Violinist Mauro Loguercio and pianist Emanuela Piemonti have rediscovered, and recorded for the first time on a Brilliant Classics CD, a sensational transcription for violin and piano of the Bonn genius’ last symphony. It is the work of the Bohemian virtuoso Hans Sitt (Prague 1850-Leipzig 1922) and brings out aspects of the score that were swamped by the orchestration in the original version. If there is one musical masterpiece that everyone knows about, it is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, a grandiose score for solo voices, choir and orchestra, written by the genius from Bonn in 1824 and still the queen of symphonic scores today. Various piano transcriptions of it exist, but the one for violin and piano made by Hans Sitt, composer and violin virtuoso (Prague 1850- Leipzig 1922) has an artistic quality of absolute excellence and brings out aspects of the score that in the original version were overwhelmed by the orchestration. Sitt’s transcription was rediscovered and premiered on a CD for the Brilliant Classics label (June 2023) by two virtuosi of our time: the violinist Mauro Loguercio – a soloist at home on the stages that count, from the Berlin Philharmonic to the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam – and the pianist Emanuela Piemonti, one of the most appreciated Italian performers particularly in the chamber music repertoire, who has dedicated herself to music by composers such as Kagel and De Pablo.
