For the most part, Luigi Dallapiccola concentrated on composing operas and vocal works, and wrote relatively little instrumental music; as a case in point, it takes only one CD to present his complete works for piano solo and violin and piano. Some of these pieces are light entertainments, such as the neo-Classically cute Sonatina canonica su capricci di Paganini (1943), the folk-like Inni -- musica per tre pianoforti (1935), and the vivacious Tartiniana seconda for violin and piano (1956), which may be compared to
Stravinsky's Suite Italienne in its happy mix of eighteenth century melodies with modern harmonies. But Dallapiccola's most significant work on this 2005 Naxos release is the Quaderno musicale di Annalibera (1951-1952), a much-studied work for its ingenious applications of twelve-tone technique -- somewhat independent of Schoenberg's rules -- yet surprisingly accessible for its clarity and frequent allusions to tonality. Pianist
Roberto Prosseda delivers crisp and meticulous performances of these concisely worked piano pieces; when joined by violinist
Duccio Ceccanti, the duo is expressively sympathetic, coordinated, and technically polished. Naxos provides great sound quality with natural resonance and a lifelike presence. Naturally, this CD is recommended for dedicated dodecaphonists everywhere, but there's enough appealing tonal music here to attract even the most conservative listener.