Frescobaldi and the South

On the occasion of NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò’s 33rd Anniversary

Concert
Frescobaldi and the South

Francesco Corti, harpsichord

Introduction by Eugenio Refini, NYU

Followed by a Q&A with the performer

Doors will open at 7pm for a cake and prosecco reception
Introduction and concert at 7:45pm

In 1594 Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, arrived in Ferrara for his marriage to Donna Eleonora d’Este. His meeting with the musical circles of Ferrara, and in particular with Luzzasco Luzzaschi, was to make an important impact on the musical development of the young Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643). In his maturity Frescobaldi arrived at a deeply personal fusion between the musical forms of North Italian (and more specifically Venetian) derivation and the musical experimentation of the southern school. In Frescobaldi and the South (Arcana, 2023), harpsichordist Francesco Corti explores the reciprocal influences between the great keyboard master from Ferrara and his colleagues from the Kingdom of Naples. This fertile musical exchange, which culminated in the profoundly distinctive innovations of Frescobaldi himself, fully exemplifies the spirit of experimentation and musical innovation typical of the early seventeenth century, a period that, like few others, sought out and celebrated aesthetic renewal.

FRESCOBALDI AND THE SOUTH / “Intendomi chi può che m’nintend’io”

Program:

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643)
Toccata Prima (Libro Primo, 1615)

Giovanni de Macque (c 1550 – 1614)
Consonanze Stravaganti
Gagliarda Seconda
Capriccio sopra re fa mi sol
Gagliarda Prima

Rocco Rodio (c 1530 – c 1620)
Ricercata Terza (Libro di Ricercate, 1625)

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643)
Toccata X (Libro Primo, 1615)

Scipione Stella (1558-1622)
Partite sopra la Romanesca

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643)
Capriccio sopra la Battaglia, Balletto e Ciaccona (Libro Primo, Aggiunta, 1637)

Michelangelo Rossi (c 1602 – 1656)
Toccata Prima (Toccate e corenti, c. 1634)

Bernardo Storace (XVII sec)
Ciaccona (Selva di Varie Composizioni, 1664)

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643)
Capriccio durezze (Primo libro di Capricci, 1624)

Gagliarda Quinta (Secondo Libro, 1627)
Cento Partite sopra Passacagli (Libro Primo, Aggiunta, 1637)

Harpsichordist and conductor Francesco Corti was born in Arezzo, Italy, in a musical family in 1984. He studied organ in Perugia, then harpsichord in Geneva and in Amsterdam. He was awarded at the International “Johann Sebastian Bach” Competition in Leipzig (2006) and at the Bruges Harpsichord Competition (2007). As a soloist and conductor, he has appeared in recitals and concerts all over the world. He has been invited by festivals such as Mozart Woche and the Salzburger Festpiele, Musikfest Berlin, BachFest Leipzig, MusikFest Bremen, Utrecht Early Music Festival, Festival Radio France Montpellier. He is a member of Les Musiciens du Louvre (Minkowski), Zefiro (Bernardini), the Bach Collegium Japan (Suzuki), Les Talens Lyriques (Rousset) and Le Concert des Nations (Savall). Since 2018 he is principal guest conductor of il Pomo d’Oro, a collaboration which includes numerous recordings. He is invited to lead Les Musiciens du Louvre, Tafelmusik, Freiburger Barockorchester, B’Rock and the Nederlandse Bachvereniging. Since January 2023, he is the musical director at the Drottningholm Royal Court Theater. His solo recordings include works by Louis Couperin, J. S. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solemnelle. Pentatone has recently published the first three volumes of Bach’s harpsichord concertos and Händel’s Apollo e Dafne with il Pomo d’Oro. His latest solo recordings (Arcana) are Bach: Little Books, Händel: Winged Hands, and Frescobaldi and the South. He has taught in masterclasses all over Europe, in Latin America and in Asia. Since September 2016, he is professor of harpsichord at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Francesco Corti is currently holding a residency and masterclass at The Juilliard School. We wish to thank Juilliard for their collaboration and we are delighted to have them as our guests tonight.