Donald Martino: Canzone e Tarantella Sul Nome Petrassi

Canzone e Tarantella Sul Nome Petrassi was written in 1984 for Mr. Martino to perform on clarinet with his cellist son, who was nine years old at the time, in celebration of the 80th birthday of the eminent Italian composer Goffreddo Petrassi. The cadenzas quote from Verdi’s operas La Traviata and Don Carlos. Martin Brody describes the piece in the liner notes for the New World Records recording:

“Although the Canzone is playable by a cellist with minimal experience, the technical simplicity of the cello part does not call attention to itself, because of the delicate timbral connection between the two instrumental lines. (Martino later included more complicated options and an interpolated cadenza for more advanced players.) Christopher and Donald Martino played the premiere of the first movement at the Pontino Festival in Priverno, Italy in June of 1984. As in the Parisonatina, the dedicatee’s name is inscribed in the pitch structure of the work. In this case, an initial statement of the first two syllable of ‘Petrassi’ comprises a motive that generates much of what follows. Upon completing the honored name (with “ssi”/Bb), Martino continues to spell out a little tribute by permutating its notes: ‘Petrassi, arte--si!,’ and so forth.”