Lanzetti / Balssa / Verzier Sonates A Violoncello Solo E Basso Continuo CD

Although Lanzetti remained unknown until the beginning of the 1980s, in his lifetime he was regarded as a brilliant cellist. Yet his virtuosity on the instrument never equaled his fame, which was eclipsed by the popularity of another great 18th century Napolian cellist, Franceschiello. In any case, the skills of Lanzetti as a cellist were inimitable. He was born in Naples in 1709, and studied at the Conservatorio di Santa Maria di Loreto, the most renowned school for cellists in the eighteenth century, where he received lessons from the greatest cellists of the Neapolitan school. He later moved to Torino, where he became cellist of the Court Theatre, and a member of the Capella Reale. During his lifetime, Lanzetti toured Europe several times. His compositions are exclusively for the cello. He wrote three collections of sonatas for cello and figured bass, a method, some transcriptions, and several sonatas which have been preserved only in manuscripts. Even his early works require a surprisingly high technical ability for his time, and they become even more demanding in his later compositions. Performing these works is cellist Alix Verzier, keyboardist Bertrand Cuiller, and cellist Emmanuel Balssa.