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AGP53 is the first of three dedicated to the Italian composer Sylvano Bussotti. Born in 1931, he is one of the major Italian composers of his generation and while many of his works were recorded and released on LPs, few have found their way onto CD. AGP53-55 include a number of Bussotti's major works, only two of which appear to have been released on CD and none of which is currently available. This is surprising because Bussotti's works were of consistently high quality. They often remind me of Ligeti's works of the 1970's in making effective use of classical harmonies and tonally meaningful chromaticism in the context of the advanced compositional tools of his generation.

The first Bussotti installment consists of works for orchestra. Bussotti's orchestral tone palette is a real treat, mixing dense string textures with glittering percussion, producing an effect that has been described as delicate and pointillistic. Bergkristall (1973) is a ballet in seven parts for large orchestra. Lorenzaccio-Symphony (1973) consists of excerpts from the 3rd and 4th acts of a stage drama of the same name. La Bal Miro' (1981), first suite -- Antologie per Orchestra is a pantomime ballet. AGP53 is filled out with O Atti Vocali, an excerpt from La Passion Selon Sade (1979), sung by Cathy Berberian with Bruno Canino on piano.

All tracks but one in AGP53-55 were transcribed from European pressings in excellent condition and almost no tracking distortion. Le Bal Miro' is from a 1986 live recording. The torrent includes a text file with liner notes from two of the three LPs from which these recordings were transcribed, as well as images of the front cover of one LP (Bussotti is the guy on the left) and the Argument and Programme Note in Italian in Bussotti's own hand.

To download AGP53 files, right-click on each of the following links and select SAVE LINK AS.


01 - Bergkristall, I-VI [23:43]

02 - Bergkristall, VII [6:07]

03 - Lorenzaccio Symphony [12:51]

04 - La Bal Miro' [27:24]

05 - O Atti Vocali [8:55]

Image of argument in Bussotti's hand

Image of program note in Bussotti's hand

Image of LP cover

Liner notes from LPs

AGP53 description

FLAC fingerprints