Duo Gazzana (violinist Natascia Gazzana and pianist Raffaella Gazzana) - CD Review, May 11th, 2023

Robert Schumann - Sonata No. 1 op. 105 in A minor; Edvard Grieg - Sonata No. 3 op. 45 in C minor.

The duo consisting of pianist Raffaella and violinist Natascia Gazzana recorded its fourth album in the autumn of 2021 for the ECM Records label in Munich - an album released in November 2022, which includes works specially composed for the two sisters by contemporary composer Tonu Korvits, as well as violin and piano sonatas from the repertoire of composers Robert Schumann and Edvard Grieg. Prior to the release of this album, the two Italian artists have released albums featuring romantic, modern, and contemporary pieces by composers such as Paul Hindemith, Valentin Silvestrov, Cesar Franck, and Luigi Dallapiccola, earning acclaim from international publications for their "imaginative and colorful' interpretations." And once again, with their new album, the Gazzana duo continues to strike a balance between contemporary works and traditional repertoire: pieces by Tonu Korvits alongside two romantic opuses - Sonata No. 1 op. 105 in A minor by Robert Schumann and Sonata No. 3 op. 45 in C minor by Edvard Grieg, performed with precision, energy, and passion.

The Gazzana sisters - violinist Natascia and pianist Raffaella - have a beautiful collaboration on concert stages and have studied with renowned musicians such as Bruno Canino, Yehudi Menuhin, Ruggiero Ricci, and Pierre Amoyal. Alongside their musical pursuits, they have also expressed their passion for other fields such as cinematography, literature, travel, the arts, and foreign languages. Both musicians graduated from La Sapienza University in Rome: Natascia studied visual arts, and Raffaella studied Italian literature. They have performed recitals on stages in Italy, Seoul, Hong Kong, Paris, Zurich, and many other cities in Europe and Asia, and have been appreciated for their exceptional qualities - stage presence, musicality, and the ability to convey emotion to the audience. They have a rich repertoire with pieces from diverse stylistic areas, and they are also interested in contemporary music - composers Valentin Silvestrov, Fabio Maffei, and Toru Korvits have dedicated works to them, which the two artists have premiered.