Odradek Records presentsAltus, music by Mozart, Haydn and Schubert in nuanced and idiomatic transcriptions for two guitars, arranged and performed by Babak Babaie andVincenzo Giura.The guitarists, from Iran and Italy, met while studying in Austria, and have made their own historically-informed transcriptions of this well-established piano repertoire, breathing new life into the familiar.
The album opens with a guitar duo version of Mozart's Piano Sonata in F, No. 15, K. 533. Dating from 1788, the work begins with a good-humouredAllegro and ends with a charming yet subtle Rondo, framing a centralAndante of profound tenderness, possibly a veiled tribute to the composer's father, Leopold, who had recently died. We then hear the second of Schubert'sDrei Klavierstucke, D. 946 of 1828, a lilting piece with the rocking motion of a barcarolle. The album concludes with Haydn'sAndante and variations in F, Hob. XVII/6, also known as the Sonata 'Un piccolo divertimento', dating from 1793. The work is virtuosic and deeply felt, written partly as a response to the sudden death of Haydn's friend, Viennese amateur musician Maria Anna (Marianne) von Genzinger. Haydn was also inspired by a gifted living pianist, Barbara ("Babette") von Ployer, for whom Mozart had composed two of his piano concertos. The variations are in fact a set of 'double variations', a remarkable instance of Haydn's skill in which two themes, one in F minor and one in F major, are alternated and varied, culminating in a deeply moving coda.
Following historical sources and original transcriptions, Babak Babaie andVincenzo Giura have aimed to evoke, rather than reproduce, the sound of the piano on two guitars, creating arrangements that allow listeners to enjoy this repertoire through the prism of their interpretations: with new colour and freshness.
