Andrea Belmonte: Vocal Cords
KHA Records

Valentin Silvestrov: Handsome Skies
KHA Records

These recent releases from KHA Records share two qualities in particular: both are solo recordings, one featuring Italian pianist Alessandro Stella and the other guitarist Andrea Belmonte, and both emphasize classical pieces of a gentler and melodic persuasion as opposed to material aggressive and achromatic in character—music perfectly designed to temporarily lay one's worries to rest.

On Handsome Skies, Stella performs the music of Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937), who in his earlier days was a leading exponent of the Kiev avant-garde but whose material over time grew more tonal and melodic. Since 2000, Silvestrov has, incredibly, written more than 600 pieces, most of them for piano, encompassing waltzes, lullabies, postludes, pastorales, and serenades. Melody and mood are critical to these pieces, which can be appreciated as separate works or as a collective tapestry. Handsome Skies isn't, incidentally, Stella's only recording for KHA, with the fifty-four-minute release preceded by The Chain Rules (2014), Midwinter Spring (2015), and Minuetto (2019). The pianist brings the same refined touch to the Silvestrov release, the composer fortunate to have a musician of such sensitivity interpret his music. His command of tempo, phrasing, and dynamics do much to present the composer's material in a most flattering light.

Eight compositions are performed, some stand-alone pieces and others multi-part settings. The release comprises twenty tracks, most of them generally hovering in the two- to three-minute vicinity. Each is a compact expression that makes its case with dispatch and then politely steps aside. The opening Nostalghia sets the tone with a slow, pensive blossoming, Stella already demonstrating a natural affinity for Silvestrov's writing in his execution. Space is paramount in these pieces, with the composer careful to not overwhelm the melodic statements with overly elaborate backdrops. That approach enables the classical elegance of the music to assert itself, as well as the haunting melodic quality captured so resonantly in Stella throughout 3 Bagatelles, Op. 1 and Postludium, Op. 5, to cite two examples.

As captivating are 3 Waltzes with Postludium, Op. 3, the innocence and charm of its graceful “Vivace” movement particularly enticing, and 4 Pieces, Op. 2, memorable for its pretty “Bagatelle” and serenading “Lullaby.” Don't be surprised if your thoughts gravitate in the direction of Brahms, Chopin, and Schubert as the recording plays. Uniformity is present, yet there are contrasts of mood too, with some ruminations darker-shaded and others radiating brightness. Regardless of such differences, Silvestrov's music sparkles in Stella's hands.

While, as mentioned, Belmonte's recording shares properties with Stella's, Vocal Cords differs from Handsome Skies in one very clear respect: whereas the latter features the work of a single composer, the former presents performances by eleven. In focusing on the Italian school of classical guitar from the eighteenth to the nineteenth centuries, the project's an excellent fit for Belmonte (b. 1996), whose repertoire spans baroque, flamenco, jazz, and, of course, classical. Vocal Cords might be his recording debut, but his expressive renderings of its eighteen settings (performed with a 1970 José Ramirez guitar) are never less than poised.

The era documented on the release represents a key period in the guitar's transition in status from popular to concert instrument. Key figures such as Mauro Giuliani (credited as having written the first concerts for guitar and orchestra in Vienna), Ferdinando Carulli, Francesco Molino, Luigi Legnani, and Giulio Regondi are included, as are Niccolò Paganini, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Antonio Brescianello, and Domenico Cimarosa. Though forever associated with the violin, Paganini also wrote material for guitar (he apparently resisted playing guitar publicly for fear of damaging his reputation); Brescianello composed material for the allichon, a kind of lute that upon his death faded into obscurity, while Cimarosa never wrote for the guitar but is represented by transcriptions of two harpsichord sonatas.

Belmonte deploys his considerable technical ability to serve the music, something evident from Brescianello's opening piece to the closing one by Paganini. The latter's earlier “Andante” charms despite its brevity, whereas the Giuliani transcription of a Rossini song from Semiramide exudes operatic drama even in its compact form. With only two settings edging past three minutes, the recording can at times have a blink-and-you'll-miss-it feel, so focused attention is needed to stay with the rapid shifts in mood and style.

April 2021