LINO LIVIABELLA (1902-1964): Viola Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2, NINO ROTA (1911-1979): Viola Sonatas in G and in C, Intermezzo.

Description: Needless to say, the Rota pieces (one of the sonatas being the viola version of a clarinet sonata original) have been offered in these pages before. The draw here is Liviabella's pair of sonatas from 1950 and 1957. The composer seems to have been well-supported by the Fascist regime with a tone-poem winning a prize in 1936 after performance at the Berlin Olympics and another symphonic poem winning a prize in Italy in 1943. Although Donatoni was one of his students, Liviabella forcefully rejected the radical serialism of Darmstadt. His sonatas are noteable for their Jekyll-and-Hyde struggle between a Bartókian rhythmic frenzy and a sweet, cantabile lyricism. Great notes with a lot of detailed analysis and quotes from the composer's papers make this a must-have for collectors of the viola or for bipolar Romantics of all types. Luca Sanzò (viola), Maurizio Paciariello (piano).