Rossini/Schönberg: The Barber of Seville. Jed Distler and Martina Frezzotti, piano duo

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868):

The Barber of Seville.
Arrangements for piano duo four hands by Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)

Selections:

1. Overture
2. Cavatine: Largo al factotum
3. Aria/Cavatine Una voce poco fa
4. Duett: Dunque io son
5. Aria: A un Dottor della mia sorte
6. Quintet
7. Terzett: Ah qual colpo
8. Di si felice graft

Jed Distler and Martina Frezzotti, piano duo

Italian concert pianist Martina Frezzotti is known for being one of Lazar Berman’s last pupils. In 2007 she became a student of Elisso Virsaladze. Frezzotti is the first Italian pianist who obtained a PhD degree at the prestigious P.I.Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, where she graduated in 2012.

Throughout her career, Frezzotti has widely performed in Europe, US, Russia and Japan. She has given solo recitals and lecture concerts in the major cities of Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Greece, Belgium, Malta, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, USA, in such halls as Carnegie Hall in New York, Warsaw Philarmonic, Wiener Saal of Salzburg Festspiele, the Kiev National Philarmonia, Osaka Kawai Hall among many others.

Martina Frezzotti currently holds the position of Principal Piano Professor at the G.Tartini Music Conservatory in Trieste, Italy, having been a former Principal Piano Professor at the “N. Rota” Conservatory in Monopoli. She has been recently been invited to give masterclasses in Turkey and Croatia.

She has garnered international recognition having recorded for Brilliant Classics – Piano Classics label; the first two albums of her are a tribute to female composers Fanny Mendelssohn and Amy Beach. The third album for the same label will be dedicated to Clara Wieck Schumann. Her CDs have been reviewed and awarded in prestigious magazines such as Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, International Piano, Pianist, Rondo Magazine, American Record Guide, Fanfare and many others; both CDs gained the 5 stars prize and “CD of the Month” on the Italian magazine “Musica” edited by Zecchini; her recordings have been featured on the Italian RAI broadcasting a dedicated interview on Radio 3 Suite, BBC Radio 3, RBB Berlin and SWR in Germany, SRF Radio 2 in Switzerland, ORF Radio Ö1 in Austria, WWFM The Classical Network.

Composer/pianist Jed Distler studied with Andrew Thomas, Stanley Lock and William Komaiko, and taught for more than 20 years at Sarah Lawrence College. Early in his career Distler gained acclaim for his transcriptions of jazz piano solos by Art Tatum and Bill Evans, while his new music piano recitals have offered premiers of works by Virgil Thomson, Andrew Thomas, Richard Rodney Bennett, Frederic Rzewski, Alvin Curran, Lois V Vierk and many more.

Distler’s presenting organization ComposersCollaborative, Inc earned a 2013 Guinness Record for world’s largest keyboard ensemble, featuring an composition of his own scored for 175 electronic keyboards. In 2012 he became the first pianist to perform jazz legend Thelonious Monk’s complete songs over the course of a single 90-minute concert. In 2021 Distler embarked on a multi-year project performing all of Mahler’s Symphonies in four-hand arrangements with pianists around the globe. His 2023/4 tours included performances, master classes and artist residencies at the Bari Piano Festival, the Karlskrona Piano Festival, the Rovigo Conservatory, Festival Musical Durtal, the Stretto Piano Festival and the Chicago International Competition and Festival. He currently is composing 1, 827 Bagatelles for the 2027 Beethoven anniversary year. Distler has recorded prolifically for the high resolution Spirio player piano, and his solo piano CD “Fearless Monk” is available from TNC Music.

Distler is the Artistic Director for Salon Concerts at Klavierhaus, a weekly series that provides an inclusive environment and expressive forum for pianists of all generations. As Artist-in-Residence for WWFM.Org The Classical Network, Distler is the creator, host and producer of the 2017 ASCAP Deems Taylor Virgil Thomson Award radio program Between the Keys, as well as a new podcast called The Piano Maven with Jed Distler. He contributes reviews and articles to Gramophone and Classicstoday.com, and has written numerous CD booklet notes for Sony/BMG and Universal Classics. Distler is an exclusive Steinway Artist.

www.jeddistler.com