As one of the leading Italian composers of the 20th century, Bruno Bettinelli occupies a significant place in his country’s musical lineage. An inheritor of the traditions of Respighi, Casella and their contemporaries, he employed contemporary techniques to fashion music of structural clarity, inventiveness and considerable communicative power. The Improvvisazione and Due movimenti are two of his greatest smaller-scaled works, and the Trio a masterful embodiment of his musical principles. Bettinelli’s complete works for solo guitar, performed by Davide Ficco, can be heard on Naxos 9.70026.