The Sonata in A minor for Arpeggione and Piano, D. 821, a celebrated work written by Franz Schubert in Vienna in 1824, is the only substantial composition for the arpeggione (essentially, a bowed guitar) that survived into modern times. The piece is today heard almost exclusively in a transcription for cello (or viola) and piano, arranged after the piece’s posthumous publication in 1871. Other versions also include double bass, flute, euphonium, and clarinet, sometimes with guitar or harp.
The Six Lieder (songs) are from Schubert’s final cycle, Winterreise, and the posthumous Schwanengesang. Arranged for flute and piano by Theobald Boehm, they are a compendium of poetic works where the absence of the human voice and a text is not perceived.
The Variations on "Trockne Blumen" from Die schöne Müllerin is the only original composition for flute and piano written by Schubert. Composed in 1824 for the virtuoso Ferdinand Bogner, and published posthumously with the catalog D. 802, Op. posth. 160, it shows the many possibilities of the flute-piano duo in strongly mature writing, with accentuated contrasts and striking virtuosity.
The duo formed by flutist Leonardo Grittani and pianist Maurizio Zaccaria, is garnering accolades in Italy for the victory of countless competitions. The collaboration between the two artists is based on great chemistry and artistic intuition.
The recording has been made using a stunning combination of rare Brüel & Kjær microphones and Prism Sound equipment.