A recording can suggest connections that extend beyond sound. In episode 67 of Allegro, con Brio!, Gabriele Formenti meets Maurizio Di Chio and Nicola Pignatiello to introduce Baroque Flowers, their Da Vinci Classics album bringing seventeenth- and eighteenth-century music into dialogue with flower painting.

Music, painting and the Baroque affetti

With Di Chio on viola da gamba and Pignatiello on theorbo, the programme brings together music by Marais, Forqueray, Kapsperger, Boismortier, Marcello and de Visée. Each piece is paired in the booklet with a painted flower, drawing on works by artists including Zurbarán, Caravaggio, Mario de’ Fiori, Margherita Caffi and Rachel Ruysch.

These correspondences offer a way of approaching the music through images, gestures and emotions. Across five sections, the album considers time, dance, delicate passions and the many forms of love. The booklet develops the encounter between the arts through contributions by Costantino D’Orazio and Stefano Zecchi, alongside Di Chio’s introduction to the project.

The interview offers an opportunity to hear from the two performers themselves and to discover the ideas behind this distinctive programme. It is also an invitation to return to the recording with its visual dimension in mind.

About Allegro, con Brio!

Created and presented by Gabriele Formenti, Allegro, con Brio! is a classical-music podcast combining conversations with artists, recording presentations, cultural explorations and reportage. A professional journalist, musicologist and musician, Formenti spent twenty years as a voice of Radio Classica – Class Editori.

Launched in January 2025, the programme addresses both experienced listeners and those discovering classical music for the first time. Its collaboration with Da Vinci Classics includes interviews and reportage devoted to new recordings in the catalogue.

Listen to the episode

Episode 67: Baroque Flowers
Published on 26 September 2026 · In Italian · Approximately 24 minutes

Listen to Baroque Flowers on Amazon Music →

Explore the recording, programme and album notes →
Baroque Flowers – Floreal Dialogues of Affetti in 17th- and 18th-Century Music
Maurizio Di Chio · Nicola Pignatiello
Da Vinci Classics · C01216