Phoebe Carrai, Beiliang Zhu, Charles Weaver & Avi Stein - Out Of Italy

Out of Italy, headlined by eminent baroque cellist Phoebe Carrai and her protege Beliang Zhu, explores duos and sonatas by 18th century Italian composers who ventured northward throughout Europe to seek better fortune.

The 18th century experienced a mass migration of musicians from Italy � hitherto regarded as the home of music � seeking better fortunes in nations to the north. Giacobbe Basevi Cervetto, Giambatista Cirri and Francesco Geminiani went to London, Luigi Boccherini to Madrid. Antonio Vivaldi aimed for Dresden though never arrived, having died en route in Vienna.These Italian instrumentalists / composers and others are the focus of Out of Italy, a survey of sonatas and duos for two cellos and continuo by eminent baroque cellist Phoebe Carrai and Beiliang Zhu, many of them quite rare.

CRITICAL ACCLAIMA mutual affection, warmth and sense of intimacy shines through � a nice way to curate a recital as it tells a story � Zhu and Carrai do just that: tell delightful stories. - Gramophone 2019

technically brilliant and musically compelling performances - MusicWeb International, July 2019full-bodied ... distinguished performances that offer a genuine point of view � Classics Today (on Phoebe Carrai's Bach Cello Suites, AV0021)

elegant and sensual, stylishly wild � The New Yorker (on Beiliang Zhu)