Finzi: Clarinet Concerto, Dies Natalis, Prelude Benedetto Marcello Chamber Orchestra & Flavio Emilio Scogna

• Gerald Finzi (1880 - 1968): Dies natalis, Op. 8:
• 1 Finzi: Dies natalis, Op. 8: I. Intrada 05:31
• 2 Finzi: Dies natalis, Op. 8: II. Rhapsody 07:10
• 3 Finzi: Dies natalis, Op. 8: III. The Rapture 04:12
• 4 Finzi: Dies natalis, Op. 8: IV. Wonder 04:48
• 5 Finzi: Dies natalis, Op. 8: V. The Salutation 03:58
• Prelude for String Orchestra, Op. 25:
• 6 Finzi: Prelude for String Orchestra, Op. 25 04:59
• Clarinet Concerto, Op. 31:
• 7 Finzi: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 31: I. Allegro Vigoroso 08:42
• 8 Finzi: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 31: II. Adagio, ma senza Rigore 10:55
• 9 Finzi: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 31: III. Rondo, allegro Giocoso 08:52
• Total Runtime 59:07

Info for Finzi: Clarinet Concerto, Dies Natalis, Prelude

Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) was an English composer known for his lyrical and contempla- tive music, often inspired by English literature and landscape. Born in London, he faced numerous hardships and personal losses early in life, which shaped much of his musical output, often reflecting themes of mortality and nostalgia. In World War II he worked to assist German and Austrian musicians fleeing the Nazis. Finzi's works are characterized by their deep sensitivity to English poetry and their pastoral nature. His love for literature is evident in many of his vocal works, including settings of texts by Thomas Hardy, William Wordsworth, and Christina Rossetti. The cantata Dies Natalis, composed between 1925 and 1939, is one of Finzi's most celebrated works. It is a setting of texts by the 17th-century poet Thomas Traherne, which explore themes of innocence and the wonder of a newborn experiencing the world for the first time. Scored for solo voice and strings, the work reflects Finzi's delicate and expressive style, with lyrical vocal lines and lush orchestration that evoke a sense of spiritual reflection. Also presented is Finzi's Clarinet Concerto, a vibrant and melodious work, one of the finest in its genre.

Roberta Gottardi, clarinet
Susanna Rigacci, soprano
Benedetto Marcello Chamber Orchestra
Flavio Emilio Scogna, conductor

Roberta Gottardi
Roberta’s interests range from late Baroque repertoire on period instruments to present-day music, performed in ensembles and as a soloist. She plays the clarinet as well as all the other instruments of its family, from Eb clarinet to basset horn and bass clarinet.

Born in Trento, after graduating with honors at her city’s Conservatory, she studied with Antony Pay. She has played for many years in orchestras, first as a member of the Italian Youth Orchestra and then with Rai Orchestra, Teatro Regio in Turin, Teatro di Genova, Orchestra Regionale Toscana, Orchestra Haydn di Trento e Bolzano, Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia, Orchestra of Tiroler Festspiele in Erl, to name but a few. She also plays classical clarinets, collaborating with La Grande Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy, Bozen Baroque Orchestra, L’Arte dell’Arco, Ausermusici and, currently, with Merseburger Hofmusik.

In parallel, she has always devoted herself to chamber music playing, among others, with Quartetto Prometeo, Quartetto di Torino, pianist Cristiano Burato, cellist Claude Hauri, and with various ensembles including Windkraft, I Virtuosi Italiani, Musica ‘900, Accademia Bizantina, I Cameristi di Trento e Verona, Nuovo Ensemble Europeo, Pocket Opera, Ottetto Classico Italiano.

As a soloist she has performed with Haydn Orchestra of Trento and Bolzano, Chamber Orchestra of Alpe Adria, Orchestra of the Teatro Olimpico of Vicenza, Ensemble Serenade. In 2007 she has been soloist in the first performance of Ankaa, concerto for clarinet and orchestra by Fabio Cifariello Ciardi, commissioned by the Haydn Orchestra of Trento and Bolzano. She has always dedicated herself with passion to the contemporary repertoire for clarinet, she has been is a member and soloist of Algoritmo and today of Ensemble Prometeo.

She has performed in some of the most important festivals in Europe (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Festival Pontino, Münchener Biennale, South Bank Centre of London, Bologna Festival, Biennale di Venezia, Autunno Musicale di Como, Società Filarmonica di Trento, Acquario Romano, Festival di Nuova Consonanza, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, Autunno di Varsavia, Leizhalle di Amburgo, Musik-Triennale di Colonia, Holland Festival, Ravenna Festival…), and she has collaborated with many composers such as Stockhausen, Sciarrino, Kagel, Cifariello Ciardi, Fedele, Biasioni, Battistelli, Traversa.

Reference performer for the musical theater work HARLEKIN by K. Stockhausen, conceived for a single clarinetist-dancer-mime, she performed it more than twenty times in Italy and abroad, including festivals such as Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, Ravenna Festival, Autunno Musicale in Como, Tallinn and Milan Conservatories.

In 2001, for her interpretation of Harlekin, she received from the composer himself the first prize in the competition promoted annually by the Stockhausen Foundation.

In 2010 she participated in the complete performance of Stockhausen KLANG organized by MusikFabrik at the MusikTriennale in Cologne, premiering “Treue”. She also played the mime part of INORI in the opening concert of the Venice Biennale 2017 and the part of Busa in EVAs LIED at the Holland Festival 2019.

She has recorded for Edipan, Symposion, Stradivarius, Altri Suoni, Stockhausen Verlag, Neos, as well as for several broadcasts of RAI Radio 3.

She has been Antony Pay’s assistant at the masterclasses in Sermoneta and teaches clarinet at Bolzano Conservatory.

“As musical culture changes shape, and moves beyond conventional ‘classical’ concerts, there is a demand for instrumentalists whose musical response is both wider and more focused. Though you hear Roberta tonight in a conventional setting, playing the masterpieces for clarinet and string quartet, she would be equally at home on clarinets of the eighteenth century, recreating the performance styles of previous eras, or in dancing and playing for you Stockhausen’s mammoth “Harlekin” for solo clarinet. She is a fine orchestral player and an inspiring teacher, with a vision of the instrument and the music that goes beyond the merely superficial and virtuoso — though of course she can play the virtuoso too when that is what is required, as you will hear. She has above all a winningly fresh approach to everything she does.” (Antony Pay)

Susanna Rigacci
born in Stockholm, Sweden, into a family of musicians, began her musical and vocal studies at the conservatory Luigi Cherubini of Florence. There, she was a student of Renata Ongaro and graduated with honours. She continued her studies in Milan with Gina Cigna and in Padoa with Iris Adami Corradetti.

After winning a singing competition in Rieti, she made her operatic debut as Rosina in Rossini’s Barber of Seville. She was awarded a prize in the Maria Callas competition, which was broadcast by Italian television, and won the first prize in the “Sängerförderungspreis”, Mozarteum International Competition in Salzburg.

Since then she has embarked on an international career and sung in world-class opera houses both in Italy and abroad (La Scala, Milan; Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; La Fenice, Venice; Teatro dell’Opera di Roma; Teatro Filarmonico, Verona; Teatro Massimo, Palermo; Teatro Regio, Parma; Teatro Massimo Bellini, Catania; Teatro Comunale, Bologna; Teatro Valli, Reggio Emilia; Carnegie Hall, New York; Opéra Comique and Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris; Salle Molière, Lyon; Prague Philharmonia; Barbican Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Royal Albert Hall, London; Teatro Romano, Mérida; Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liège; Sibelius Academy, Helsinki; Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa; Wexford Festival Opera; Teatro Municipal de Mallorca; Stadttheater, Bern).

Susanna Rigacci sings in six languages and has a wide operatic repertoire embracing baroque opera (Pergolesi, Vivaldi, Cimarosa, Stradella, Scarlatti, Händel), Mozart coloratura roles (Die Zauberflöte; Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Il Re Pastore), bel canto roles such as Donizetti, Bellini and Verdi (Lucia di Lammermoor; L’elisir d’amore; Don Pasquale; Betly, or the Swiss Chalet; Rita; I pazzi per progetto; La sonnambula; I puritani; Rigoletto; Falstaff; Un ballo in maschera), Rossini (Barber of Seville; Signor Bruschino; L’italiana in Algeri; La cambiale di matrimonio; L’inganno felice; La scala di seta), a French repertoire (Les contes d’Hoffmann; Lakmé; Mignon; Hamlet; Dinorah-Le Pardon de Ploërmel), and a German repertoire (Der Freischütz and Ariadne auf Naxos). Since the early years of her career, Susanna Rigacci has developed an interest in contemporary music and received invitations from: La Biennale, Venice; London Sinfonietta, Barbican Center, London; Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival; Festival di Gibellina; RAI Rome; RAI Turin; RAI Milan; Orchestra dei Pomeriggi Musicali, Milan; Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana; ORT-Orchestra della Toscana; Rome Sinfonietta; Recherche Ensemble; Ensemble Nuovo Contrappunto; Contemporart-Ensemble.

Her contemporary repertoire includes works of Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Berio, Nono, Morricone, Piovani, Togni, Castiglioni, D’Amico, Sciarrino, Clementi, Sinopoli, Pennisi, Gaslini, Ferrero, Arcà, Corghi.

She gave first performances of works of Francesco Pennisi, Matteo D’Amico, Carlo Galante, Alessandro Sbordoni, Filippo Del Corno. In 2009, she was the soprano interpreter of the absolute premiere of the opera Padre Cicogna by Nicola Piovani in the performances at the Teatro S. Carlo, Naples, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa, and Teatro Greco, Taormina.

She was also the protagonist of the first performances in Italy of The English Cat by Hans Werner Henze at the Teatro Comunale, Bologna, and of The man who mistook his wife for a hat, by Michael Nyman.

Since 2001, she has been the solo voice of Ennio Morricone’s concerts in Italy and all around the world (Arena di Verona, Teatro alla Scala, Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Florence, Bologna, Pesaro, Turin, Palermo, Taormina), during tours in Europe (London: Royal Albert Hall, Barbican, Apollo Theatre; Athens: Odeon of Herodes Atticus; Moscow: Kremlin; Paris: Palais des Congrès; Munich: Münchner Rundfunkorchester, and also in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Belfast, Bilbao, Santander, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse, Lille, Luxembourg, Auxerre, Budapest, Prague, Bratislava, Warsaw, Vienna, Krakow, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Györ), tours in Asia (Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Taiwan), tours in North and South America (New York, Rio De Janeiro, São Paulo, Mexico City, Santiago de Chile), and Australia (Perth, Adelaide).

In 2015, she joined “Vox Nova Italia”, a contemporary music Italian Ensemble of soloists, with which she participated in the 56th edition of the Venice Biennale in the world premiere of In the midst of things, by Gene Coleman.

She is a much appreciated chamber music performer and her concert programmes vary from traditional, formal compositions to musicals, from modern pieces to film music. Thanks to her versatile vocal style, she is able to offer a beautiful, eclectic blend of musical genres.

She has sung under conductors such as Giuseppe Sinopoli, Luciano Berio, Lü Jia, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Bruno Bartoletti, Ennio Morricone, Nicola Piovani, Marcello Panni, Gustav Kuhn, George Fisher, Arnold Östman, Carlo Franci, Bruno Rigacci, Herbert Handt, Alberto Zedda, Gabriele Ferro, Bruno Campanella.

Susanna has recorded for Erato, Philips, Bongiovanni, Ricordi, Dynamic. She is also a vocal coach and teaches in five languages. She regularly holds international master classes and has been invited by universities and academies in Japan, Taiwan, Sweden, and Italy.

Booklet for Finzi: Clarinet Concerto, Dies Natalis, Prelude