Concert by Alessandro Stella and Marcos Madrigal, piano duo. Music by Ildebrando Pizzetti and Italo Montemezzi.

This recording project features pianists Marcos Madrigal and Alessandro Stella in the world premiere recordings of the complete piano four-hands transcriptions of orchestral works by Ildebrando Pizzetti and Italo Montemezzi, realized by Mario Pilati. Far from being mere reductions, these transcriptions emerge as genuine re-creations, capturing the orchestral richness and evocative imagination of the original scores, while also highlighting Pilati’s inventiveness and sensitivity. Released on the French label Artalinna, the album stands as a significant rediscovery of rare and precious pages from the Italian early 20th-century repertoire, enhanced by the pianists’ compelling interpretations and the sonority of the Bechstein Concert D 282.

PROGRAM

Tre Preludi Sinfonici per l’Edipo Re di Sofocle

Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968)

Italo Montemezzi (1875-1938)

Paolo e Virginia

MARCOS MADRIGAL & ALESSANDRO STELLA
“Un duo sorprendente!”
– Philippe Cassard (France Musique)

The duo of Marcos Madrigal – recently named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres – and Alessandro Stella – recently invited as a Voting Member of the Recording Academy (Grammy Awards) – made its debut in Lyon on June 2, 2016, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Italian Republic, followed by a performance at the Les Nuits Oxygène festival in Paris. Their first album, released by the French label Artalinna and recorded in Oxford, features piano transcriptions of The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune by Claude Debussy and Fontane di Roma by Ottorino Respighi The CD received unanimous international acclaim, including a prestigious five-star review from the French magazine Classica, which wrote: “A creative force seems to sweep across the keys, generating a myriad of events that are scattered throughout the scores, bursting with life.” In 2021, the duo was invited by the Accademia Chigiana in Siena to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death with a two-piano program entirely devoted to Liszt and Dante. Also at the Chigiana, on October 30, 2018, Marcos Madrigal and Alessandro Stella performed Ildebrando Pizzetti’s Three Symphonic Preludes from Oedipus Rex in Mario Pilati’s transcription for piano four-hands, giving its first modern performance, as part of a commemorative day marking the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death. The duo is a regular guest at the Habana Clásica festival – of which Marcos Madrigal is Artistic Director – where, in 2023, they gave the Cuban premiere of Kozeluch’s Concerto for Piano Four-Hands and Orchestra with the Orquesta del Lyceum de La Habana, conducted by its principal conductor José Antonio Méndez Padrón. Since 2021, the duo has collaborated with Daniele Cipriani, creating the productions Soirée Russe (dedicated to the celebrated Ballets Russes) and Giulietta, which have toured major Italian theatres and dance seasons, including Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi in Gorizia, Teatro G. B. Pergolesi in Jesi, Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, Teatro Comunale in Modena, Teatro Regio in Parma, and Teatro Romano in Verona. In 2021, the label Extended Place – founded by Alessandro Stella – released the EP Happy Birthday Variations. Most recently, Artalinna has released the duo’s new album, featuring the world premiere recording of works by Ildebrando Pizzetti and Italo Montemezzi, transcribed for piano four-hands by Mario Pilati. In 2026, Marcos Madrigal and Alessandro Stella will celebrate the first ten years of a unique collaboration, marked by a musical dialogue that continually renews itself and never ceases to surprise.