Rossini’s Péchés de vieillesse

Volume 11 completes Alessandro Marangoni’s monumental
project to record all 200 or so individual works comprising the
Péchés de vieillesse or ‘Sins of Old Age’ (including some
preliminary sketches). Highlights include all four duets from
the collection, from the highly operatic Le gittane to Un sou,
in which two beggars try to sell the collar of their dead dog.
Rossini’s sacred or pious songs, such as the surprisingly intense
Ave Maria (su due note) prompted Richard Wagner’s response,
‘the Parisian salons have turned into prayer cells… extraordinary!’
The closing piece of this edition is appropriately a setting by
Rossini of his own name.

“The artist who brings all these diverse works together
(and who has made it a labor of love to bring about this series)
is pianist Alessandro Marangoni. In addition to being a real
advocate for Rossini’s piano music, [he played] these works with
elegance and genuine Rossini style…
Marangoni should be commended for his dedication to this
rather neglected body of work and Naxos is to be
applauded for bringing us this series of CDs.”