The title "Viva Belcanto!" cannot really be translated. "Hail to Fairy Chants" would be a rather literal translation. But Belcanto is more than that. It is a way of life, it is the joy of spontaneous and virtuosic singing, of real singing. Singing can express moods and feelings in a believable way: Joy, sorrow, love, togetherness...

The composer began with the famous trumpet signal from P.I.Tchaikovsky's "Capriccio Italiano" - and a joyful Italian song, also taken from this "Capriccio". This...