Vittorio Rieti (1898-1994)
Complete Piano Solo & Duo Works, Vol 2
Giorgio Koukl (piano), Virginia Rossetti (piano)
rec. 2023, Studio Bottega del Pianoforte, Lugano, Switzerland
Grand Piano GP938 [73]
When you come across a composer or musician you had not heard of, do you feel you have not been paying attention to the music scene? Not on this occasion: little of Vittorio Rieti’s music has been recorded even 30 years after his death – you have to wonder why when you do hear it. Every piece here is a world première recording. The record companies must appears in a bad light, but Grand Piano is a glowing exception, since they promote little-known authors. (Only last week I received their Secrets of Armenia, music by three unfamiliar composers played by an unfamiliar pianist.)
Giorgio Koukl is a driving force in this project. He deserves an award for services to music, a nod to the growing list of less well-known composers whose music he has recorded. It is often very difficult to find the scores and to get the necessary permission from the families or estates, as if there were a conspiracy to keep their names from public knowledge. I have applauded him – I feel he is working for this music lover!
According to the booklet notes, Rieti was a natural for composing music rooted in dance. That certainly is my impression of these beautifully crafted little gems: maximum information imparted in very few notes over brief time.
The first group of pieces is Briciole. That means “crumbs”, but these are much more than crumbs, despite their mere five minutes in all, and a true delight. They demand immediate re-hearing, as does everything on this disc: you decide that a piece is a highlight, and the next one impresses just as much.
In Chess Serenade, Virginia Rossetti joins Giorgio Koukl, as she did on the first album. Dance influences persist, as the sections’ titles say – Prelude, Gavotte, Serenade, Valse, Clown March. The music brought a smile to my face; frankly it may have been there throughout the programme.
Rieti, a self-confessed neo-classicist, was happy to absorb the influences of the likes of Stravinsky and Les Six, among others. Georges Auric’s influence is evident; his music also wore a cheeky smile on its sleeve, as confirmed by the film music for Hue & Cry, Passport to Pimlico, The Lavender Hill Mob and some fifty others. All those were Rieti’s contemporaries. The much older Erik Satie’s influence can also be heard. Rieti, as Satie, was a master of the miniature.
New Waltzes is another delightful set. The slightly longer pieces have the second piano for a richer texture. Valse caprice, at over six minutes the longest piece here, allows Rieti to indulge an element of fantasy. Part is indeed capricious, other parts are more reflective and serious (and too slow to waltz to). The charming Valse champêtre againexemplifies Rieti’s love of dance, and Valse lente mixes the thoughtful with the whimsical to great effect. The Rondo Waltz signs off in classic style with everything that makes the waltz so beloved. One wonders what Johann Strauss would have thought of these waltzes. I enjoy them partly because they are so unpredictable.
The six pieces in Chironomos are again characteristic of Rieti’s enjoyable style which celebrates dance. I find it interesting that his 54 years in the USA seem not to have influenced him musically. His work is rooted in the European tradition. As the booklet notes say, Valse pour Léonor is reminiscent of Poulenc, and much of the disc brings French music of the 1920s to 1950s firmly to mind.
Four Piano Pieces maintains Rieti’s easy-going masterful style. The pieces are a perfect celebration of dancing rhythms. The last, Allegro alla tarantella, signs off in brilliantly inventive style with a flourish rather than a full stop.
Rieti is one of those composers you wish you had discovered years ago, but he is little recorded. The Serenade for violin and little orchestra from 1931 appears on the Arts label (47238-2) with pieces by Bax and Lambert. There also are two monographic discs: the Serenade, Harpsichord Concerto and Partita for flute, oboe, string quartet and harpsichord on Composers Recordings, Inc. reissued by New World (NWCR601); and music for harpsichord and instrumentsalso on New World (NW80764). If, like me, you enjoy this programme, you will find those discs equally fascinating. Discover what Rieti could do with greater forces at his disposal.
This disc and its predecessor (review) are to be treasured. The music could not find more dedicated fans as these two pianists. They serve Rieti wonderfully well with committed performances, likely unequalled. This is an absolute joy in every respect.
Steve Arloff
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Contents
1-5 Briciole (1920)
6-7 Due Studi (1923)
8 Piano Suite (1926)
9-13 Chess Serenade (1941-1945)
14-18 Contrasti (1967)
19-24 New Waltzes (1956-1957)
25-30 Chirinomos (1972)
31 Valse pour Léonor (1972)
32-35 Four Piano pieces (1992)
Giorgio Koukl (piano solo: 1-8, 14-18, 25-35; piano 2: 9-13, 19-24)
Virginia Rossetti (piano 1: 9-13, 19-24)
World première recordings
