A Tempo Rubato Vol.1 – Romantic Music

A Tempo Rubato is a concept we (Marco and Enrica) have been developing for some time. This recording marks the first in a series of three albums exploring the idea of tempo rubato—not only as a musical expression, but as a metaphor for relationships in both music and life.

The repertoire on this album features original repertoire and transcriptions from the piano repertoire, arranged for guitar duo and solo guitar. These arrangements were created by Miguel Llobet, Mario Parodi, Joseph Kaspar Mertz, Jonathan Leathwood, Paolo De Lorenzi, and ourselves.

We performed this music on two remarkable historical instruments from the TouchTheSound Collection: a guitar built around 1820 by Johann Georg Stauffer, and another from 1840 by his son, Johann Anton Stauffer.

A Tempo Rubato is now available on all major digital platforms.

In September 2025, a special publication will be released: a book that includes the physical edition of this recording, accompanied by a rich collection of texts, reflections, transcriptions, and contributions from colleagues and friends. Through this publication, we aim to offer both a tangible trace of the project and an opportunity to observe and explore the topic from multiple perspectives — artistic, personal, and theoretical.

Further details will be announced in the coming months.

The recording was made with Alessandro Scandroglio in October 2024.

Cover artwork by Riccardo Pagliani.
Released by the TouchTheSound Project.

Instruments: Guitar by Johann Georg Stauffer (1778-1853) made in 1820c., Guitar by Joh. Anton Stauffer (1805-1871) made in 1840.

Recorded: October 2024, Milan

Label: TouchTheSound

Sound Engineer: Alessandro Scandroglio

Tracklist:

01. Felix Mendelssohn: Song without Words op.62 no.1 (Transcr. Miguel Llobet)

02. Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo in A major op.118 no.2  (Transcr. Paolo De Lorenzi)

03. Joseph Kaspar Mertz: An Malvina from Bardenklänge op.13

04. Clara Schumann: Larghetto from Quatre pièces fugitives op.15  (Transcr. Enrica Savigni)

05. Franz Liszt: Liebestraum S.541 no.3   (Transcr. Mario Parodi / Marco Ramelli)

06. Felix Mendelssohn : Song without Words op.30 no.3 (Transcr. Jonathan Leathwood)

07. Elfrida Andrée: Julstämning (Transcr. Duo Ramelli-Savigni)

08. Aleksandr Scriabin: Nocturne for the Left Hand op.9 no.2  (Transcr. Mario Parodi)

09. Franz Schubert / J.K. Mertz: Lob der Tränen

10. 11. 12. Franz Schubert: Sonata arpeggione D.821 (Trascr. Duo Ramelli/Savigni)

1. Allegro moderato
2. Adagio
3. Allegretto