Lp The Artistry Of Luigi Alva The Romance Of Tosti Everest

LP The Artistry of Luigi Alva The Romance of Tosti. Recordi Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Benedetto Ghiglia, B. Ghglia, Piano

Record Label: Everest SDBR 3220

The Romances and melodies of Francesco Paolo Tosti (1847-1916) will probably never form part of a history of music. They belong, nevertheless, to the story of the nineteenth century, and reflect more than one aspect of Italian culture. verdi and Manzoni definetely closed a cycle, unique and incapable of being repeated, a cycle which is inevitably followed by a decline (that some optimists prefer to call "evolution"). Since then, it would be difficult to point to any Italian composer of heroic stature. But there have been many lesser men of merit, and Tosti undoubtedly belongs in the front rank of such composers. Writing in "La Tribuna" in 1888. Gabriele d'Annunzio recalls his meetings with Tosti. "O, unforgettable 1883" he rhapsodized. "Paolo Tosti was the moving spirit of a small group of artists, who would meet on the Via de' Prefetti, where we would arrive unannounced... The apartment was Ciccilo's, as Tosti was known to his friends, where we spent many a delightful afternoon and even more so the evenings! Paolo Tosti would make music by the hour, without tiring, singing in his deep voice, forgetting himself at the piano, improvising with a singular inspired facility. We would be sprawled on the divan or on the floor, totally inebriated with the special spiritual drunkenness that only music can provide."

Tosti was born April 11, 1847 in Ortona. Early in life he manifested a great interest in music, and began violin studies with Gaetano Paolini. By his nineteenth year, Tosti was graduated with great honor and appointed organist and chapel master of the cathedral in his native town of Ortona. He remained there for a number of years, eventually moving to Rome and Naples, where his art developed and matured. He eventually moved to London where he was eminently successful and was appointed voicecoach at the court of Edward VII. There he taught Princess Mary and the Duchesses of Teck, Connaught, and Albany, The Prince of Wales was a particularly good friend of Tosti's. The publishing house of Chappel's offered him a contract of 10,000 lire for each song, with the provision that he compose at least four each year.

In 1888, Tosti married Bertha Pierson, and, following a brief return to Italy, was prevailed upon by his English friends to take British citizenship. But his heart was always in his native Italy, and it was not long before he left England and returned to his homeland, ehre he remained until his death on December 2, 1916.

The sincerity and authentic inspiration of Tosti's work have attracted the greatest interpreters since they appeared, including Enrico Caruso. The greatest singers of the century sucumbed to tha fascination of his melodies. The latest in this illustrious line is Luigi Alva, the exquisite interpreter of Mozart and Rossini. To this collection of some of the finest of Tosti's songs, Luigi Alva brings an intimate, lyrical style that evokes the salon of the past century and places these gems of the singer's art in their ultimate setting.

Adapted from the Italian by Giveon Cornfield