A rare opportunity to hear one of the 20th century’s underplayed composers. Though Niccolò Castiglioni (1932-1996) isn’t often mentioned in histories of 20th-century music, his music seems more contemporary than many composers who are. He has a set of influential admirers, including the composer Thomas Ades, who programmed Castiglioni in his last solo recital in San Francisco, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, who was Castiglioni’s composition student.
Much of Castiglioni’s music is rooted in a late Romantic sound-world, but his music spans a variety of 20th-century compositional techniques, sometimes juxtaposed with each other in the same piece. Pianist Alfonso Alberti has recorded all of the composer’s piano music (on the CD Cangianti published by Col Legno Records), and is an enthusiastic performer of contemporary music. His concert, presented by Old First Concerts, is sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco.