Publications

Composed in 1894 as a piano miniature, Piccolo Valzer was later transformed by Puccini into Musetta’s famous aria “Quando men vo” from La Bohème. Mosco Carner suggests the composer conceived this piece while drifting in his boat on Massaciuccoli Lake – as hinted by the rare marking con ondulazione in the score. Presented here in a version for guitar, the transcription preserves the original’s lyrical essence while drawing on the full range of colors offered by the instrument.

In composing this Fantasia – his first piece for solo guitar – Carlo Galante was inspired by a famous Greek myth. According to Euripides, Helen, the woman for whom the War of Troy happened, was never taken to king Priam’s city. The goddess Hera created “a ghost doted with breath” that followed Paris to Troy, while Hermes had hidden the real Helen in Egypt. Galante describes the two Helens using different resources of the instrument: the result is a peculiar and charming portrait in music.

“The genesis of this book came from the idea to get contemporary composers to write music based on the works of XIXth century giant Gioachino Rossini, to be included in the 34th Rossini Opera Festival in 2013 in Pesaro. There are six pieces, all in completely different styles, and all quoting in some form or other a motif or theme from one of Rossini’s famous works. Providing you are open to many different styles of modern writing for the guitar, these six large works will provide many players with quite a technical challenge.”

C. Dumigan, Classical Guitar Magazine