{"id":8812,"date":"2018-01-08T15:36:55","date_gmt":"2018-01-08T23:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=8812"},"modified":"2018-01-08T15:40:09","modified_gmt":"2018-01-08T23:40:09","slug":"the-adventurous-vivaldi-guitar-trio-has-no-fear-of-modernity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/the-adventurous-vivaldi-guitar-trio-has-no-fear-of-modernity\/","title":{"rendered":"The Adventurous Vivaldi Guitar Trio Has No Fear of Modernity"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6>From the Winter 2017 issue of <em>Classical Guitar<\/em> | BY BLAIR JACKSON<\/h6>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Alas, the realities of geography and economics\u2014the fact that the U.S. is so far away from Europe and it is very expensive for European musicians to tour in North America\u2014have meant that through the years relatively few Italian guitarists have made it to our shores. This is a real shame, because Italy has long produced exceptional classical guitarists, most of them products of an extensive system of indigenous music programs spread throughout the country, and nurtured and supported through myriad guitar competitions and festivals which draw scant attention across the Atlantic, but which bring Italian players enough attention that they can forge a career primarily from playing around Europe (and teaching, of course). <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Take the <strong>Vivaldi Guitar Trio<\/strong>, one of the country\u2019s oldest established guitar ensembles\u201425 years now! They don\u2019t often perform outside of Italy, yet they have established a sterling reputation throughout Europe for their wonderfully synchronous performances and their diverse and highly adventurous repertoire, which spans Vivaldi (of course), Turina, Alb\u00e9niz, Piazzola, and other \u201cnames,\u201d but also features many less-known modern composers and includes numerous special commissions of new trio pieces, most by Italian composers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Earlier this year I stumbled across a few of their videos on YouTube (now the best way for Americans to stay <i>au courant<\/i> with European musicians), and when this issue\u2019s Special Focus on \u201cDuos, Trios, and Quartets\u201d came around, I thought the Vivaldi Trio would be a group worth profiling, so I reached out to them by email for an interview to learn more about them. The three players\u2014Enrico Negro, Ignazio Viola, and Mario Cosco\u2014answered my questions as a unit, rather than as individuals; and <i>CG<\/i> contributing editor Giocomo Fiore supplied the English translations for their Italian answers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7NQnYfRnJM0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b>CLASSICAL GUITAR:<\/b><i><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Why did you decide to form the ensemble originally?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b>VIVALDI GUITAR TRIO:<\/b> We met during our studies, since we all attended the Alessandria Conservatory in Northern Italy [about 60 miles east of Turin]\u2014although in different years. All three of us were very interested in furthering our ensemble experience, which we still consider extremely important for a musician, even in a context like the Conservatory, which tends to favor the education of the soloist. So we must thank our common mentor, Maestro Guido Margaria, who advised us and encouraged us to form the Trio. Maestro Margaria was one of Segovia\u2019s Italian students.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">After obtaining our diplomas, we individually continued our formative education with world-class artists like Alirio Diaz, Betho Davezac, Narciso Yepes, Stefano Grondona, and Aldo Minella. All three of us lived in villages near Turin, which made it pretty easy to organize rehearsals through the years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b>CG:<\/b> How did you choose the name? Is it because Vivaldi\u2019s repertoire seemed to fit well with a trio approach?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b>VGT:<\/b> That\u2019s true, Vivaldi\u2019s repertoire <i>is <\/i>well-suited to trio transcriptions\u2014as a matter of fact we\u2019ve done our own transcriptions of works like the <i>Concerto RV93<\/i>, the<i> Op.3 No. 8<\/i>, and the <i>Trio RV85<\/i>. However, the explanation is much simpler: We chose this name because our conservatory in Alessandria is named for Antonio Vivaldi. We thought at first it would be a temporary name for us, but it ended up sticking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>CG: <\/b>It appears to me that guitar duos and quartets are more common than trios, and there have been more compositions written for duos and quartets. Why are guitar trios more rare?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>VGT: <\/b>That\u2019s the same thing we\u2019re wondering about! All jokes aside, the guitar duo is easily the most traditional and established ensemble, and to a lesser degree the quartet, if we think about the great chamber music repertoire. It\u2019s a pity, though, because the trio formation is extraordinarily balanced, while still allowing each part to come through. We should add that in recent years the interest in this formation has grown, and therefore it has become easier to find original pieces for three guitars. We have commissioned several ourselves from Italian and international composers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>CG:<\/b><i> <\/i>How do you decide which part each of you will play when you receive a new trio composition?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>VGT: <\/b>In the early days, the distribution of parts was fairly rigid: Enrico was guitar one, Ignazio the second, and Mario the third. Over time it became more flexible; after having read the music, each of us could volunteer for the part he thought would fit best.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>CG:<\/b> Can you explain a little about what you like about playing in a trio?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>VGT: <\/b>We enjoy the continuing search for dynamic and timbral balance, and especially expressing the same coherent musical \u201cintent\u201d as a trio that a single player would. For us, this is both satisfying and stimulating, and we like to believe that it\u2019s because we all enjoy it so much that the ensemble has lasted for so long.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>CG:<\/b> Do you find that your audiences like to hear unfamiliar \u201cmodern\u201d pieces as much as they enjoy Vivaldi or Piazzolla or Turina? Your repertoire is quite adventurous.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>VGT: <\/b>We tend to play a variety of music, and strive to present a repertoire that would please the ears of novices and classical music buffs alike. We also believe that including one or more contemporary pieces in a concert makes the performance more engaging, and stimulates the curiosity of the audience. Furthermore, it\u2019s a wonderful opportunity for us to introduce the audience to a musical language and sensitivity that is closer to us and our world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>CG:<\/b> Are there other guitar trios you\u2019ve listened to that have influenced the Vivaldi Guitar Trio?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>VGT: <\/b>The performances of the Trio Chitarristico Italiano\u2014the first established guitar trio in Italy [founded in 1970] and perhaps among the first in the world\u2014have definitely been a source of inspiration for us, especially in terms of technical rigor and refinement. We\u2019ve also enjoyed the Falla Guitar Trio, with Du\u0161an Bogdanovic, for inspiring our musical curiosity. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>CG:<\/b>. I like the pieces on your website that also include the singer in the Ensemble Sinigaglia. Is this based on Italian folk music? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>VGT: <\/b>Yes, all the pieces are modern arrangements of traditional Piemontese folk songs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The ensemble is our trio with singer Paola Lombardo, and it is named after Leone Sinigaglia, an important Torinese composer and ethnomusicologist who, in the early 1900s, collected hundreds of folk songs from the local countryside, eventually publishing several.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Our work with Ensemble Sinigaglia, including the release of the album <i>La Crava mangia ij more<\/i> (\u201cThe Goat eats the blackberries\u201d), exemplifies our interest in traditional and folk musics, which Enrico also pursues in his solo career. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>CG:<\/b> Can you tell me something about the composers Giorgio Mirto and Mario Gangi, whose pieces you sometimes perform? Are they friends of yours? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>VGT: <\/b>Giorgio, also from Turin, is a friend in addition to being a talented guitarist and composer. We\u2019ve been working together for years and he has written two trios for us, the latest of which, <i>Domus de Janas<\/i>, celebrated our 20th anniversary as an ensemble.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Mario Gangi, who unfortunately passed away a few years ago, was an almost legendary figure in Italian classical guitar. He was a teacher at the Naples and Rome conservatories, and he was one of the first Italian champions of the guitar in the 1960s. He was part of several historic broadcasts for RAI television. It was an honor for us to meet him when we auditioned for him before recording his trio. He was an incredibly personable and humane figure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>CG:<\/b> What plans do you have for the trio over the next year or two? Will you record\u00a0a new album? If so, what sort of music will be on the disc?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>VGT:<\/b> This fall we will finally begin to record our fourth album, which has been slowly coalescing in our minds through the repertoire we\u2019ve played in the past years. It will feature original guitar trios from the 20th and 21st centuries, with composers such as Reginald Smith Brindle, Ferenc Farkas, \u0160tep\u00e1n Rak, Giorgio Mirto, Uro\u0161 Dojcinov, and Daniele Bertotto. These are all stylistically different works that nevertheless share a common expressive sensibility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">We will also continue to perform in concert; we are planning to visit several Italian cities in the coming winter and spring.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">What The Vivaldi Guitar Trio Plays<br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong>\u201cAfter having used instruments by Ramirez and Italian luthier Luigi Locatto, lately we\u2019ve been playing spruce-topped instruments made by Mario Grimaldi, who is a close friend. His guitars have a remarkable timbral quality, and they allow for an excellent blend in the trio. We use Dogal \u2018Maestrale\u2019 strings (Ignazio, Enrico), and Savarez \u2018Corum New Cristal\u2019 (Mario).\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the Winter 2017 issue of Classical Guitar | BY BLAIR JACKSON Alas, the realities of geography and economics\u2014the fact that the U.S. is so far away from Europe and it is very expensive for European musicians to tour in North America\u2014have meant that through the years relatively few Italian guitarists have made it to our shores. This is a real shame, because Italy has long produced exceptional classical guitarists, most of them products of an extensive system of indigenous [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/vivaldi-guitar-trio-ensemble-classical-guitar.png?fit=1042%2C611&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}