“… So far as the performances go, Damerini handles a daunting solo part well. His grasp of the music’s structure is firm, and Maestro LaVecchia’s interpretation abets this strength…”

Artistic Quality 8     Sound Quality 8

“… Both conductor and orchestra make a splendid case for Sgambati’s delightful, neo-Dvorákian Sinfonia festiva (‘Ouverture de fête’), presented in its world premiere recording here…”

“… It [Piano Concerto] is a characteristic work of over 40 minutes, which is played sensitively enough in this recording in a meaningful, rhetorically shaped interpretation by pianist Massimiliano Damerini to make the music more than just brilliant and virtuosic. The short Sinfonia Festiva, a beautiful piece of music, can be heard in a world premiere recording.” *****

“… In the late Massimiliano Damerini it [the Concerto] has the ideal pianist, one who storms every hurdle, playing with an awe-inspiring swagger, style bravura…This, then, is a concerto composed to outdo everyone in Romantic scale and opulence. Damerini’s orchestral partners are more than up to the mark and the addition of a first recording of the Sinfonia festiva provides a bonus to this brilliantly recorded album.”