Mario Tarenghi (1870-1938)
Works for Two Pianos
Artur Pizarro, Rinaldo Zhok (pianos)
rec. 2024, Piano Restorations Ltd, Twyford, UK
Danacord DACOCD983 [80]

I am rather fond of those occasions when I am introduced to a composer that I have never heard of and who turns out to write rather good music. Not startlingly original of course – those are blue moon occasions – but imaginative, well-crafted, stirring and enjoyable. So welcome Mario Tarenghi, an Italian pianist and composer who was born in Bergamo in 1870 and who studied in Milan with opera composer Adolfo Catalani and one M. Fumagalli – not the famed virtuoso Adolfo Fumagalli but perhaps a descendant? According to the booklet notes, which provide what little biographical information is available, he went on to teach at the Milan Music school and died in Milan in 1938. His output comprises at least one symphony and two operas, Marcella and Gara antica, as well as over 600 works including many salon piano solos, works for two pianists, vocal, choral and chamber music, many of which remain in manuscript. We tend to think of Italian composers of the time, Puccini, Mascagni, Boito or even Tarenghi’s teacher Catalani, as predominantly focused on opera and vocal music but composers like Giovanni Sgambati (1841-1914) and Giuseppe Martucci (1856-1909) were among a handful that concentrated on symphonic and instrumental works. Tarenghi can be added to that list and although he was a contemporary of Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) he did not follow the more experimental harmonic path that his more famous countryman took remaining staunchly romantic, at least on the evidence of this disc.

The disc opens with a real winner, the sparkling serenata, obligatory guitar strumming away in a setting that could be some elfin ballet; originally written for two pianos it was also available for solo piano and small orchestra and I read in the notes that it did indeed become part of a ballet, Ted Shawn’s Serenade Morisca featuring Martha Graham. His two wonderful sets of variations would bear adding to many a duo’s repertoire. The first here is based on the minuet from Schumann’s miscellaneous collection Bunte Blätter op.99 and indeed the music of the first variation reminded me very much of the world of Schumann’s own two piano Andante and Variations op.46. They continue in the mould of the German romantics – the beautifully passionate third variation could be Brahms – and feature an idiomatic range of keyboard textures including two rugged and spirited scherzos, both of which are extended with lyrical passages. The longest variation pays homage to Chopin and Liszt, of the Consolations, with a delicate nocturne whilst the exciting finale opens as a moto perpetuo; it is quite the virtuoso workout for both pianists. The Variations on Chopin’s C minor prélude share the lush romantic harmony of their earlier cousin but bring hints of later romantics including Rachmaninov without copying any of the ideas of the latter’s own variations on the same prélude. The nocturnal fourth variation has a wider range of expression than similar moments in the Schumann variations and is a real delight as is the tarantelle that follows. Variation six is an elegiac sarabande while variation seven explores duple/triple time rhythms and inverts the minor/major tonality of the theme. A chorale, vaguely reminiscent of the duo of the armed men in Mozart’s Magic Flute introduces a mood of calm amongst all the pianistic high jinx though these return in full force in the virtuosic finale, full of sweeping arpeggios, octaves and a thematic outline in a dancing chordal figure. Once again Tarenghi produces variations of quality and imagination and with the familiarity of Chopin’s original this would make a popular addition to the two piano repertoire. Between these two larger scale pieces is the preludio e fuga ad imatazione dello stile antico whose prelude is based on a single rhythmic figure that grows in intensity with each iteration followed by a delicately lyrical theme, archaic but with strong romantic leanings. The fugue is highly engaging dancing merrily along. Also in antique style is the gavotta da concerto which is the only work here not originally written for two pianos; it was written for solo piano with a dedication to one of his pupils while the two piano version heard here remains in manuscript. It is rather grand in keeping with the romantic trend of mock baroque dances that made Paderewski’s Minuet in G so popular. The two Miniatures are described as remaining manuscript and are unpublished yet are assigned an opus number – op.95; did Tarenghi add this or is it from a catalogue of his many works? Whatever the case these are delightful pieces, a gentle reverie that has echoes of Saint-Saëns aquarium and an impish scherzo at its heart followed by a light-hearted scherzo, Giuochi di farfille that reminded me a little of Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalli’s Olaf’s dance though without its whole-tone trappings. The Visione mistica dating from 1920, an extended nocturnal piece that has hints of impressionism amid French and Russian late romantics; Saint-Saëns comes to mind and oddly enough Bortkiewicz in some of its melodic turns of phrase. The joyous Allegro festoso which closes the recital is a wonderful celebratory piece written for the fortieth anniversary of the Scuola Musicale di Milano where Tarenghi was director.

This is a really enjoyable disc with not a dud amongst these nine pieces, something of an achievement for a composer who has been relegated to the pages of old music dictionaries. Artur Pizarro and Rinaldo Zhok have previously partnered in Dvořák and Beethoven’s four hand piano music and they play this richly passionate and imaginative music as if it were the very heart and soul of Italian instrumental music and demonstrate how unjust its practically total neglect has been. Pizarro’s grandmother, Berta da Nóbrega partnered Campos Coelho in some of this music and it is only fitting that he should be part of the team that brings this marvellous music to a wider audience.

Rob Challinor

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Contents
Serenata in F minor Op.13 (before 1918)
Variations sur le theme du Minuet op.99 de Robert Schumann Op.40 (1905-6)
Preludio e Fuga Op.48 (before 1909)
Variations sul Preludio XX di F. Chopin Op.68 (1917)
Visione Mistica (1920)
Gavotta da Concerto Op.72
Two Miniatures Op.95
Allegro Festoso Op.105 (1920)