Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948) is a composer difficult to classify. A child of his time he kept aloof from the innovations of the modernists and dodecaphony. As son of a German father and a noble-born Venetian mother he was born in Venice and went to study in Munich. He became famous as an opera composer. His style is romantic, tinged with impressionism and the odd neoclassical hint. His aim was to create a "universal beauty" in his works, where no rules apply, but only a feeling of well-being and sensuousness. This new recording is a new installment of the recording project of the complete Chamber Music by Wolf Ferrari. Presented here are the String Trios, String Quartets and the String Quintet, music rooted in the late romantic German tradition, but full of nostalgic Italianate lyricism. Played by the Quartetto Eos and the Trio David. Critical praise for Wolf-Ferrari's Violin Sonatas on Brilliant Classics (BC 96093): 'Davide Alogna and Costantino Catena prove persuasive advocates for this neglected music. Their partnership is well-balanced and their reading of these three sonatas respects their qualities without giving into any temptation to make excessive claims for them.' MusicWeb International 'The soaring melodic line aches for rapture, almost Wagnerian, in [Costantino] Catena's commanding, sweeping figures... a compressed amalgam of Wolf-Ferrari's virtues as a first-class inventor of sturdy and compelling chamber music.' Fanfare.
