Professor Richard Savino was nominated for a Grammy in 2012 with his band, El Mundo. (Sacramento State/Rob Neep)Sacramento State Music Professor Richard Savino was nominated for a 2012 Grammy and is doubling down in his latest effort, submitting two CDs for consideration for the 2016 awards.
A guitar and lute virtuoso, Savino was nominated for The Kingdoms of Castille by his group, El Mundo, which performs Spanish, Latin American and Italian music from the 17th through 19th centuries. While it didn’t receive the Grammy, Savino enjoyed the experience of attending the awards.
Now he has submitted another El Mundo work, as well as a CD focusing on the works of Beethoven contemporary Mauro Giuliani, who popularized the guitar as an intensely virtuosic instrument.
“Giuliani became such a sensation that there was a magazine dedicated solely to him and his fame, kind of like the magazines dedicated to rock stars in the 1960s,” Savino says. Essential Giuliani also features violinist Stephanie Chase and soprano Jennifer Ellis Kampani. It has been submitted for Production and Engineering in the Grammys' Best Small Ensemble category.
The El Mundo CD is What Artemisia Heard, a multimedia project covering music surrounding the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, a 17th century painter and sometime musician who, says Savino, had a life that was at times tragic, but also filled with redemption and conquest.
As a teenager, she was raped by a colleague of her father's. While the law at that time spared the perpetrator of charges if he then married the victim, he refused to do so in this case. Artemisia and her father sued in Vatican court, a process that required some torture of the victim in order to verify her testimony. But they were successful, and the decision freed Artemisia to pursue her own life as a successful and critically acclaimed artist.
“Artemisia is an icon in the world of feminist theory,” Savino says. “She took commissions for her work. She was in control of her finances, and she traveled widely.”
The musical program is divided into segments, bookended by a prologue and epilogue, “both of which are battaglia pieces, meaning there is an element of violence to them,” Savino says. “They’re battle pieces because her life was a battle.”
The CD has been submitted for Engineering, Producer, Notes and Graphic Design in the Classical Compendium. The Recording Academy will announce the nominees in December. The 58th annual Grammy Awards show is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 15.
What Artemisia Heard began life as a live stage production that projected artworks by Artemisia on a giant screen as they pertained to the music being played.
The CD has a booklet featuring her paintings and will include links to selected videos showing how the musical number appears in concert.
Essential Giuliani was recorded at various studios in New York City.
Artemisia was recorded closer to home, at movie producer George Lucas’s secluded Skywalker Ranch in Marin County. “It’s an extraordinary experience,” Savino says of Skywalker. “You never have the outside interrupt you.”
Recording sessions can run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the musicians taking their meals there, and having the chance to enjoy the grounds during breaks. “There are no distractions,” Savino continues. “To me that is one of the greatest things about Skywalker – it is so focused.”
Savino has taught at Sacramento State for 28 years, has performed at numerous venues around the world, has directed various musical festivals, and performs with the Glimmerglass and Houston Grand Operas.
For more information on the CDs and samples of Savino’s work, visit www.richardsavino.net. For media assistance, call Sacramento State’s Public Affairs office at (916) 278-6156. – Craig Koscho