[Recorded for Snakewood Editions in 2023]

It seems that the Venice of the early 18th century is today inexorably linked to the name of Vivaldi, but Venice is not only Vivaldi: in those years the young composer lives and breathes the music of Venetian masters today overshadowed by the imposing figure of the Prete Rosso. Great masters who, at the dawn of the 18th century, forged a new musical taste, an extraordinary change of style that in a matter of a few years will assimilate the old Italian tradition in a new exuberant and virtuous instrumental language.

L’altra Venezia shows us unexplored places in Venice at the turn of the century: composers hidden behind gigantic figures such as Vivaldi, works silenced for centuries that show us the splendor of a new style in the making. Composers that deserve to be remembered, works that must be unearthed. Thus, two sonatas by the great Albinoni recently discovered by Prof. Michael Talbot or sonatas of the former concertmaster of the San Marco orchestra, Giorgio Gentili, are some of the works that are performed for the first time in a program made up entirely of premieres in modern times.

[Recorded for Snakewood in 2020]

World premiere recording of newly discovered sonatas by Johann Georg Pisendel.

Johann Georg Pisendel was one of those artists who undoubtedly marked the European music scene of the first half of the 18th century. He was a reference for performers and composers of his time and his legacy continues to surprise us and discover fundamental and unknown aspects of the Baroque musical world. Yet, Pisendel is still a great unknown.

The discovery of these sonatas represents a major addition to the musical repertoire of the 18th century as well as the rediscovery of one of the greatest virtuosos of the first half of the 18th century.

[Recorded for Snakewood Editions in February 2018]

September, 1717.

The young virtuoso Johann Georg Pisendel returned to Germany after almost one year of travelling across Italy. Pisendel, who was to become one of the most renowned musicians in Europe, arrived in Dresden later that year to take the position of Premier Violon in the Dresden Hofkapelle. During his Italian sojourn he earned the respect and friendship of the most important musicians of the time, including Vivaldi, Montanari and Albinoni. Pisendel brought with him not only the teachings of the great virtuosos, but also luggage full of musical manuscripts, a selection of scores carefully made by himself. Some of those musical treasures were last performed 300 years ago.

Vivaldi is perhaps one of the most famous composers of all time, and yet we are still discovering his work. This programme includes the most recently discovered Vivaldi violin sonatas and the exciting presentation of works by the Venetian composer discovered and identified by our violinist Javier Lupiáñez. In 2014, Lupiáñez managed to identify two new sonatas by Vivaldi, the Trio Sonata RV 820 (Vivaldi’s earliest known work) and the Sonata RV 205/2. These works are joined by the exciting discovery of the sonata for violin and continuo RV 829 that Lupiáñez identified in 2023 and which has been recorded as world premiere by Scaramuccia.