Chamber Music
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This new composition is written for string ensemble (two string quartets) and with sopranos. It received its premiere under the baton of maestro Mitchell Sardou Klein of the Peninsula Symphony at the Concert for Hope celebrating the opening of the Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality (inequality.com) on September 9 2007.Set to music:
- Deuteronomy 15:11: For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
- Mother Teresa: Serve the poorest of the poor. Do not wait for leaders. Do it now, person to person.
Available from ECS Publishing
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- The Melancholy Flute
- The Happy Flute
- The Melodic Flute
- A Walk in the Desert
- A Walk in the Park
- A Walk at the Beach
This is a small collection of flute pieces for a beginning/intermediate player. They are excellent compositions ideal to be included in a flute recital. They are descriptive of events or situations, such as a walk at the beach or at the park.
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A light composition that combines the American swing with the Italian lyrical melody. A good addition to any brass concert program. Easy and enjoyable!
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- I. Andante – Allegro ma non Troppo
- II. Two Egrets – Quiet Motion
- III. Allegro Moderato – Fugue
- IV. Moderato – Meno Mosso
This composition is inspired by a series of incomplete pieces by composer Glenn Glasow, one of my music mentors.
The composition is a dialogue between two voices: the one of the master and the one of the student. They are trying to reconnect by telling to each other everything was not said. The young composer revisits and re-harmonizes the teacher melodic lines. In a benevolent competition with the master, the student realizes that he is no longer a student. He is walking his own path.
This piece is dedicated to the memory of Professor Dr. Glenn Glasow. .
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- I. Lentamente – Allegro
- II. Il Contrappunto – Grave
- III. Scherzo - Allegro Spiritoso (Jazzy...)
- IV. Fugue - Allegro
The wood wind quintet is a musical example of the fusion of two different cultures: the Italian and the American. The first movement opens with a slow introduction, which presents all the thematic materials of the four movements. It develops with some grotesques themes and convoluted rhythms. The second movement features a lyrical melodic line distributed in a five-part counterpoint. The scherzo is a short and jazzy movement with a rhythmic and driving pulse. The final fugue derives from the previous movements which expand in all possible ways, with augmentation, inversion, and final strettos. The melodic lines are running after each other in a compulsory ending.
The composition was written for and dedicated to the Stanford Woodwind Quintet. They premiered it in the Winter of 2005.
Available from ECS Publishing
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- Una Melodia per Alessandra
- Tango per Viola
- La Viola Salterina
This series of compositions were written for the occasion of Alessandra Aquilanti’s seventeenth birthday. They are three challenging compositions for an emerging viola player.
“Una melodia per Alessandra” is melodic and sweet. The “Tango for Viola” evokes the mood of the Latin-America tango. La “Viola salterina” is rhythmic with sudden changes of timbre and mood.
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- I. Lentamente – Allegro Spiritoso
- II. Lentamente
- III. Mosso con Swing
This composition follows the typical structure of a concerto/sonata. The first movement begins with a slow introduction followed by two themes: the first is very rhythmic and driving whereas the second is more cantabile and lyrical.
In the second movement the clarinet begins a dialogue with the piano, which leads to and an expressive interaction between the two instruments.
The third movement is driven by a jazzy rhythm, even though at times you can hear some reminiscence of the Italian Tarantella.
This composition is also available as a Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble.
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The Quartetto Nuziale was written for the wedding of Rebecca Gertmenian and Fred Spitz. It’s melodious and tuneful yet based on a complex counterpoint among the four instruments.
On June 4th 2006 it was performed at Stanford University by “La Scala” String Quartet.
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- I. Adagio – Allegro
- II. Adagio
- III. Allegro - Fugue
All the compositions that I have written in the past few years have been inspired by Italy, my mother land, in particular from old folk tunes from my native town of Jesi. In this composition, I decided to embrace America as my new source of inspiration.
A brief introduction, in which all the thematic material is presented, opens the first movement with a rhythmic driving sonata form. The first theme is exciting and energetic, based on a meter of five and seven eighths, whereas the second theme is more lyrical and cantabile. As the movement unfolds, both themes are superimposed in an intricate contrapuntal combination. Toward the end of the movement, a “tonal” chorale is presented as a bizarre surprise. The same chorale will reappear in the other two movements.
The main feature of the second movement is the grace note. Even though the rhythm is apparently clear, the grace note in the three different instruments will blur the sense of the downbeat. The movement is melodically very intense. The double stop of the string instruments create a dramatic effect at the high point toward the end of the movement.
The last movement was written while I was teaching a class in 18th Century Counterpoint at Stanford University. I explained many times the importance of counterpoint in modern composition to the point that I had to prove it to myself. The final fugue is very strict in the exposition and in the middle entrances of the subjecr. Yet, some of the episodes are rather loose almost like improvisations.
- La Sesta Tedesca
- Il Valzer Impazzito
- An Italian in America
- Il Contrappunto
- Una Samba
- Le Campanelle
- Profumo di Spagna
- Il Mese di Maggio
Available from ECS Publishing
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Quintet for Four Cellos and Piano.
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Rilfessioni
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Cara Collega: Three Songs for Soprano, Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano.
Sospiro dal Cielo.
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Fatti non Foste