Francesco Cilea: Complete Piano Works Ii, Cello Sonata (First Version 1888) – Sandra Conte

With this second volume dedicated to Francesco Cilea we are led to discover some largely unknown works from his output in the field of instrumental music. While today Cilea is best known for his opera Adriana Lecouvreur, his oeuvre comprises several other operas and a catalogue of chamber and solo instrumental music whose creation spans from the one to the other pole of Cilea’s long life. Some among his youthful piano works charm us through their simplicity, good-humouredness, and freshness of inspiration; some of his later pieces reveal the extent of his interest in what was happening in Europe at the time. Along with these piano pieces, this album comprises the masterfully composed Cello Sonata, whose alternation of different and contrasting moods demonstrates its composer’s skill on the plane of both form and content.