In the summer of 1836 Paganini heard in Turin the playing of Luigi Legnani, which pleased him so much (“gave me the highest pleasure”) that he arranged to give concerts together with him. The idea came to nothing, but it indicates the esteem in which Legnani was held, as an inspirational guitar virtuoso at a time when the instrument was still more associated with the Iberian peninsula.

Legnani did as much as anyone to broaden its appeal, through his performances and compositions, and Giulio Tampalini celebrates his legacy with this remarkable set.

In this notable first on record, Tampalini presents Legnani’s complete solo music for his own instrument. Much of it consists of arrangements and transcriptions of popular operatic melodies and arias: music for display, to captivate and charm audiences of his own playing, but constructed with enough skill and imagination to appeal to modern listeners too.

Operatic culture in Italy at the time, the first half of the 19th century, was dominated by the figure of Rossini, and Legnani arranged numbers from L’Italiana in Algeri, La Cenerentola, Zelmira and La donna del lago, among others. Not all of them are spectacular showpieces, or straight transcriptions – there are variation sets, pot-pourris and lyric arias – but Legnani’s mastery of both the guitar, and the art of transcription, is exemplified by his masterful reduction of the Overture to William Tell for a single instrument!

Legnani also looked farther afield, not only to Bellini and the early operas of Verdi but to Carl Maria von Weber and Joseph Weigl. CD3 is dedicated to his most substantial original collection: the 36 Capricci, published by Artaria in 1822 and effectively comprising a manual to display all the expressive possibilities of the instrument, comprehensively covering all the major and minor keys.

On a grander scale, the Gran Capriccio fuses operatic display with the technical finesse and form of the earlier Capriccios. Legnani also demonstrates his own talents as a melodist in the Gran Capricce, opp. 34 & 60: impressively constructed works which belong in the repertoire of every modern guitarist.

Giulio Tampalini has become renowned as one of Italy’s most charismatic guitarists of our time. He is director of the Brescia International Guitar Academy of Brescia and founder of the IGC Italian Guitar Campus.

His previous albums on Brilliant Classics have been welcomed by the international press, and with this collection he sets down a landmark version of Legnani’s music on record.