Massonneau: 3 Duos Concertante, Op. 9 Demian Baraldi & Dylan Baraldi

• Louis Massonneau (1766 - 1848): Duet No. 1, Op. 9:
• 1 Massonneau: Duet No. 1, Op. 9: I. Allegro Vivace 08:26
• 2 Massonneau: Duet No. 1, Op. 9: II. Andante con Espressione 06:10
• 3 Massonneau: Duet No. 1, Op. 9: III. Rondo allegro Vivace 04:21
• Duet No. 2, Op. 9:
• 4 Massonneau: Duet No. 2, Op. 9: I. Allegro Moderato 08:50
• 5 Massonneau: Duet No. 2, Op. 9: II. Adagio Sostenuto 04:49
• 6 Massonneau: Duet No. 2, Op. 9: III. Andante con Variazioni 07:19
• Duet No. 3, Op. 9:
• 7 Massonneau: Duet No. 3, Op. 9: I. Allegro Moderato 08:21
• 8 Massonneau: Duet No. 3, Op. 9: II. Andante con Variazioni 05:06
• 9 Massonneau: Duet No. 3, Op. 9: III. Allegretto 02:42
• Total Runtime 56:04

Info for Massonneau: 3 Duos Concertante, Op. 9

Attraktive klassische Duette für Violine und Cello in Weltersteinspielungen eines jungen italienischen Brüderpaares. Trotz seines französischen Namens war Louis Massonneau ein deutscher Komponist, der 1766 in Kassel geboren wurde und 1848 im ehrwürdigen Alter von 82 Jahren in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern starb. Sein Vater war Koch des Landgrafen Friedrich II. von Hessen-Kassel, und Louis erhielt seinen Vater musikalische Ausbildung bei den Kasseler Hofmusikanten, bald darauf Geiger in der Hofkapelle. Der Landgraf starb, als Massonneau 19 Jahre alt war, und das Orchester löste sich auf, sodass er sein Glück woanders suchen musste. Dies tat er in einer Reihe von Positionen, als Konzertmeister von Hof- und Theaterkapellen in Göttingen, Frankfurt, Altona, Dessau, Hamburg und schließlich Mecklenburg, wo er sich endgültig niederließ und 1837 in den Ruhestand ging.

Massonneau komponierte nebenbei und hinterließ einen ziemlich umfangreichen Katalog. Abgesehen von einem Trio aus Oboenquartetten nahezu völlig unbekannt, umfasst es drei Symphonien, zwölf Sinfonien und sechs Violinkonzerte, die zweifellos mit Blick auf seine eigenen Talente geschrieben wurden. Diese drei Duos Concertante stammen vermutlich aus Massonneaus Zeit in Altona, als er den Cellisten Martin Calmus kennenlernte. Da Massonneau zur Unterhaltung der Besucher von »Musikakademien« Duette aufführen musste, stellte er zweifellos fest, dass es an einem solchen Repertoire mangelte, und schrieb es neu. Calmus selbst muss ein versierter Cellist gewesen sein, denn beide Stimmen zeigen eine Virtuosität und einen experimentellen Geist, den sie mit der bekannteren Musik ihrer Zeitgenossen Boccherini teilen. Jedes Duo besteht aus drei Sätzen, die sich formal gekonnt von den anderen unterscheiden und in denen der lyrische Ausdruck durch einen Hauch von Ironie gemildert wird. Haydneske Akzente der Dur-Moll-Ambiguität verleihen dem ersten Duo dramatische Spannung, während ein eher ballettartiger Geist und der melodische Charme Mozarts dem zweiten Duo einen quasi-opernhaften Charakter verleihen. Nr. 3 ist das innovativste Stück mit seinem schnellen Gesprächsspiel zwischen Violine und Cello und der unkonventionellen Klangfarbenpalette. Demian und Dylan Baraldi haben diese Aufnahme in Zusammenarbeit mit der Edition Massonneau gemacht, und maßgebliche Booklet-Notizen aus der Edition beleuchten das Leben und Werk des Komponisten.

Demian Baraldi, Violine
Dylan Baraldi, Cello

Duo Baraldi
The Baraldi brothers, Demian on violin and Dylan on cello, are building a reputation in the Italian national music scene. Winners of numerous awards and recognitions, they have been playing together since they were children. United in their musical research, they face always different repertoires with an attentive eye turned to the search for little frequented music. They recently debuted together at the Ravenna festival and have numerous concerts on international stages (Austria, Germany, China, Norway, USA, …).

Their common experience in China, their country of origin, has marked their musical research, leading them to increasingly frequent repertoire that has its roots in popular tradition. Their concerts therefore want to be a bridge and dialogue between diversity, temporal, cultural and artistic, united by the universal language, which is music.

Demian Baraldi
made his debut as a soloist with the Orchestra delle Venezie playing together with Giovanni Angeleri, with the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, and as a chamber musician together with Michel Dalberto at the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Chamber Hall. He also made his solo debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, on the occasion of the ballet school concert of the Academy of the same theater.

He graduated with Juan Carlos Rybin from the Conservatorio “Dall’Abaco” in Verona, perfecting himself at the Conservatorio “Verdi” in Milan under the guidance of Fulvio Luciani.

His solo and chamber formation is completed with his love for orchestral repertoire thanks to collaborations with prestigious youth orchestras such as the Orchestra Cherubini and the Italian Youth Orchestra. He was an Italian representative of EUYO, selected by Claudio Abbado, and has played in halls such as Royal Albert Hall, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, NCPO in Beijing, conducted by Manfred Honeck, Christoph Escenbach, Vassilij Petrenko and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

He held the role of spalla at the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and collaborated with orchestras such as RAI, orchestra laVerdi, Filarmonica della Scala, orchestra dell’Arena di Verona, Teatro La Fenice and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

His passion for contemporary music sees him participating in the Milano Musica festival and as a member of the Campus della Grafenegg Academy. His numerous chamber collaborations lead him to perform in seasons such as Festival MiTo, Festival As.Li.Co di Como, Milano Musica and Milano Classica.

He often plays in duo with his brother Dylan Baraldi, with whom he recorded an upcoming album for Brilliant Classics dedicated to French composer Louis Massonneau.

Demian Baraldi plays a 1920 Emilio Guerra violin on loan from a private collection

Also, defined by Enrico Bronzi as “a very talented instrumentalist with a spontaneous musical nature,” Dylan Baraldi (cello) graduated with Mario Finotti from the Conservatorio “Pollini” in Padua, and then perfected himself with Enrico Bronzi at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and with Marc Coppey at the Conservatoire National de Paris.

His solo concert debut took place at the age of 17 with Dvořák’s Concerto, and in his various chamber and symphonic experiences he has performed in halls such as the Philharmonie in Paris, the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, and the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg.

He has played in chamber formations with renowned soloists such as Alexander Gadjiev, Giovanni Zanon, Keigo Mukawa, Giovanni Gnocchi, Marc Coppey, and Lorenzo Pone. In 2019 he was one of two cellists selected for the EUYO Chamber Academy.

His orchestral activity has seen him collaborate with Ensemble Intercontemporain and Matthias Pintscher, Philharmonie Salzburg and Orchestra del Teatro Goldoni. In 2022 he was ranked first eligible for cello audition at Fondazione Arena di Verona and third eligible at Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI.

He taught cello in China at the FCAEC school in Dalian, twinned with the Conservatorio “Verdi” in Milan.

Dylan Baraldi plays a 1938 Arnaldo Morano cello, kindly loaned to him from a private collection.

Booklet for Massonneau: 3 Duos Concertante, Op. 9