Adamo Angeletti - Bartók Piano Works (Sonata, Six Dances, Bagatelles) (2021)

What constitutes the territory of today’s Hungary is but a small part not only of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, but also of the “Hungarian” component of the Empire itself. The Empire had become a colossal melting pot of cultures, languages, traditions, idioms and histories. It included populations from a variety of linguistic backgrounds: the Germanic, the Latin (with a part of today’s Italy and Romania), the Slavic, and the Finno-Ugric, with Hungary itself. Moreover, these countries were inhabited by many linguistic and religious minorities, including, most notably, populations of Jewish and of Gypsy descent.
Virtually all of these populations (which could at times find cohabitation rather problematic) were however united by the love of music. In particular, some of the numerical minorities could become pre-eminent in terms of musical culture – and the above-mentioned Jewish and Gypsy traditions were second to none. In spite of occasional (and sometimes harsh) oppositions, however, the various populations lived together remarkably well. Their belonging in the same Empire fostered the mutual fertilization and hybridization of the various cultures. Certainly, the extreme linguistic difference between some of the languages (e.g. Hungarian and Italian, to name but two) rendered unlikely a direct verbal communication; German was frequently used as an international idiom. However, music needed no such translation, and it could travel from a culture to another in a very permeable fashion. This happened both at the level of orally-transmitted musical culture and at that of “classical”, written compositions. Paradoxically, the unwritten repertoire was both more stable in time, and more permeable to outside influences. Oral traditions were transmitted for many generations (while “classical” music used to be conceived in rather ephemeral terms), and influences from “foreign” cultures (whereby “foreign” may even mean the neighbouring village!) could find their way in a traditional repertoire.
Tracklist
01. Mikrokosmos, Vol. 6, Sz. 107: No. 148, Six dances in bulgarian rhythm (1)
02. Mikrokosmos, Vol. 6, Sz. 107: No. 149, Six dances in bulgarian rhythm (2)
03. Mikrokosmos, Vol. 6, Sz. 107: No. 150, Six dances in bulgarian rhythm (3)
04. Mikrokosmos, Vol. 6, Sz. 107: No. 151, Six dances in bulgarian rhythm (4)
05. Mikrokosmos, Vol. 6, Sz. 107: No. 152, Six dances in bulgarian rhythm (5)
06. Mikrokosmos, Vol. 6, Sz. 107: No. 153, Six dances in bulgarian rhythm (6)
07. Piano Sonata, Sz. 80: I. Allegro moderato
08. Piano Sonata, Sz. 80: II. Sostenuto e pesante
09. Piano Sonata, Sz. 80: III. Allegro molto
10. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 1, Molto sostenuto
11. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 2, Allegro giocoso
12. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 3, Andante
13. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 4, Grave
14. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 5, Vivo
15. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 6, Lento
16. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 7, Allegretto molto capriccioso
17. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 8, Andante sostenuto
18. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 9, Allegretto grazioso
19. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 10, Allegro
20. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 11, Allegretto molto rubato
21. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 12, Rubato
22. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 13, Elle est morte. Lento funebre
23. Bagatelles, Op. 6, Sz. 38: No. 14, Valse: Ma mie qui danse. Presto