Luigi Perrachio / Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Piano Quintets – David Korevaar

Luigi Perrachio (1883-1966) and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) were both part of the flowering of Italian instrumental music in the firstdecades of the twentieth century. Perrachio was born in Turin, and spent his life in that city, performing as a pianist, composing, organizing concerts, and incorporating Piedmontese folk elements in his music. Castelnuovo-Tedesco was born in Florence, and also performed as a pianist; his music is suffused with a broad range of Italian popular influences, especially Tuscan. In 1938, he was forced to leave Italy as a result of Mussolini’s anti-Jewish laws, and he settled in the United States, where he became an important teacher to composers, including John Williams and André Previn. Perrachio’s Piano Quintet was discovered in its autograph manuscript by the pianist featured in this Da Vinci Classics production, David Korevaar, published under his supervision and now is recorded for the first time, impressing listeners through its powerful conception. Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s First Quintet is tuneful, colorful, theatrical, and brilliantly orchestrated. e writing evokes the composer’s native Tuscany as well his Jewish roots, and also shows the perfect craftmanship and attention to detail that characterize all of his works.