GIULIANI: Scottish and Irish Songs, Studies and Rossiniana [CD de audio] Tulia Cartoni & Elena Casoli & Massimo Scattoli and Giu

Mauro Giuliani is one of the most popular composers you may have never heard, unless you are a guitarist. He was to the guitar what Paganini was to the violin: a performer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher of diverse and prodigious talent. He took advantage of the growing early 19th century fascination with the performer as virtuoso and the evolving technology of the guitar to forge a successful and conspicuous career that was cut short by his early death at the age of forty-nine. Born in the heel of Italy, he moved increasingly north, where there was more money and fame, graduating from a position in Bologna towards the cultural hub of Europa , Vienna, where his first compositions were published when he was in his twenties. These included some of the studies in this fascinating anthology: intended for home teaching, of course, and still popular as such, but full of pleasant and surprising melodies. The works on CDs 1 and 3 show how sure Giuliani's ear and eye were for the main opportunity. Capitalizing on the success of Rossini's operas and the popularity of northern Europa folk tunes (as did Haydn and Beethoven with their piano trio arrangements), Giuliani drifted through sets of variations and pot-pourris as demands demanded. occasions and editors. His concerts are still on the margins of the repertoire. These solo works may be less well-known, but they are no less charming, especially in these modern and sensitive interpretations. --Independent, 02/24/12