Magdalena Kasprzyk-Dobija – viola da gamba
Maciej Skrzeczkowski – harpsichord

cover:  Melchior d'Hondecoeter, ‘Het drijvend veertje’, ca. 1680 (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam)

recorded in The Hague (Netherlands), March 2021

Johann Sebastian Bach – Sonata for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord in D-Major, BWV 1028: II. Allegro

English Suites N. 4, 5 & 6

English Suite No. 5 in E minor, BWV 810: III. Courante (Original Version)

Vittorio Forte continues his voyage of discovery through unusual and unjustly neglected piano repertoire with The Muse, an album devoted to the music of Nikolai Medtner. 

Forte immersed himself in Medtner’s music during the lockdowns of 2020, finding both solace and joy in getting to know this unfamiliar but exceptional music. The Muse takes its name from one of Medtner’s songs to words by Pushkin, and this release concludes with Forte’s own transcription of this piece. 

Medtner stands alongside Rachmaninov and Scriabin as among the foremost Russian composers of his time. Like them, Medtner’s output grew out of his formidable abilities as a pianist and thorough understanding of the instrument’s expressive range. Even so, he did not indulge in virtuosity for the sake of showmanship, but produced highly complex scores as a means of articulating his very particular vision. 
The release begins with Medtner’s Forgotten Melodies, Op. 38. The opening theme of the nostalgic ‘Sonata reminiscenza’ is used by Medtner to unify the other movements, especially the concluding ‘Alla reminiscenza’, and between these pieces comes a series of songs and dances of varying moods. Each of Medtner’s Four Lyrical Fragments Op. 23 occupies a distinct, often poignantly beautiful soundworld, representing another remarkable instance of the breadth of his invention. 
At the heart of the album we hear Medtner’s Skazki or Fairy Tales, Op. 51, which are remarkably fine and deserving of a much wider audience. On hearing the pieces at a private performance, Rachmaninov praised the Skazki, declaring that ‘Kolya’ was peerless in his ability to tell tales in music. Both Medtner and Rachmaninov composed a setting of Pushkin’s ‘Muza’ dedicated to the Armenian writer and activist Marietta Shaginyan. Medtner responds to Pushkin’s paean to the beloved muse with a fluid melody and delicious harmonies, which have been elaborated and enriched in Vittorio Forte’s transcription.

06. Nikolay Medtner - Forgotten Melodies I, Op. 38 - VI. Canzona Serenata

French Suites 1, 2 & 3

French Suite No. 3 in B minor, BWV 814: V. Menuet

Federico Mompou: Suite Compostelana - Coral

Georg Philipp Telemann - Concerto for Flute & Recorder in E minor, TWV 52:e1
I. Largo
II. Allegro 

Austin Baroque Orchestra – January, 2015
Dennette McDermott, traverso
Billy Traylor, recorder

Georg Philipp Telemann - Concerto For Flute & Recorder In E Minor

Cello Sonata in F major, Op. 67 (1904): Moderato quasi Andante by Mel Bonis

Piano Icons for the 21st Century

A Little Book of Hours: VI. Singing Sun

Born in Cracow.

Magdalena Kasprzyk-Dobija graduated in cello and composition from Fryderyk Chopin State Secondary Music School in Cracow. In the year 2019 she obtained her Master's degree in performance on cello with Piotr Janosik at The Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. She studied viola da gamba in The Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław with Kazimierz Pyzik. 

Currently she studies viola da gamba and historical cello at The Royal Conservatoire in The Hague with Mieneke van der Velden (viola da gamba) and Lucia Swarts (historical cello) .

She performed in Poland, Germany, France, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary and took part in world premieres of contemporary pieces and in recordings for Radio Cracow, Polish Television and Polish Radio. She performed e.g. during festivals Emanacje (Poland), Świdnica Bach Festival (Poland), Pro Archi Fesztival (Hungary), International Renaissance Festiva (Poland), and 25. International Festival of Kraków Composers. As a chamber music performer she took prize in international competitions in Slovakia, Poland and Hungary.


Johann Sebastian Bach – Sonata for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord in D-Major, BWV 1028: II. Allegro

Magdalena Kasprzyk-Dobija

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