Diabolico

Description

Laura Lootens’ first collaboration with naïve, “Diabolico” transports you to a world teeming with mysterious stories, where pacts with the devil and other ghostly apparitions in fact form the heart of a splendid sonic escape, from Tartini to Rodrigo via Castelnuovo-Tedesco or Paganini.
Laura Lootens’ first collaboration with naïve, “Diabolico” transports you to a world teeming with mysterious stories, where pacts with the devil and other ghostly apparitions in fact form the heart of a splendid sonic escape, dotted with highly varied forms of expression.
Introduced by a soothing calm, the opening movement of Giuseppe Tartini’s (1692-1770) Devil’s Trill Sonata preludes here to George Rochberg’s (1918-2005) reinventions of the last of Paganini’s Caprices, the supreme embodiment of the devil in music. These Caprice Variations constitute a fascinating musical kaleidoscope of fifty-one variations that sometimes recall Bach, Brahms or the wild outbursts of Paganini, and elsewhere draw on more modern, almost experimental ideas. A thrilling interplay between past and present, which Laura Lootens illustrates here with eleven of her favorite episodes. Next comes a work by Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840), the Grand Sonata for violin and guitar, played here on guitar alone. For this piece born of a prank in every respect diabolical, Paganini had made sure that the guitar inherited the demanding part, with the violin in fact performing a simple accompaniment!
The second part of the journey explores more modern territory, and three great masterpieces written for the guitar. With its frenetic rhythms, heightened dynamic contrasts and sudden changes of character, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s (1895-1968) Capriccio diabolico combines burning energy with melodies tinged with fragility. Of haunting poetry, Nuccio D’Angelo’s (born 1955) Due canzoni lidie evoke the two complementary faces of an ancient, forgotten and doubtless enchanted world. In conclusion, the German guitarist (First Prize at the Andrés Segovia Competition in 2022) offers the essential and intoxicating Invocación y danza by Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999), a diptych inspired by the flamenco tradition, first a desperate plea (Invocación) then an explosion of rhythms as intense as they are tragic (Danza).
Everywhere, Laura Lootens unfailingly asserts her style: a sense of intimacy, softness and distinction. Here, the guitar will above all be a lyre.