Leo: Cello Concerto in D major, L10

Sol Gabetta is the young female superstar of the cello. The Argentine-French cellist, who speaks six languages fluently, has captured the hearts of audiences in many countries with her playing and her charisma. Sol has received prestigious awards: she won three Echo Klassik prizes in Germany, received Argentina’s Gardel Prize as “artist of the year“ in three consecutive years and in 2010 won the prestigious Gramophone Award as “young artist of the year”.

For her fifth recording for Sony Music and the first on the Sony Classical label, Sol Gabetta has teamed up with her own ensemble, the Cappella Gabetta, a small ensemble that plays baroque music on period instruments, which was founded by Sol Gabetta and her brother Andres Gabetta (lead violin). Sol and Andres have chosen this group of musicians so that they can make music among friends and explore works of the Baroque and Early Classical genres.

On the new album, entitled Il Progetto Vivaldi 2, Sol Gabetta and Cappella Gabetta perform beautiful Italian cello concertos. Three deservedly popular concertos composed by Antonio Vivaldi are coupled with a rarely recorded sonata by Vivaldi and a charming cello concerto by Leonardo Leo, a Neapolitan composer. The CD also includes a world premiere recording, a cello concerto by Giovanni Benedetto Platti, an Italian composer who worked in Germany between 1730 and 1763. The cello concerto by Platti was recently discovered near Würzburg in the archive of a castle of Duke of Schönborn. The Vivaldi concertos which Sol Gabetta has chosen for this recording were also discovered in this archive.

“Argentinian Sol Gabetta brings tremendous verve to five of Vivaldi’s effervescent concertos for cello in this scintillating ‘Progetto Vivaldi’ partnership…she digs into each phrase with infectious enthusiasm…” The Guardian.

Leonardo Leo (1694-1744) was one of the leading Neapolitan composers of his day, famed in particular for his theater and church music; most notable among his instrumental works are the six cello concertos.

Cellist Anner Bylsma is perhaps best known for his interpretation of music from the baroque and early classical periods. He is a member of outstanding ensembles as the Leonhardt Consort, La Petite Bande, and he forms a trio with Hans Brüggen and Gustav Leonhardt, one of Europe's best known chamber groups. Mr. Bylsma is among the most-recorded musicians in the world of early music.