Blu

Arturo Tallini is another of those excellent players from Italy who have yet to make the wider impression on the international scene. An accomplished musician whose teachers include Bruno Battisti d’Arnario, Alirio Diaz, Josè Tomàs, Oscar Ghiglia and Alberto Ponce, he deserves to be much better known internationally on the evidence of this CD.

His easy command of modern Idioms is one of the reasons, and he is aided by a recording of exceptional warmth and immediacy. The music is well chosen, a fine selection of modern works lasting a total of nearly 75 minutes, and therefore good value in terms of length as well as everything else.

Nuccio d'Angelo's Two Lydian Songs have established themselves in the repertoire, assns deservedly. The lyricism of antiquity allies itself with a modern feeling for melody and design, and you find yourself enjoying them more with every time you hear them. Michele Dall'Ongaro's hic, written for Arturo Tallini, releases a lot of rhythmical energy, very stirring. and Ko-tha (The Dance of Shiva) shows Giacinto Scelsi's extraordinary vision in this, the first complete recording. Scelsi apparently believes that music composition took a wrong turning about the time of Pythagoras, which at least points to a starting point of some originality. Like Charles Ives and Lord Berners. he is totally devoted to a particular perception of music, and sees no reason to depart from it. The resulting freeing of the imagination cannot be calculated. Ko-tha was originally written for amplified guitar; the subtitle is “For guitar treated as a percussion instrument”. There's certainly plenty of percussion, at one point accompanied by open strings. If Ko-tha is the most immediately arrestingm there is plenty of interest in the other pieces.

The Greek composer Dmitri Nicolau has written several guitar pieces, and “To Petrassi the young man” (dedicated to Artuiro Tallini) suggests the older composer in its sensitive yet powerful statements. Cresto's Nostos uses harmonics, tremolo and percussion of varying intensity to produce a sound of memorable interest that provides a background to interjections that seem to have the lineaments of speech.

Petrassi's Suoni Notturni (1959) and Nunc (1071) are again welcome in this thoughtful and highly musical performance. Tallini compels you to listen carefully to Petrassi's sensitive arabesques and enigmatic statements.

Britten's Nocturnal further defines Arturo Tallini's status. The hints of the ultimate Dowland are carefully highlighted, nothing exaggerated. It helps to know the theme, but if you do not know it already you have to wait some twelve minutes before you recognise it An alert but sensitive musicianship does wonders in, this piece. Even the March-like movement has a delicacy that you would not normally expect In Dreaming and the following Gently Rocking the component parts are held together by musicianship of a high order. Nor does Tallini fail to touch you in the final Dowland. It is a fitting end to successful CD of modern music, and I recommend it very highly.