About Hasse’s recording – CONCERTO CLASSICS

Chiara Cattani confirms herself to be a very accomplished harpsichordist: while recording Hasse's sonatas as world premieres, she offers us such convincing interpretations - also concerning unwritten ornamentations and timbre choices - that they seem to be the result of a long and consolidated performing tradition. Therefore, this recording and the care with which it was made deserve five stars.

An initiative of historical importance in itself, enriched by the brilliant interpretation of Chiara Cattani (the Variations and Cadenzas are also hers) who smoothes out excesses and favours the proportions, balance and clarity of form of which Hasse is a master. 

About Torelli’s recording - TACTUS

It must be said immediately that this is a cd that I warmly recommend for the remarkable quality of the interpretation, thanks, in particular, to the cohesion of the ensemble, the limpidity of timbre and the excellence of the two soloists.[...]Lastly, Cattani's incisive and elegant conducting is effective: punctual in its stylistic rendering, balanced in the choice of tempi (never hurried) and convincing in some particular solutions such as the different distribution of the ensembles. [...] Equally worthy of praise is the variety of the ornamentation (including some diminutions in the slow movements), the addition of some cadenzas and the realization of the basso continuo entrusted from time to time to the lute, the theorbo, the harpsichord, the organ and the cello, which are also engaged in creating short cadenzas linking two movements of different character. All in all: a remarkable artistic achievement for music of surprising variety and beauty.

Ensemble Locatelli, directed from the harpsichord by Chiara Cattani, has recorded one of the most absorbing sets of concerti grossi that I have heard in a long time. These original-instrument performances can be recommended without reservation: they are warm, transparent, and invigorating, as well as captivating and gripping. From the first concerto in C major’s profound Adagio to the seventh concerto in D minor’s simultaneously buoyant and melancholic opening Allegro, Cattani’s nuances are rich in colour and contrast, and her accentuation is sensitive and detailed. The small orchestra (twelve musicians, including Cattani, are pictured on the back cover of the booklet) provides plenty of variety to sustain interest throughout.

This recording is the reference for Torelli’s Op. 8 collection because of its impeccable musicianship and the circumstance of it being the only complete set (a few recordings feature some of the concerti). […]This revelatory set is an essential purchase because it casts subsequent composers of concerti grossi in a new light. Just as Trevor Pinnock’s recording of 12 Concerti grossi Op 6 (1988) showed Corelli’s influence on Georg Friedrich Händel’s Op. 3 and Op. 6, Cattani reveals Torelli’s influence on Vivaldi and, indirectly, on Johann Sebastian Bach, who also favoured the three-movement structure in his instrumental concertos. Cattani and her Ensemble Locatelli have made a substantial contribution to our understanding of how the concerto grosso developed. TACTUS has thankfully made this achievement readily accessible.

About “La fida ninfa” – Antonio Vivaldi (August 2023):

The Baroque Orchestra: Jung, under the energetic direction of Chiara Cattani, got more and more into its stride.

On the podium of the Baroque Orchestra: Jung (the name says it all) is the marvellous Chiara Cattani, trained at the Salzburg Mozarteum  and provides for a rather fluffy, but where necessary also energetic sound (Cattani also elicits magnificent accompaniment tones from the harpsichord). Much energy flows from the pit to the stage and vice versa.

Kritik – Vivaldis "La fida ninfa" bei den Innsbrucker Festwochen: Eine Insel zum Verlieben! | News und Kritik | BR-KLASSIK | Bayerischer Rundfunk

All the more astonishing is the fact that Vivaldi succeeds in making us identify with, live with and suffer with the main characters with music that is full of ideas and extraordinarily inspired for its time. The orchestra under the direction of Chiara Cattani plays a major part in the liveliness of the performance. […] As the evening progressed, the young musicians showed increasing commitment and brilliance: the music was heartfelt and fiery, differentiated and confident. […]The recitatives were also presented in a witty and varied manner. 

Musical director Chiara Cattani succeeded in bringing Vivaldi's colourful score to life in a lively and imaginative way. An opera like this really makes you want more!

With the small Baroque Orchestra:jung, Chiara Cattani who conducts everything from the harpsichord, develops almost more drive and power than her teacher and general director in the opening production. After the intermission, the speed and the drama increase in the arias, the bravura numbers pile up. Thanks to the cuts (often also in the da capo parts), this becomes a hit parade and a very entertaining listening experience. With the certainty: one is likely to meet some of this cast aain on big stages. 

From the harpsichord, Chiara Cattani animates the orchestra to play with colour and character: The focus is not on an academic, dry view of the score, but on the musico-dramatic whole. Aria postludes, for example, are not simply rewound as before; Cattani often uses them to create atmospheric transitions. Vivaldi means well here anyway for those who like variety: Duets and ensembles become special gems in the aria chain. Enthusiasm!

The Baroque Orchestra:Jung is conducted by Chiara Cattani, who has been Alessandro De Marchi's musical assistant at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music since 2018. With great sensitivity, she and the young musicians fan out the beauty of the score's sound and awaken the desire to experience this neglected work by Vivaldi more often on the opera stage. At the end, there is great and well-deserved applause for everyone involved.

Chiara Cattani uses the verve and playfulness of the Jung Baroque Orchestra on the podium and harpsichord to create a delightfully brisk, taut and - where important - sweet rendition. The Kammerspiele in the Haus der Musik provides the perfect acoustics for this. Cattani's optimistic impulsiveness leaps out, captures and drives everyone. Stage and orchestra are highly synchronised and responsive. […] With her temperament and demand for rhetorical agility, she keeps everyone in a permanent state of high tension.

The young Italian Chiara Cattani, who has been Alessandro De Marchi's musical assistant since 2018 and conducted the final concert of the Cesti Competition last year, spurs on the "Barockorchester:Jung" with her fresh, endearing manner to create a crisp, almost joyful Vivaldi sound.

With these young musicians, Vivaldi sounds dewy and original in every bar. The orchestra also finds the right tone for the psychologically tricky emotional rollercoasters of Licori, Morasto and Elpina and owes nothing to Vivaldi's art of characterisation. The premiere audience thanked all the performers and the directing team with exuberant applause. exuberant applause and loud bravos.