[from the booklet:]
A trio of world-premiere recordings by modern Italian composers, conducted by one of the most complete musicians of our time.

Serino’s Per Tutta la Durata di un Arco is based on the duration and extension of a bow-stroke; in “Lights, after the Thaw”, Antonioni paints a soundscape of light and ice and flowing water in which a clarinet duets with the viola; it is the viola’s antique cousin, the viola d’amore, that takes the starring role in Cardi’s La Follia, based on the chord progression which inspired countless 17th- and 18th-century composers such as Corelli, Tartini and Vivaldi.

The soloists for each work are drawn from the ranks of an ensemble of Italy’s most talented young musicians, founded in 1968, giving concerts across Italy with the most distinguished musicians of our time, most recently including the violinist Pinchas Zukerman, the cellist Mario Brunello and now Dimitri Ashkenazy.

This fascinating new recording brings together three concertante works for viola and string orchestra by three contemporary Italian composers: “Per tutta la durata di un arco” by Cristiano Serino, “Lights, after the Thaw” by Francesco Antonioni and “La Follia” by Mauro Cardi.
Music of great originality, exploring the possibilities of the viola to its extremes, backed up by the strings of the orchestra.
Played by the Italian violists Gianluca Saggini and Luca Sanzo and the Norwegian violinist Ada Meinich. The excellent chamber orchestra I Solisti Aquilani (one of Italy’s elite string orchestras) is conducted in the piece of Antonioni by world famous conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy. The other two works are conducted by the concertmasters of the orchestra. The liner notes are in English and Italian.