English Guitar Music of the 20th Century, Berkeley, Britten, Scott & Walton Andrea Dieci

• Lennox Berkeley (1903 - 1989): Quatre pièces pour la guitare:
• 1Quatre pièces pour la guitare: I. Moderato ma con brio02:24
• 2Quatre pièces pour la guitare: II. Andante con moto03:08
• 3Quatre pièces pour la Guitare: III. Lento02:47
• 4Quatre pièces pour la Guitare: IV. Allegro, Energico01:57
• Cyril Scott (1879 - 1970): Sonatina for Guitar:
• 5Sonatina for Guitar: I. Adagio, quasi introduzione - Molto Moderato07:35
• 6Sonatina for Guitar: II. Allegretto Pensoso02:21
• 7Sonatina for Guitar: III. Finale. Allegro02:54
• Lennox Berkeley: Sonatina for Guitar, Op. 52/1:
• 8Sonatina for Guitar, Op. 52/1: I. Allegretto05:30
• 9Sonatina for Guitar, Op. 52/1: II. Lento03:41
• 10Sonatina for Guitar, Op. 52/1: III. Rondo. Allegro non Troppo03:35
• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): Nocturnal After John Dowland for Guitar, Op. 70:
• 11Nocturnal After John Dowland for Guitar, Op. 70: I. Musingly02:32
• 12Nocturnal After John Dowland for Guitar, Op. 70: II. Very Agitated00:51
• 13Nocturnal After John Dowland for Guitar, Op. 70: III. Restless01:45
• 14Nocturnal After John Dowland for Guitar, Op. 70: IV. Uneasy01:28
• 15Nocturnal After John Dowland for Guitar, Op. 70: V. March-Like01:45
• 16Nocturnal After John Dowland for Guitar, Op. 70: VI. Dreaming02:00
• 17Nocturnal After John Dowland for Guitar, Op. 70: VII. Gently Rocking01:26
• 18Nocturnal After John Dowland for Guitar, Op. 70: VIII. Passacaglia05:02
• 19Nocturnal After John Dowland for Guitar, Op. 70: Slow and Quiet02:36
• Lennox Berkeley: Theme and Variations for Guitar, Op. 77:
• 20Theme and Variations for Guitar, Op. 77: I. Theme. Moderato01:14
• 21Theme and Variations for Guitar, Op. 77: II. Variazione I. Allegro00:52
• 22Theme and Variations for Guitar, Op. 77: III. Variazione II. Allegretto00:51
• 23Theme and Variations for Guitar, Op. 77: IV. Variazione III. Lento01:17
• 24Theme and Variations for Guitar, Op. 77: V. Variazione IV. Andante01:26
• 25Theme and Variations for Guitar, Op. 77: Vi. Variazione V. Allegro00:43
• 26Theme and Variations for Guitar, Op. 77: VII. Variazione VI. (Epilogue). Lento01:25
• William Turner Walton (1902 - 1983):
• 275 Bagatelles for Guitar: I. Allegro04:16
• 285 Bagatelles for Guitar: II. Lento03:00
• 295 Bagatelles for Guitar: III. Alla Cubana02:07
• 305 Bagatelles for Guitar: IV. —02:04
• 315 Bagatelles for Guitar: V. Con Slancio02:26
• Total Runtime01:16:58

Info for English Guitar Music of the 20th Century, Berkeley, Britten, Scott & Walton

It’s easy to identify the classical guitar with Spanish repertoire. After all, Andrés Segovia, who revived the fortunes of the instrument in the early decades of the 20th century after long neglect, was a Spaniard. This does not do justice, however, to the major contribution made to 20th-century guitar repertoire by a number of national schools, among which the United Kingdom’s is particularly outstanding for the quantity and quality of the pieces. This album offers a significant sample of music for solo guitar by four important composers: Cyril Scott, Lennox Berkeley, Benjamin Britten and William Walton.

Despite being relatively unfamiliar to the wider public, the figure of Cyril Scott (1879–1970) is one of real interest. Having trained in England and in Germany, Scott was a truly gifted pianist and enjoyed the friendship and esteem of composers such as Ravel and Debussy. Though it was written in 1927, Scott’s Sonatina has only entered the repertoire of today’s guitarists in recent years. Its solid compositional mastery gives rise to a beauty at once enigmatic and captivating.

Lennox Berkeley’s (1903–1989) compositions for the guitar span almost half a century and are a faithful record of his stylistic evolution. Between 1927 and 1932 Berkeley studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, and these were triumphant years for Segovia, who had made his debut in the French capital in 1924, inspiring widespread and lasting admiration. Berkeley was captivated and dedicated his 4 Pièces pour la guitare to him, a sparkling collection in spirit very close to the style of composers such as Albert Roussel and Francis Poulenc. It would be some 30 years before the composer returned to the guitar in 1957, thanks to the interest of the young British virtuoso Julian Bream. Berkeley’s Sonatina Op.52/1 is a work of captivating freshness. The Theme and Variations Op.77, commissioned in 1970 by Angelo Gilardino and composed during a period of loosening ties to tonality, is incisive, epigrammatic and aphoristic throughout, reflecting Berkeley’s interest in traditional Chinese poetry.

The Nocturnal after John Dowland Op.70 (1963) by Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) is also a theme and variations, but rather than present the theme and develop it with variations, Britten inverts the form, revealing the theme only at the very end of the piece after it is gradually unveiled in fragments of a musical mosaic cleverly scattered across the preceding variations.

The irreverent japes of William Walton’s (1902–1983) Façade for speaker and instrumental sextet, which in 1922/3 marked the composer’s’s debut as an enfant terrible, soon gave way to a late-Romantic style closer to Bax and Vaughan Williams, yet Walton’s irony did not disappear. Rather it was transmuted into an urbane wit, traces of which are found, for example, in the cycle Anon in Love for tenor and guitar, written in 1959 for the duo of Peter Pears and Bream. When Bream asked Walton to try his hand at writing for solo guitar, the composer responded from his retreat on the island of Ischia with the celebrated Five Bagatelles (1970/1), a very strong and imaginative example of compositional craftsmanship.

These pieces for solo guitar by Scott, Berkeley, Britten and Walton have left a permanent mark on the guitaristic landscape, expanding it to territory then unfamiliar in the prevailing aesthetic canon of Segovia. If the 20th century was the golden age in which the guitar repertoire rose to the level of that of other instruments, much of that is due to these composers.

Recorded July 2020 in Gorla Minore (Lombardy), Italy

The bilingual booklet contains liner notes, in English and Italian, written by musicologist and classical guitarist Leonardo De Marchi, and a biography of the artist

Identifying the classical guitar with Spanish repertoire is a commonplace that is widely encountered. However, some major contributions to the guitar repertoire in the 20th century were made by a number of national schools, outstanding among which – for the quantity as well as quality of the pieces – is that of the United Kingdom. This album offers a significant sample, presenting music for solo guitar by four important composers: Cyril Scott, Lennox Berkeley, Benjamin Britten and William Walton.

Each of these four composers, though stylistically very different, took the guitar out of the salonesque environment of prettiness and quasi-exotic couleur locale and raised it to the level of other prominent concert instruments, the music being rich, challenging and holding an important place in their oeuvre.

Played by Andrea Dieci, “A true star of the classical guitar” (Corriere della sera), one of the most notable guitarists of his generation. He successfully recorded for Brilliant Classics music by Henze, Takemitsu, Sor, Piazzolla, Giuliani and others.

Andrea Dieci, guitar

Andrea Dieci
graduated “cum laude” with special distinction at the “Verdi” Conservatoire of Milan. He studied with Oscar Ghiglia at the Summer Classes held at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena and at the Musikakademie in Basle, Switzerland, where he earned the “Solistendiplom”. He has also attended masterclasses with Julian Bream. He has won First Prize in the International Competition of Gargnano, the International Competition of Lagonegro (dedicated to 20th century guitar music) and the “De Bonis” International Competition of Cosenza. Moreover, he was awarded a Special Prize at the ARD-Musikwettbewerb held in Munich in 1989. Andrea Dieci has been described as “an impressive guitarist” by the Times Herald and “a true star of the classical guitar” by Corriere della Sera. He has performed extensively for prestigious music societies all over Europe, in the USA, Central and South America, Africa and Asia. He has appeared at such famous events as the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds, the Festival of the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) and the Singapore International Festival, and at music festivals in Milan, Madrid, London, Athens, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Tokyo, among others. He has premièred several pieces dedicated to him by contemporary composers. Mr Dieci’s performances have been broadcast by major radio and TV companies including Italian Radio-Television (RAI), Vatican Radio, Radio Nacional Española, Swiss-Italian Radio-Television, Euroradio and the BBC. The Vatican Radio has recently broadcast a series of programs dedicated to him. His several CDs, released under MAP, Nuova Era, Bèrben, DotGuitar and Brilliant Classics labels, include a CD of Manuel Ponce’s guitar music and CDs dedicated to Nicola Jappelli and Astor Piazzolla. Moreover, he is the only guitarist to have recorded the complete works for solo guitar by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Toru Takemitsu (awarded the “Golden Guitar” 2005 at the X International Guitar Congress of Alessandria as the best CD of the year) and Hans Werner Henze. In addition to being in demand as a performer, Dieci is also a renowned teacher. He has presented masterclasses at important music institutions in Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain, United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Brazil, Mexico, USA, Singapore and Japan. He is currently based at the Vecchi Conservatoire in Modena, also teaching yearly masterclasses at the Regondi Guitar Academy in Milan. Andrea Dieci plays a José Romanillos guitar with Savarez strings.

This album contains no booklet.