Alessandro Solbiati
By my Window

Five pieces written between 1992-2003 form the backbone of this CD, which offers us a good opportunity to become acquainted with the work of Alessandro Solbiati. The structure of the instrumental ensemble is identical in the five pieces, consisting of a soloist accompanied by an ensemble. However, Solbiati's approach is interesting as he tends to construct the pieces in relatively independent blocks where the soloists do not dominate for the entire duration of the piece (in all five cases, around 15 minutes) but alternate with the ensemble, allowing the latter to take the lead from time to time.

This is what happens, for example, in "Canto per Ania" for cello and ensemble and in "By my Window" for piano and ensemble: there is a suggestive back-and-forth that can be heard, in the different panels of these pieces, between the soloist and the instrumental group.

Moreover, in "Quattro pezzi per pianoforte e percussione", the author further mixes the cards: the piano is treated in a percussive manner, especially in the first two pieces (very lively and at times with almost jazz tones) while the percussion often uses, in addition to skins, tuned instruments like marimba or vibraphone (in the last two pieces, with nocturnal and enigmatic sounds) namely, keyboard instruments that mimic the piano.

In "Ach, so früh?" the soloist is a soprano (the only use of voice in the five tracks of the CD) while it is the bass clarinet that takes on the role of soloist in the concluding piece of the CD, "Mi lirica sombra", a piece with sometimes shadowy tones, as suggested by the title.

Music written (and recorded) very well, a composer who knows his craft: this CD by Alessandro Solbiati was released by Stradivarius, a reference label for contemporary Italian music and beyond, whose catalog is a precious repository of titles to discover and explore. Perhaps starting with "By my Window", a title that can be added to your collection without hesitation!