an example of music languages that are out from the didactic kind: echoes from the Magic flute are, for example, in the study n. 11 and numbers 18 and 45 are influenced by a sweetness that is typical in Mendelssohn. Czerny's historical function didn't limit itself to the arrangement of the classical piano building: studies like numbers 2, 31, 36 and 50 already use two or more simultaneous registers for the right hand: a technique that has nothing to do with Clementi's conception or with Beethoven's one (except form some examples), and that will become a feature of Czerny's most famous pupil, Franz Liszt.

As a genre, the string quartet, or quartet in general, belongs to a classical age and to a definite geographical Austro-Germanic area, not simply as a result of the contributions made by the composers in this region, but also because of a kind of unique conception philosophy that they succeeded in giving to the idea of four instruments. It is no coincidence that Goethe decribed the Quartet as a "conversation between four intelligent people. In terms of both structure and concept it belongs to central Europe and the musical trends that were born here and developed over the years. When "folk" elements from outside this area, especially if from Easten countries come into contact with this form there il always an attempt to preserve their own structure by constructing variegations typical of the geographical areas they originate from. Russian and Czech music are the perfect example of this. In Russia, expecially in the latter half of the nineteenth century the confrontation between western and "autochthonous" cultures gave rise to a twin style; one side of which was sustained by P.I.Tchaikovsky and the other by the so-called Group of Five. Even if Tchaikovsky is supposed to have sustained the West while Mussorgsky, Rimsky Korsakov, Cui, Borodin and Balakirev defended the Holy Mother, Russia, the language of both factions, inevitably contains elements of the other on account of birth and schooling. A. Borodin's Second Quartet composed in 1881 is a good example.

This is a didactic cd including some compositions of Luigi Boccherini as instrumental bases that on one hand can contribute to the formation or extension of a chamber music repertoire and on the other hand create a stimulus to play real ensemble music. The pieces were recorded without the guitar. This was added later in order to show that gratifying results can be obtained by playing over a pre-recorded base. This CD is very easy to use: you need to tune your guitar to an A at 440 hz using a diapason.

collection of George Gershwin's piano works. Helped by his sense of rhythm and his virtuoso hand, Maestro Massimiliano Damerini follows the american musicianÕs complex and ever-changing path, performing pages in a perfect balance between jazz, popular music and serious music: a witness of a versatile talent.

In the bicentenary of Donizetti's birth, Musikstrasse pays homage to the musician from Bergamo with a CD including the instrumental compositions by the author, whose faim is mainly due to operas. Thanks to the delicate, elegant performance of the chamber group Polimnia Ensemble, the recording allows to enjoy chamber pieces ranging from the Clarinet Study to the Oboe and Piano Sonata and the first issue of the Wind Quartet XVII°, that stands in witness of the so-called "Ottocento strumentale italiano" (the Italian Instrumental Tradition of the nineteenth century ), that is to say, of the existence of a musical tradition generally overshadowed by the fame of operas and that is finally being given adequate importance.

This cd collects violin concerts by Giuseppe Tartini, really important figure within the Italian instrumental schools in the second half of the eighteenth century. Tartini, altough mantaining a high virtuosism, takes distance from the authentic Baroque tradition and anticipates the expressive atmosphere typical of the Classicism. Interpreti veneziani were founded in 1987 by Paolo Cognolato. They played Tartini's work in Venezia and Pirano, performing with a violin that belonged to Tartini himself.

Luca Salvadori performs some organ works composed by Respghi, Martucci, Busoni, Alfano and others.

Another outstanding Italian pianist, Antonio Bacchelli prematurely died in 1986; in this double CD, he faces Igor Stravinsky's piano complete work. Musikstrasse reissues this beautiful collection, recorded by Maestro Bacchelli back in 1980 at the Auditorium of Radio Montebeni, that has been universally praised since then.

Boccherini's correspondance qith his publisher, Pleyel in Paris, bears witness to the fact that the Six Piano Quintet op. 56, like the similar series op.57, belong to his period of intense creativity in Madrid. The fact that the score was sent to Paris, also shows that the composer was intent on establishing his reputation there, given that the piano was very much in vogue in the city at the time. We also know, however, that the same Quintest had already been performed in Madrid, in the palace of the Mrquis Benavente, in the version for strings and guitar. This version was something of a private affair and was undoubtedly due to the Marquis' predilection perhaps even his gift for the guitarl. The piano version has the merit of giving us an insights into works which would otherwise have been lost forever. The performance does not trumpet the differences, but rather, as Boccherini hoped, exalts the evrchanging nature of light and shade and of stasis and motion.

The typology of the 1800's study was fixed once and for all by Cramer, in Study for the piano (1804-1810). According to Cramer, the study is a quite short piece, founded on a single instrumental scheme, whose prevailing technical aim cannot leave a valid musical content apart (unlike the exercise, that is the mere repetition of a mechanical formula). In the cramerian study the unit in the instrumental scheme (that will be an essential feature of the XIX century study) comes from Bach's model, whereas Domenico Scarlatti was set the example for the virtuous writing. The studies op.740 conform this typology in a strictest way than Cramer's ones. Every study is marked by a title that shows the pedagogical virtue: Clearness in agility (n. 3), Sweet skip and separate (op. 9), Agility in fingers alternation (op. 11) and so on. Czerny made use in order to codify the styles and the existing piano structures, of his ability in writing and his imitation capability. To a core of clementinian studies (like numbers 1, 5, 27, 28, 32, 34, 50), characterized by the powerful sonorousness and by the wide dimensions, were added studies in the more concise Cramer's style (for example nn. 8, 37, 41), whereas Hummel's influence seems to appear in studies like numbers 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 18, 29 and 30, marked by an elegant and aerial writing. But the studies op. 740 also offer an example of music languages that are out from the didactic kind: echoes from the Magic flute are, for example, in the study n. 11 and numbers 18 and 45 are influenced by a sweetness that is typical in Mendelssohn. Czerny's historical function didn't limit itself to the arrangement of the classical piano building: studies like numbers 2, 31, 36 and 50 already use two or more simultaneous registers for the right hand: a technique that has nothing to do with Clementi's conception or with Beethoven's one (except form some examples), and that will become a feature of Czerny's most famous pupil, Franz Liszt.

Even if Mercadante is mostly known as operas composer, the music of this collections witness not only the peculiar creative potential of the author but also his natural attitude to the instrumental genre. Infact we can place the "Variazioni in fa maggiore" (Variations in Fmajor) and the "Quartetto in mi bemolle maggiore" (quartet in E durmajor) in the composer's youth, whereas the two "Decimini" are part of his late production. As to the latter - along with their uniqueness asa form in instrumental music - the "Decimino con pianoforte" (the cd'sopening track) is a real rare issue. This cd is part of a Polimnia Ensemble trilogy dedicated to chamber music of great opera composers, along with compositions by Rossini and Donizetti already released with Musikstrasse.

This cd includes four hands piano works by Gaetano Donizetti. The composers' piano music show evidence of a dovetailing of musical entertainment with piano virtuosity.

A new edition of the collection of George Gershwin's piano works. Helped by his sense of rhythm and his virtuoso hand, Maestro Massimiliano Damerini follows the american musicianÕs complex and ever-changing path, performing pages in a perfect balance between jazz, popular music and serious music: a witness of a versatile talent.

Faith and spirituality in great musicians work. Music by Schubert, Rossini, Tchajkovskij, Schumann, Puccini and many more. The three cds in the series "Ave Maria" were distributed by the newspaper "L'unità".

In this cd, guitarist Arturo Tallini and jazz singer Ada Montellanico perform songs by spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. Tallini, in his trascription, stroves to add colours and images, altough, retaining their harmonic fabric which is the most significant relationship that Lorca had with the folk tradition.

This Cd is a musical journey that takes the listener across several cultural enviroments and contexts including the theatre , the café-chantant, floklore and the cinema. It draws on the musical heritage of Germany, France, Latin America and Italy and it aims to bring to the fore the character and spirit of each individual area. The journey starts from some famous songs written by the derisive Kurt Weil and continues with three French authors who were also connected for a certain period by a human and artistic bond: Eric Satie, George Auric, Francis Poulenc. Then we have an incursion in Latin-American with composer Manuel Maria Ponce and Heitor Villa Lobos. The programme closes with a fantasy based on film music by Nino Rota. Trio Chitarristico di Roma, made up of Fabio Renato D'Ettorre, Marco Cianchi and Fernando Lepri. It was founded in 1983 with the aim of introducing the repertoire that exists for this unusual formation to the ublic and at the same time to present guitar versions of pieces written for other insgruments. The Trio has performed all over Europe, sharing the stage with many internationally acknowledged artists. With Musikstrasse, they also published "Recital" and "Rara" musica del 900.

"Luci e ombre" 'pass trough spiritual paths in which past and present join inseparably showing the light and the dark side of inwardness'. So runs the preface to the piece for clarinet and guitar, perfect for this entire program. A path strongly influenced by Mediterranean climate, for the soft shades of French elegy, for suspended and incandescent sounds of Queimada and Habanera in Spain, for the magical and bloody Napolitan charm of Tarantella and oriental tones of the TriPartita. In the reference, explicit or only alluded, to neighboring cultural environments, the magic of a symbolic journey and the poetry of a metaphor can live together.