Various Composers - Byrd and the Bird (Giovanni Antonini; Sheng-Fang Chiu)

Information

1. Béla Bartók - 44 Duos for 2 Violins, Sz. 98, BB 104: No. 35, Rutén Kolomejka
2. Anonyme - Aquila altera
3. Béla Bartók - 44 Duos for 2 Violins, Sz. 98, BB 104: No. 11, Gyermekrengetéskor
4. Jacques-Martin Hotteterre - Première suite de pièces à deux dessus sans basse, Op. 4: I. Gravement - Gay
5. Jacques-Martin Hotteterre - Première suite de pièces à deux dessus sans basse, Op. 4: II. Allemande
6. Jacques-Martin Hotteterre - Première suite de pièces à deux dessus sans basse, Op. 4: III. "Les tourterelles". Gracieusement
7. Jacques-Martin Hotteterre - Première suite de pièces à deux dessus sans basse, Op. 4: IV. Rondeau, Gay
8. Jacques-Martin Hotteterre - Première suite de pièces à deux dessus sans basse, Op. 4: V. Gigue
9. Jacques-Martin Hotteterre - Première suite de pièces à deux dessus sans basse, Op. 4: VI. Passacaille
10. Jacob van Eyck - Der Fluyten Lust-Hof: Amarilli mia bella
11. Anonyme - Constantia
12. Béla Bartók - 44 Duos for 2 Violins, Sz. 98, BB 104: No. 31, Ujévköszöntő 4
13. Amico Dolci - Nuovo ricercare No. 4: I. Il Dialogo cerca di uscire dal convenzionale
14. Amico Dolci - Nuovo ricercare No. 4: II. Con astio reciproco
15. Amico Dolci - Nuovo ricercare No. 4: III. Come due colori si fondono in uno
16. Amico Dolci - Nuovo ricercare No. 4: IV. Voci. La prima serena - La seconda pettegola, tediosa
17. Béla Bartók - 44 Duos for 2 Violins, Sz. 98, BB 104: No. 10, Rutén Nóta
18. Anonyme - Indescort
19. John Baldwin - The Baldwin Commonplace Book, R.M.24.d.2: A Duo
20. Anonyme - Honte, paour, doubtance
21. Georg Philipp Telemann - Sonata No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 2, TWV 40:104: I. Largo
22. Georg Philipp Telemann - Sonata No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 2, TWV 40:104: II. Vivace
23. Georg Philipp Telemann - Sonata No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 2, TWV 40:104: III. Grazioso
24. Georg Philipp Telemann - Sonata No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 2, TWV 40:104: IV. Allegro
25. Thomas Preston - Upon La Mi Re
26. Giovanni Sollima - Byrd and the Bird

Giovanni Antonini, recorders

Sheng-Fang Chiu, recorders

Date: 2026

Label: Alpha Classics

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Giovanni Antonini and Sheng-Fang Chiu form a leading duo dedicated to exploring diverse and unexpected repertoire on recorder. Their album, named after a 2024 work by Giovanni Sollima, pays tribute to William Byrd and features tenor and sopranino recorders, evoking bird-like sonorities. The programme spans centuries, from 15th-century diminution and improvisation through the refined 18th-century duets of Jacques Hotteterre and a 1727 sonata by Georg Philipp Telemann to 20th-century duets by Béla Bartók. It also includes Amico Dolci’s 1973 work, alongside a playful reference to Hamlet, emphasizing the recorder’s expressive simplicity and eloquence.

Giovanni Antonini, born in 1965 in Milan, studied at the Civica Scuola di Musica and the Centre de Musique Ancienne in Geneva. He co-founded and has led the ensemble Il Giardino Armonico since 1989, performing globally. He collaborates with prominent artists such as Cecilia Bartoli, Isabelle Faust, Sol Gabetta, and Viktoria Mullova. Antonini serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Kammerorchester Basel and Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg and regularly leads major orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker and London Symphony. He has conducted opera at La Scala, Salzburg Festival, and Opernhaus Zurich, recorded for major labels, and directs the Wratislavia Cantans Festival and the Haydn 2032 project to perform and record all of Haydn’s symphonies.

Sheng-Fang Chiu is a Taiwanese-born recorder soloist, chamber musician, and educator active across Europe and Asia. She studied early music in Europe with Michael Posch and Anna Januj, developing a career that combines performance and pedagogy. As a performer, she appears regularly in major venues such as the Wiener Konzerthaus, Musikverein, and Gewandhaus Leipzig, and has participated in festivals including the Salzburger Festspiele and Istanbul Music Festival. Alongside her concert work, she is a dedicated teacher, giving masterclasses internationally and holding academic positions, including at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna and formerly at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig.

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