In the first of a series of 10 CD’s containing Galuppi’s 90 sonatas, we present eight of these masterpieces. All music lovers should sample these seminal works, which made Galuppi one of the greatest composers of his day;all the more strange that he should have fallen into such obscurity. Peter Seivewright has spent a good deal of time on a research mission to Venice and other European cities, retrieving the unpublished manuscript scores and preparing performing editions. One of the great revelations brought about by this work is that Galuppi, far from being a straightforward baroque composer writing for the traditional keyboard instruments (harpsichord and clavichord), which have been employed in all previous recordings, actually waited until the piano had been developed before creating most of his phenomenal output. Many of the original manuscripts are titled "Sonata for Pianoforte", and much of the writing, making substantial use of the sustain pedal, simply do not work on the earlier instruments.
"Warmly recommended”
Martin Anderson
Performance ***** Recording *****
"A revelatory disc…Galuppi’s invention is rich and fresh, and Seivewright plays these wonderful pieces with a sense of delight in discovery. Highly recommended."
Robert Cockroft
Performance **** Recording ****
"This is a fascinating disc and the beginning of a very important project ....Highly recommended"
"Peter Seivewright plays with a caressing style which reminds me of Glenn Gould (a pianist whom I admire). He is also clearly a scholar and musical historian of merit as the essays provided by him in the record booklets demonstrate. The CDs are well presented and with excellent notes as indicated in the last paragraph. The one thing that is lacking are notes about the individual pieces. I enjoyed these two volumes and can recommend them to anyone looking for piano music away from the beaten track." (review of volumes 1 and 2)
Arthur Baker
“movements are built often quite imaginatively and always resourcefully.. [Seivewright] is a sensitive artist and obviously enjoys this repertoire, and he communicates this enjoyment to us. **(* ) ” (in relation to volumes 1-3)
