CASTIGLIONI, NICCOLÒ (1932–1996)

Aldo Orvieto studied at the Venice Conservatory. He owes much of his musical development to Aldo Ciccolini, with whom he recorded Busoni’s Fantasia contrappuntistica, released by Naxos in 2020 (8.574086). Orvieto has recorded programmes and concerts for the main European radio broadcasters, and has recorded more than 90 albums dedicated to 20th⁠-⁠century composers for labels such as ASV Records, cpo, Naxos and Nuova Fonit Cetra. Orvieto has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras and ensembles, including the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Orchestra Della Toscana and Ensemble 2e2m, appearing at venues such as Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Arena di Verona and the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. He has appeared in concert and recorded with musicians such as Luigi Alberto Bianchi, Arturo Bonucci and Sara Mingardo, and has given many world première performances, in particular of works by Maderna, Clementi, Azio Corghi and Fabio Nieder. In 1979 Orvieto was one of the founders of the Ex Novo Ensemble. In 2019, he won the Italian Music Critics’ Abbiati Prize for an album of chamber works by Claudio Ambrosini. In 2020, together with cellist Luigi Piovano, he received the Isang Yun Prize (Unesco Creative City of Music Awards) for a recording dedicated to the Korean composer. Orvieto has published several musicological essays dedicated to the analysis of 20th⁠-⁠century piano repertoire and of German Lied (LIM and Armando Editore). He has written the piano entry for the soon⁠-⁠to⁠-⁠be⁠-⁠published Encyclopedia of Music (1900–2025) (Treccani).

Niccolò Castiglioni was one of the most singular figures on the Italian music scene of the latter half of the 20th century. Including world première recordings, Volume 1 of this complete edition reveals the exceptional quality of Castiglioni’s early piano works, the cantabile solemnity found in his exploration of twelve-tone techniques, and the quest for simplicity in later pieces that include the Seconda sonatina discovered among the composer’s papers after his death. The acclaimed pianist Aldo Orvieto has recorded and performed extensively throughout his career and is a specialist in Italian 20th-century repertoire.