On Rossini's Playel

Flavio Ponzi (piano)

A choice made from the Péchés de Vieillesse, performed on the Pleyel 11695 piano that Rossini had himself purchased in 1846. The transparent sonority of this instrument and the disguised timbre of the transient, which simulates wood and brass instruments, are captured from the original characters of the Pleyel hammers (a combination of low-density felts with several layers of leather underfelts). This sound context is particularly well-suited to translating the antinomy that is peculiar to Rossinian piano literature, directed between the minimalism of the intentions and the compositional commitment, often all but marginal. The interpretation deals with the concomitance of different and at times opposed communicative registers (a condition of the substantial multifacetedness of the Rossinian text), in the search for a balance between the categorical views expressed by Rossini on the constraints placed on the interpretation, and his music’s irresistible vitality which opens up dreamlike dimensions of recklessness.

In the Appendix, there are two different interpretations of the Impromptu Tarantellisé and the Pétit Caprice (Style Offenbach).

Rossini:
 Peches de Vieillesse
 Vol. 6, Album pour les enfants dégourdis
 Vol. 7, Album de chaumière (complete)
 Vol. 9 'Album pour piano, violon, violoncello, harmonium et cor'
 Vol. 10: 'Miscellanee pour piano'
 Vol. 12 'Quelques riens pour album'

"A labour of love in piano restoration is rewarded by a delightful programme. Ponzi is very much the master of the machine he has restored. As an interpreter, he is interested in the degree to which one should take an "intransigent" attitude to the letter of the composer's text or a more flexible one. Hence the final two tracks which are given over to "alternative" performances of two of pieces, the Impromptu tarantellisé and the famous Pétit caprice (style Offenbach). Helped along by an engagingly representative selection of Rossini piano pieces, this is a most interesting disc."
Gramophone Magazine - August 2007