Discography

Antonin Dvořák, Serenade  op. 22 (original version for piano four hands)
Robert Schumann   Bilder aus Osten (Pictures from the East)

«Two opposite ways [those of Dvořák and Schumann] of offering sound spaces and times, which are governed and shaped in an almost ideal way by the interpretation byTiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota. This also happens thanks to their proverbial and happy concord [...] which turns into sonic breath, into the propagation of a timbre which, at the same time, is distinct and united, an element, to say the least, necessary to express Dvořák's poetics, as well as to work incessantly in the complete restitution of those nuances that transcend into a mysterious silence, the trademark of the powerful and devastating Schumannian universe.»

Andrea Bedetti, GROVEBACK, May 2024

BRAHMS: Serenade No. 1 op. 11 - Souvenir de la Russie

« In 35 years of artistic partnership, the piano duo of Tiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota has developed a profound understanding, evident when listening from many points of view, from the details of the phrasing to the timbre mixture and more generally in the all-domestic cordiality of their making music together. […] This 19th-century « Hausmusik » approach […] marries naturally with the relaxed atmospheres of the transcription of the Brahmsian Serenade in D n. 1 for orchestra, by the same author, of which you can breathe deeply all the melodic freshness. […] It is the same freshness of the Scherzo and of the final Rondo of the Serenade in D, played with ease in the rhythm as well as with extreme attention to timbre details, also obtained through a clever use of the pedal, always with the intent to avoid sounds of orchestral weight. Among the merits of this interpretation, in fact, there are precisely the mild sonorities and a discursiveness of authentic chamber music, also evident in the first movement of the Serenade, soft in timbre and serene in phrasing.The second movement is a timbral enchantment, the wide spans of the phrasing of the Adagio, set on a noble chaconne rhythm, have a particular charm and the following Minuet reveals itself to be an authentic delight.»

Luca Segalla, MUSICA – May 2023 [5 STARS]

« … Finally, Brahms: the one proposed by the duo Moneta & Rota is a tribute to a form that is never rigid, squared, a Babel Tower that rises barren stone after stone, but which returns an innate " singability ” which, moreover, in the concept of Serenade must never fail; if anything, the form that our duo erects over the six movements is transformed into an incessant research, into an exploration through which that process of sectoral construction materializes which the mature Brahms will erect as his own compositional altar. …»

Andrea Bedetti, MUSIC VOICE – RECORD OF THE MONTH APRIL 2023

VITTORIO FELLEGARA
CHAMBER WORKS

This CD contains a large part of the last production for chamber ensemble by the Milanese composer Vittorio Fellegara, a distinguished figure of second half of the twentieth century and TEACHER IN COMPOSITION OF TIZIANA MONETA AND GABRIELE ROTA.

Wintermusic [1983]
for violin, cello and piano
Herbstmusik [1986]
(Omaggio a Mahler)
for string quartet
Primo Vere [1988]
for piano and string quartet
Nuit d'été [1994]
for piano and string quartet
Berceuse [1980]
for flute and piano
Wiegenlied [1981]
for clarinet and piano
Der Musensohn [1985]
(The Son of the Muses)
study for solo oboe

ACHROME Ensemble
Gabriele Rota, piano

Vittorio Fellegara deserves to return to being a "presence", to be studied and performed. [...] An important and captivating album, enough to make one desire a large retrospective.

Giorgio Rampone, MUSICA – December 2022 [5 STARS]

RIMSKY KORSAKOV: Shéhérazade
TCHAIKOVSKY: Suite from "The Nutcracker"

« … Tiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota form a consolidated piano duo which has allowed them to face, also in the recording field, different authors in the piano four-hands repertoire;I would start precisely from this fact, that is from this absolute level of concord with which to restore the musical visions of such different authors, whose technical and expressive peculiarities differ in a profound and articulated way.A perfect example in this sense is given by their own Rimsky-Korsakov;[...] the formal discipline that our duo manages to unleash is equal to the strength of the expressiveness of the sound obtained, in the name of a necessary compromise of the balance projected by these two Cartesian planes, as I have rarely been given the opportunity to hear andappreciate.

This refinement of sound, this supreme rhythmic balance then find perfect instance in Tchaikovsky, who really takes on a "fairytale" context under their fingers, in the sense that in the rhythmic construction of the alternating dances one always senses a nuanced scent, a softness that waterproofs the timbre dimension, making sure that the listener, the attentive one obviously, can perceive the disappearance of every reference devoted to reality and effectively projecting it into a magical sphere. »

Andrea Bedetti, MUSIC VOICE – RECORD OF THE MONTH APRIL 2023

«... Tiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota play well, without leaving too much space for the flights of the imagination but with a very particular timbre sensibility, their harmony is made possible by years of music together. [...]. Under the fingers of Tiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota Shéhérazade exudes a subtle charm, all played on delicate chiaroscuros (listen to the third movement) and small and distant sonorities. [...] We have a refined and elegant interpretation of Nutcracker Suitein its sound brightness and in the clarity of the details of the articulation, whose most representative moment is an icy and transfigured Dance of the sugar plum fairy, delicate like an oriental porcelain.»

Luca Segalla, MUSICA - May 2020

MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY:
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Ouverture op. 21 and Incidental Music op. 61
Songs without Words op. 62
Song without Words op. 67
Duet op. 92

THIRTY YEARS!
With this CD, Tiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota celebrate thirty years of artistic collaboration.
The Cd was presented  in Turin for the Pantheon Association, in Milan (at MAMU Magazzino Musica and at “Verdi” Conservatory), in Modena and Bergamo.
Moreover, for the 30th anniversary of the Duo, the music magazine “MUSICA”, in the issue of March 2017, published an interview with the two pianists.

DVOŘÁK: Slavonic Dances op.46  for piano four hands
From the Bohemian Forest op.68  for piano four hands
SMETANA: Three Czech Dances for piano four hands

... The direct and vital approach of Moneta-Rota duo enhances the character of healthy peasant vitality character of the Dances ... The phrasing is easy. The syncopated rhythm of two famous Furiant is emphasized in a effective and witty way. ... Even in the case of the suite From the Bohemian Forest, the interpretation is impeccable and easy.

Luca Segalla - MUSICA

Also on this occasion the duo, who has to his credit a large number of fine recordings, has fully achieved the goal. This performance privileges the expressiveness of these pages of the popular soul, highlighting in every detail the various elements that mark them out. Stylistic elegance, technique of great skill and a perfect harmony distinguish, as always, the precious interpretations by Moneta and Rota.

Stefano Cortesi - L'ECO DI BERGAMO

RAVEL: Introduction et Allegro for two pianos
La valse for two pianos
Boléro for two pianos
Shéhérazade for two pianos
Ma mère l’Oye for piano four hands

In spite of the 'limitedness' in timbre and sound, Ravel recorded by Tiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota (cd Bottega Discantica) keeps its own color and imagination depth.

Gian Mario Benzing – CORRIERE DELLA SERA

DEBUSSY: Symphonie en si mineur  for piano four hands
Petite Suite  for piano four hands
Cortège et Air de danse  for piano four hands
Six Epigraphes antiques  for piano four hands
Marche Ecossaise for piano four hands
Trois Nocturnes for two pianos
Danses for two pianos

In addition to the grace of the evanescent and of the sfumato, in Debussy as recorded by piano duo Tiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota in a "Bottega Discantica" cd, the virtue of clarity stands out with, above all, a continuous and fluctuating sense of movement, of dance.

Gian Mario Benzing – CORRIERE DELLA SERA

"METAMORFOSI"
SCHUMANN: Andante and Variations op. 46 for two pianos
BRAHMS: Variations su un tema di Haydn op. 56b for two pianos
GRIEG: Old Norwegian Tune with variations, op. 51 for two pianos
FELLEGARA: Metamorphosis (from a fragment by Bach) for piano four hands

... The piano duo confirms its moment of grace and realizes another valuable recording, which proposes the four compositions not by chance, but because they share a surprising "elective affinity". ... The keyboards of the Moneta-Rota duo "mutate", as if by magic, from black and white in all colors of the rainbow, warm and brilliant, soft and delicate: the magic of metamorphosis.

Stefano Cortesi – L'ECO DI BERGAMO

DVORÁK: Slavonic Dances op. 72 for piano four hands
Legends op. 59 for piano four hands

Tiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota, in a new CD "Bottega Discantica", face four hands the eight dances of op. 72 and the ten Legends op. 59, with their usual finesse. Without looking for symphonic mimesis, the two artists focus on the nuance, the softness (absolutely Slavic) of these pages. ... With affectionate grace, Rota and Moneta intertwined regrets and dreams, child echoes and accelerando, chivalry tales and amazed enchantments.

Gian Mario Benzing – CORRIERE DELLA SERA

MENDELSSOHN: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra in A flat
Symphony no. 4 op. 90 "Italian"
Orchestra de "I Pomeriggi Musicali"
conducted by Aldo Ceccato
live recording

... Ceccato, I Pomeriggi and the two soloists, Tiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota, paint a Mendelssohn of poetic brilliance. Vaporous colours, sinous phrasing make all the nobility, the balance, the vaguely feminine lyricism of Hamburger genius freely shine.

Gian Mario Benzing - CORRIERE DELLA SERA

DEBUSSY: Prélude à l’après‑midi d'un faune for piano four hands
La Mer for piano four hands
Lindaraja for two pianos
En Blanc et Noir for two pianos
RAVEL: Rhapsodie espagnole for two pianos

... It is a crystal orchestra, aquatic, transparent. It is well recalled by Tiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota, in this monography, paginated and played with equal finesse. ...

Carla Moreni - IL SOLE 24 ORE

... skillful and never generic performances, well let down, in emotion and in sound, in the climate of their authors, confirming a common musical discipline of considerable intelligence and cunning ...

Angelo Foletto - SUONARE NEWS

... a well thought out and well-performed record .. by a duo of tried out skill and experience. Great alliance between the four involved hands, touch of a sensitivity particularly suited to the repertoire.

Giorgio de Martino – MOSICA

BRAHMS : 21 Hungarian Dances for piano four hands
Variations on a theme by Schumann op.23 for piano four hands

... The Duo combines the ability of a skillful valorisation of timbres and of an intense expressive characterization in the Hungarian Dances and that of a precise reconstruction of the exclusive and rich writing of Brahms' Variations, enriched with an instrumental dimension of sound almost orchestral. ...

Gianluigi Gonella - L'ECO DI BERGAMO

BRAHMS : Concerto no.1 in D minor op.15 for piano four hands
SCHUBERT : Fantasy in F minor op. 103 for piano four hands

A precious opportunity to approach Brahms' forge with the version for piano four-hands of his First Piano Concerto ...  The character results steadfaster here, and the Duo Moneta-Rota sculpts it with great bravura ...

Carla Moreni - IL SOLE 24 ORE

... The Concerto [by Brahms] reveals a great charm, thanks to the skill of the two pianists, to the pureness of their sound, to the ensemble perfection, to the steady phrasing ...

Fabio Sartorelli – MUSICA

... The interesting recording of Brahms' Concerto is realized by the Lombard duo with passionate devotion to the "transcriber" 's style. The disc is completed with the much more "regular" Fantasia in F minor, D.940 by Schubert, to which Tiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota return fluidity. ...

Enrico Girardi - CORRIERE DELLA SERA (IO DONNA)

BRAHMS : Sonata op.34b for two pianos
Quartet op.67 for piano four hands

We are led in Brahms' laboratory also by Tiziana Moneta and Gabriele Rota, excellent interpreters, for Bottega Discantica, of the Sonata op.34b and the four-hand version of the third Quartet op. 67 ...

Sandro Cappelletto – LA STAMPA

A consistent, at times truly touching interpretation ...

Andrea Milanesi - AMADEUS

BRAHMS : Quartet op. 51 n. 1
Quartet op. 51 n. 2 for piano four hands

... The merit of validating the significance and relevance of the double identity of the Quartets op.51 is to be attributed in large part to the wonderful harmony of gestures and sounds of the two interpreters of the record that are able to give these pages the life-breath of a Brahms' spirit, here perceived perhaps for the first time in all its formidable sculptural and communicative energy. ...

Umberto Masini - MUSICA

RESPIGHI : The Fountains of Rome for piano four hands
Pines of Rome for piano four hands
Ancient Air and Dances for Lute (Suites I, III) for piano four hands

Poetry, atmosphere and essential expressive delicacy are shining in Respighi's piano works played by the fine soloists ...

Gian Mario Benzing - CORRIERE DELLA SERA 

The Moneta-Rota duo manages to make these pages interesting, not only as indicators of a certain cultural climate, but in the grace of independent reasons, discernible in the mere writing. [...] A fine proposal, thus, qualified by the valuable contribution of the performers.

Luigi Abbate – MUSICA

 ...an elegance which finds the appropriate balance between clarity of the harmonical structure and lyrism. A superb rarity.

Stéphane Friédérich - CLASSICA

 ... Excellent performance of the more than reliable duo Tiziana Moneta-Gabriele Rota. Perfect not only from the point of view of the whole, but also with a rich palette in terms of volume and timbre research. They have got, besides the beauty of a perfectly blended sound, the ability to outline in their performance the compositional conception through a wise dosage of the effects and an accurate calibration of dynamic.

Andrea Baggioli - PIANO TIME

Antonín Dvořák
Slavonic Dance in E minor op. 72 no. 2

Johannes Brahms
Hungarian Dance no. 5 in F sharp minor

Edvard Grieg
Norwegian Dance in D major op. 35 no. 4

Live recording - Figueira da Foz, July 30, 1994

PERAGALLO : Three Ricercari on the Total Chromatic
CECCONI : … from a distance
ERMIRIO : Unda
FELLEGARA : Metamorphosis (from a fragment by Bach)
OPPO : Gallurese
CELLINI : Silouhettes
CATTANEO : Montr'arctique; Marche funèbre
SAMORÌ : Barbaric and Fluid
PIACENTINI : Strick II
PACCAGNINI : Serenade to Elena
for piano four hands

... The Moneta-Rota piano duo demonstrates an uncommon concord and unidirectionality of expressive choices, and this results in an extremely compact listening: for these reasons, the judgment on the interpretation can only be positive. ...

Carmelo di Gennaro – CD CLASSICA

DEBUSSY : Six Epigraphes antiques for piano four hands
RAVEL : Sheherazade for piano four hands
STRAVINSKY : Pétrouchka for piano four hands

... The two pianists propose an excellent and exquisite pianism.

Bruno Re – DIGITAL AUDIO CLUB

 ... The three pieces are not easy to deal with because they present a multiform richness of phraseological, rhythmic, harmonic, coloristic facets... Undoubtedly this duo is worthy of attention because it possesses uncommon qualities ...

Renzo Cresti - PIANO TIME

... With extreme clarity and delicacy of touch the Moneta-Rota duo was able to capture that lightness of timbre and that harmonic scent that is the base of the pieces by Debussy and Ravel and offered a brilliant interpretation and rhythmically well-blended of the masterpiece by Stravinsky ...

Ennio Melchiorre - AVANTI!