 Mario Pilati n’est plus qu’un nom peu souvent cité dans les encyclopédies de musique, récemment certaines de ses splendides travaux de transcriptions pianistiques pour Riccordi on fait l’objet d’un enregistrement remarqué, Aldo Ciccolini avait enregistré un admirable Quintette, mais ceux qui connaissent un peu son oeuvre savent que les mélodies en sont la part à la fois la plus secrète et la plus inspirée. Manuela Custer de sa modeste, mais assez belle, voix lyrique invente tout un théâtre pour l’ébouriffante "Dialogo di marionette" qui ouvre le disque, elle sera tour à tour émouvante pour la berceuse ("Nanna nanna"), diseuse brillante pour la "Lettera amirosa", soignant son français pour les "Deux Balladettes", et assez époustouflante au long du cycle des "Echi di Napoli" où, comme dans le triptyque des "Tre canti napoletani", Mario Pilati dissimule le populaire derrières des écritures savantes. Secret de ces si belles mélodies qu’il faut placer aux cotés de celles de Respighi, une partie pianistique de haute volée, palette infinie, interactions serrées avec la ligne vocale, gout des harmonies diaprées (Mare, Lunnella), tout un univers sonore envoutant qui rappelle le virtuose que fut aussi le napolitain. Pilati orchestrera la plupart de ses Liriche, un éditeur finira bien par les révéler dans cette vêture, mais les originaux fascinent par la liberté de l’écriture, la perfection de la réalisation, l’esprit de finesse et simplement l’inspiration que célèbrent ce beau disque utile qui ne doit pas passer inaperçu. (Discophilia - Artalinna.com) (Jean-Charles Hoffelé) Mario Pilati was born in Naples on 16 October 1903. His life was very short, intense and troubled. Together with his siblings, he was introduced as a child into the study of music, as was the custom in Neapolitan upper-middleclass families. He immediately showed a great talent as a pianist and an overflowing creativeness: at the age of 13 he had already decided that music was to be his profession. His father attempted to thwart his artistic calling by making him enrol in a technical school, but, with the help of his mother, he managed to go on with his musical studies: at the early age of 20 he took a diploma with honours in composition at the Conservatorio S. Pietro a Majella of Naples, under the guidance of Antonio Savasta. He immediately looked for a job, in order to become independent of his family: his father not only disapproved of his musical career, but also never accepted his engagement with Antonietta Margiotta, whom he married in 1928 and with whom he had three daughters, Annamaria, Laura and Giovanna. The award-winning specialists Manuela Custer and Raffaele Cortesi (already protagonists of the recent recording Liriche su testi di Dante, tc 840003) are the interpreters of the rediscovery of the vocal chamber music of the brilliant Neapolitan composer.
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