Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was the principal operatic composer in Italy during the middle and late 19th Century. He was immensely popular during his lifetime, which was a period of unification for the Italian city states. Verdi’s music appealed to his countrymen’s sense of national pride and resentment of foreign infuence, by resisting the german operatic trend towards romanticized Nature and contrived symbolism. Instead, Verdi kept at the core of his music the traditional Italian love of human drama and vocal melody.
This Ave Maria is a pivotal point in the final act of Verdi’s greatest tragic opera, Otello. Following an emotional goodnight and goodbye to her lady-in-waiting, and anticipating death at Otello’s hands, Desdemona seeks solace and intercession through the mother, Mary.
Scott Hartman began his chamber music career as a member of the Empire Brass. While with the Empire Brass (1984 – 1993), he played concerts throughout the United States, Japan and Europe. He recorded fourteen compact discs and appeared on numerous television and radio broadcasts. Scott has built a career also as a trombone soloist, performing frequently in the U.S. and abroad. Solo engagements with orchestra include concerts with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra under Eric Kunzel.
Scott has recorded with Joseph Alessi, Blair Bollinger, and Mark Lawrence on a CD entitled Four of a Kind and with Frank Tamburro on The Festive Cornet. He teaches at Yale University.
