Artist: Sinfonia of London, John Wilson Title: Puccini: Orchestral Works Year Of Release: 2026 Label: Chandos Genre: Classical Quality: FLAC (tracks) / 24bit-96kHz Total Time: 01:02:33 Total Size: 1.04 MB Tracklist: 1. Puccini: Preludio sinfonico, SC 32 (7:12) 2. Puccini: Capriccio sinfonico, SC 55 (10:53) 3. Puccini: Preludio to ‘Le villi’, SC 60 (2:08) 4. Puccini: La tregenda from Act II of ‘Le villi’, SC 60 (3:40) 5. Puccini: Scherzo, SC 34 and Trio, SC 52 (2:51) 6. Puccini: Adagetto, SC 51 (3:47) 7. Puccini: Preludio to Act II of ‘Manon Lescaut’, SC 64 (4:12) 8. Puccini: Intermezzo before Act III of ‘Manon Lescaut’, SC 64 (4:33) 9. Puccini: Crisantemi, SC 65 (6:32) 10. Puccini: Tre minuetti, SC 61: I. Minuetto n. 1. A S.A.R. Vittoria Augusta di Borbone Principessa di Capua (3:33) 11. Puccini: Tre minuetti, SC 61: II. Minuetto n. 2. All’esimio violinista prof. Augusto Michelangeli (2:45) 12. Puccini: Tre minuetti, SC 61: III. Minuetto n. 3. All’amico maestro Carlo Carignani (2:47) 13. Puccini: Preludio to Act I of ‘Edgar’, SC 62 (3:26) 14. Puccini: Preludio to Act III of ‘Edgar’, SC 62 (4:22) Puccini is renowned as one of the greatest opera composers of all time and his early works – before Manon Lescaut catapulted him to international fame – offer a fascinating insight into his development as a composer. John Wilson and Sinfonia of London explore this repertoire with characteristic style and commitment, leading us on a journey through student compositions and orchestral extracts from his earliest operas. Studying under Amilcare Ponchielli at the Milan Conservatory from 1880 to 1883, he created the Preludio sinfonico (loosely based on Wagner’s Prelude to Lohengrin), the Scherzo, Trio, and Adagetto, and Capriccio sinfonico, his graduation piece, which famously pre-echoes the opening of La bohème by a decade. The one-act opera Le villi was composed for a competition launched by the publisher Sonzogno (Puccini didn’t win), whilst themes from the contemporaneous Tre minuetti and Crisantemi (both for string quartet) were subsequently re-cycled in Manon Lescaut. Verdi’s publisher, Ricordi, bought the rights to Le villi, and commissioned a new work at the same time: Edgar, which, largely owing to the absurd plot, is arguably Puccini’s only failure, despite some fully mature music easily the match of the more celebrated scores