EDVARD GRIEG - Sonatas for Violin and Piano No. 1, 2, 3 - Accardo, Redaelli - Super Audio CD

Sonata No.1 in F major Op. 8
1. Allegro con brio 11’24”
2. Allegretto quasi andantino 5’50”
3. Allegro molto vivace 10’25”

Sonata No.2 in G major Op. 13
4. Lento doloroso - Poco allegro - Allegro vivace 10’49”
5. Allegretto tranquillo 7’07”
6. Allegro animato 6’34”

Sonata No.3 in C minor Op. 45
7. I. Allegro molto ed appassionato 10’48”
8. II. Allegretto espressivo alla romanza 8’08”
9. III. Allegro animato 8’29”

Total Time 1h19’48”

Conceived, recorded and produced by Giulio Cesare Ricci
Recorded in “Sala dell’Ermellino” Casa della Musica, Milano
Recording date February 12th - 13th, 2020
Recording assistant: Paola Liberato
Valve microphones: Neumann U47, U48
Mike pre-amplifiers, cables (line, digital, microphone, supply): Signoricci
Recorded in stereo DSD on the Pyramix Recorder using dCS A/D and D/A converters
Photos by Paola Liberato

The Mastering for SuperAudioCD was made by Giulio Cesare Ricci using
Signoricci’s analog and valve system.

Thanks to Micheli Associati for having granted the “Sala dell’Ermellino” Casa della
Musica, Milan for the recording of this album.

The recording collaboration with the great violinist Salvatore Accardo, which began 29 years ago,continues. In this project Maestro Accardo plays with the pianist Stefania Redaelli. This album contains the Sonatas No. 1 Op. 8, No. 2 Op. 13 and No. 3 Op. 45 by the composer Edvard Grieg where the violin is the protagonist. Grieg wrote that he considered the Violin Sonatas to be among his best works, each of which represented a different phase in his development "the first a little naïve, but rich in ideas, the second Nordic and the third with a broader horizon"

I recorded this album in the Sala dell'Ermellino - Casa della Musica in Milan on 12-13 February 2020. For this prestigious recording I used the legendary original Neumann U47, U48 tube microphones from the years 1947 and 1949 with a very natural tone using field effect bi-microphone techniques. These microphones have an important history: they are in fact the original microphones used to record, among others, the Beatles performances in the Abbey Road Studio and by RCA for the “Living Stereo” recordings. The sound I can capture with these legendary microphones is perfectly in line with my sonic taste.

No other microphone has such a true timbre and the ability to engrave all the nuances of sound and all the richness of the harmonics. The uniqueness of these microphones is linked to their ability to make a perfect "sound photograph" and to put the music perfectly placed in the sound space chosen for the recording. For the SACD I used the DSD format, on Pyramix using the dCS A / D and D / A DSD converters. From 1998 to today I record in DSD 64 x 44.1 bit with Signoricci ex Philips workstations that mount Pyramix programs, 904 analog / digital dCS converters and 954 digital / analog dCS converters, all this to make the best SACD fonè.

A state-of-the-art system with no sound manipulation, no equalization, no reverb, no compression and expansion ... but natural sound with true timbre to best enhance the acoustics of the Sala dell'Ermellino. fonè has been offering for almost 40 years recordings made in the name of technological refinement and aimed at recovering the original musical atmospheres. The mastering of the SACD was made by me using the Signoricci’s analog and tube system. The result of this recording is fantastic.

With this recording I wanted to give the listener a unique experience. It is as if the listener were sitting on an armchair positioned in the ideal point in the Sala dell'Ermellino. In this position the sound has a field effect and its depth, width and height are very noticeable. Great dynamics and great precision.

It's an album not to be missed

Giulio Cesare Ricci