About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

It used to be that if you could find a recording of the "Piano Concerto" by Giovanni Sgambati (1841-1914), you considered yourself mighty lucky. Sgambati's "Concerto" was a rarity among rarities, and those few vinyl collectors who found it heard a full-bodied, strong-muscled, deep-chested late Romantic Concerto with a capital "C." In these days of miracles and wonders, we now have Vol. 4 in Pietro Spada's survey of the complete piano works of Sgambati, and anyone can hear it and find out if his "Mélodies poétiques," "Five Improvvisi," "Introduction et Etude brilliante," and "Etude triomphale" are in the same league as the "Piano Concerto."

They're not: they're pleasantly artless little salon pieces, imitation Brahms at best, imitation Liszt at worst, and instantly forgettable all the time. Spada, a more than capable pianist with somewhat questionable taste, performs with admirable brilliance and uncritical enthusiasm, and he does as good a job of making the music listenable as anyone is ever likely to do. Arts captures his sound with clarity and warmth. James Leonard, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

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