Music by Nicolas Flagello
Setsuko Nagata (violin), Peter Vinograde (piano), Alyssa Reit (harp), David Creswell (viola), Matthias Naegele (cello)
Nicolas Flagello was one of the 20th century's leading exponents of traditional late-Romantic musical values. Without ever repudiating this aesthetic outlook, he forged a personal musical language and a distinctive body of work shaped by his own temperament and embodying his own perspective on life. As a composer, he held with unswerving conviction to a view of music as a personal medium for emotional and spiritual expression. This unfashionable view, together with his vehement rejection of the academic formalist that dominated musical composition for several decades after World War II, prevented him from winning acceptance from the reigning arbiters of taste for many years. However, gradually Flagello's works have begun to win enthusiastic advocacy, as his music is recorded and performed with increasing frequency. In 1959 Flagello attained his mature compositional voice, ushering in the most productive period of his life. During the 1960s alone, he composed more than 30 works, maintaining a remarkable consistency of both vision and craftsmanship. The luxuriant romanticism of his youth now gave way to a sort of Italianate expressionism. Now, a deeper, more personal quality emerged - dark, brooding, restless, and often agitated. It was during this decade that all the works on this recording were composed.
Track Listing
| Title | Composer | Performer |
|---|---|---|
| Declamation for Violin & Piano | Nicolas Flagello | Setsuko Nagata, violin, Peter Vinograde, piano |
| Prelude, Ostinato, & Fugue for Piano | Nicolas Flagello | Peter Vinograde, piano |
| Nocturne for Violin & Piano | Nicolas Flagello | Setsuko Nagata, violin, Peter Vinograde, piano |
| Suite for Harp & String Trio | Nicolas Flagello | Alyssa Reit, harp, Setsuko Nagata, violin, David Creswell, viola, Matthias Naegele, cello, Peter Vinograde, piano |
| Sonata for Violin & Piano | Nicolas Flagello | Setsuko Nagata, violin, Peter Vinograde, piano |
| Sonata for Piano | Nicolas Flagello | Peter Vinograde, piano |
Reviews
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"Nicolas Flagello - who was born in 1928 and had stopped composing many years before he died in 1994 - was born too late for the easy acceptance of his staunchly traditional but hyper-emotional idiom, which seemed outdated by the time he reached maturity at mid-century, and too early to benefit from the recent resurgence of tonality.new here is a compilation of his Chamber pieces, all but one for violin and piano or for solo piano and all written in the 1960s. These six pieces reinforce the impression of Flagello's old-fashioned by fiery romanticism and his kinship with the American masters - Barber, Creston, and (his teacher) Giannini - who preceded him by a decade or two.His music has less perfumed sensuousness and seems more direct, heartfelt - almost brusque - compared to the refinement and supple fluidity of, say, Barber.This is not to say that Flagello's music doesn't have sensual allure.Pianist Peter Vinograde plays with commanding authority, violinist Setsuko Nagata with shapely expressivenessrecorded sound is clear and strong."
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