Ernesto de Curtis
Ernesto (1835-1937) and GianBattista were two brothers who made the name of De Curtis famous in the Neapolitan music scape.
Ernesto studied piano with the well known teacher Vincenzo Valente. He soon showed interest in composition, and his first song A prima vota was written to lyrics by his brother GianBattista. The partnership flourished, reaching a peak with Come back to Sorrento which almost became a national song. Ernesto was a fine pianist and accompanist who played for many celebrated singers including Beniamino Gigli.
Compositions by Ernesto de Curtis appear on
Forgotten Dreams
It was in 1999 when Concordia director Basil Hawkins first came across The waltz of forgotten dreams by Hadjidakis. He was struck by its atmospheric and evocative nature and in keeping with this nostalgic ambience, the selection on this disc includes such pieces as Eileen Pakenham's Reverie and Fred Witt's Memories of Bendigo.
