# Alfredo Casella



## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

I just ordered the somewhat recent naxos recordings of the three symphonies of the Italian composer Alfredo Casella. From Naxos.com:

_Among the leading figures in Italian music between 1918 and 1939, Alfredo Casella was trained in Paris at the Conservatoire as a pupil of Fauré. Returning to Italy, he did much to introduce contemporary music, as understood in Paris, to the Italian public. He was active not only as a composer but also as a pianist and conductor. His developing style of composition reflects international contemporary influences and trends.

Casella wrote symphonies, concertos and other works reflecting his changing style, from the avant-garde to neoclassicism and generally diatonic writing, spiced with dissonance. His Paganiniana proclaims its origin in its title; also of note are a Suite from La giara and a Serenata derived from an earlier chamber work._

Listening to his work on Youtube, one is immediately struck by how "non-Italian" his music sounds. I have read others commenting that his music sounds like Mahler, Strauss or like the Russian futurists. I guess what they are trying to say is that the music is heavy and dark.

While I wait for these discs to arrive, does anyone else have any comments about this composer I am about to discover?


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I recently got his _*Sonata for harp solo*_. I last heard it a month or so back, when I got the disc and was listening to it a bit. It's a collection of solo harp sonatas down through the ages. I listened to other works on the album more than the Casella piece, for the reason that it was less like easy listening than the others. You may be generally right, it might have come across as maybe more heavy, although the instrument is light and bright in tone. In any case, the counterpoint in this work, I remember as quite involved. It kind of sounded pushing tonality far enough out, but maybe "just" tonal and not fully "atonal." That's just my gut feeling, I know little about him other than this work.

In any case, I found the Dussek, Hindemith and Tailleferre sonatas to be more in my general vibe at the time of wanting more easy listening, so I stuck to them, repeatedly listened to them, left the Casella on the backburner for later (as I did the C.P.E. Bach one, which I found a bit dry and kind of cliche Baroque for my tastes, but it was okay, just less interesting than the others).

Now you've bought him up, I might try to listen to that work sometime soon....


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

I love the vastness of classical music. I love that we do not have to stick to the big names. I love that we can explore and enjoy that fleeting moment of discovery when we hear something that is for all intents and purposes "unknown" and we feel as if the music fell right out of the sky and knocks us on our completely obvious heads. But instead of having a headache, what we feel is more akin to euphoria.

I have just heard Alfredo Casella's Symphony no. 1. In one stroke, Casella has pushed aside Resphigi to become my new favorite Italian composer. And I feel that this symphony will become (if it has not already) one of my favorite symphonies from any composer.

"That which is good does not have to be original" has always been a motto of mine in music. (And certainly, not all that is original is good, for that matter!) Although Casella sounds like a strange blend of Russian-German late romanticism (is this really an ITALIAN composer??) and his impersonations of either national idiom are rather blatant, he manages to produce a sweeping, youthful work that surprises me with its assurance and encourages me with its tight structure, melodiousness and forward drive.

Does Casella often sound like Mahler ins this work? You betcha! But what Casella has that Mahler does not, I feel, is a greater sense of inner cohesiveness and forward propulsion. Casella's structures seem to be clearer and more solid...almost classical, in a strange way. Plus, in this work, I feel that we are always moving forward, toward something very tangible. In Mahler, I often feel that we get stuck in a bog of notes and this interrupts the flow of the musical discourse. Linear concision is, I think, a hallmark of just about every compser that I really, really like and Casella seems to be of this ilk.

Plus, we have great moments of old-fashioned bombastic drama, glorious melodies and some really cool (if not very adventurous) orchestration. 

OK, two more symphonies to go...


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Now I have heard the Second Symphony for the first time. One more symphony to go.

I really, really feel that Casella is a MAJOR discovery for me. The 1st Symphony may have easily entered into my list of all-time favorite symphonies (not that such a list actually exists). The 2nd has also done the same.

Again, one can describe the "Mahlerian" feel of this work. And why not, Casella was an avid proponent of Mahler and was quite blunt in his "imitations" of him, making no apologies for it. So, does this symphony sound like a mere impersonation of Mahler? The short answer is no. The slightly longer answer there are moments that could most definitely have been Mahler himself, mostly heard in some of the orchestration and harmonies...and maybe one or two melodies...but the rest is surely the product of Casella's own wild and assured creativity.

The 2nd is more episodic than the first and one feels at points the structure and forward momentum gets lost. But never for long. I love this about Casella. He rarely ceases to keep the action moving along and I feel that we are always heading toward the point he is making. Having that sense of direction is usually very important to me, and I appreciate that Casella's rhetoric moves forward in this way.

I feel Casella is a better melodist than Mahler, though Mahler has written some great tunes.

The second movement of this symphony was jaw-dropping. A very simple but brutally powerful march theme comes and goes and we are momentarily brought to an exotic, oriental-sounding tune that could have very literally been lifted from Khachaturian's (another favorite of mine) sketch book. (Would that be a "Caucasian sketch?)

The 4th movement was perhaps the most episodic of the 4 movements and the most "Mahlerian," if we are to accept and use this term. It's big and a lot of ideas get thrown at us including more marches and a very sarcastic, squawky tune on the brass that could have been from Mahler's pen, easily. All of this builds to an ecstatic, huge ending with a beautifully orchestrated tutti with bells, gong and so on and so on. I got goose bumps and found that I was actually smiling. I reacted quite physically, which is not common for me.

It's very rare to me to get this excited over a new composer. I am afraid we may be able to add the name Casella to the composers I like to rant and rave over...be warned...


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

I know one work: Sicilienne et Burleske for flute and piano - a great program piece and difficult. As I remember, it sounds influenced by Paris Conservatory composer (I think) Henri Dutilleau (or vice versa). The Casella piece is original and doesn't at all sound 'Italian'. These symphonies you mention are interesting.



Tapkaara said:


> I just ordered the somewhat recent naxos recordings of the three symphonies of the Italian composer Alfredo Casella. From Naxos.com:
> 
> _Among the leading figures in Italian music between 1918 and 1939, Alfredo Casella was trained in Paris at the Conservatoire as a pupil of Fauré. Returning to Italy, he did much to introduce contemporary music, as understood in Paris, to the Italian public. He was active not only as a composer but also as a pianist and conductor. His developing style of composition reflects international contemporary influences and trends.
> 
> ...


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## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

Tapkaara said:


> It's very rare to me to get this excited over a new composer. I am afraid we may be able to add the name Casella to the composers I like to rant and rave over...be warned...


Casella is my favourite Italian composer, although I only found out about him recently. When I heard his second symphony on the radio, I was very taken with it, and I was already planning a shopping trip to London the next day, so I bought all the Casella I could find (six CDs). Besides the Naxos recordings of the three symphonies, there's a very good one of the second symphony on Chandos and the third on CPO. It's a toss-up whether they're any better than the Naxos CDs, which are also excellent (and a lot cheaper), but I decided I needed to have them all.

Almost all of the Casella available on CD has been reviewed on *www.classicstoday.com*, because the critic David Hurwitz, who runs the site, is quite a fan. (I don't remember Casella ever being mentioned on TC, though--I was thinking of starting a thread on him myself).


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## Scarpia (Jul 21, 2010)

I have two discs of orchestral music from Casella with Alun Francis conducting (cpo). I also have a couple discs of chamber music. Both are fantastic, and make me wonder why Casella is not better known.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Fsharpmajor said:


> Casella is my favourite Italian composer, although I only found out about him recently. When I heard his second symphony on the radio, I was very taken with it, and I was already planning a shopping trip to London the next day, so I bought all the Casella I could find (six CDs). Besides the Naxos recordings of the three symphonies, there's a very good one of the second symphony on Chandos and the third on CPO. It's a toss-up whether they're any better than the Naxos CDs, which are also excellent (and a lot cheaper), but I decided I needed to have them all.
> 
> Almost all of the Casella available on CD has been reviewed on *www.classicstoday.com*, because the critic David Hurwitz, who runs the site, is quite a fan. (I don't remember Casella ever being mentioned on TC, though--I was thinking of starting a thread on him myself).


I usually am on board with Hurwitz. He's probably my favorite music critic. I am glad to know he's a fan too!

I was thinking of getting the Chandos disc of the 2nd to compare it with the Naxos. Is there any real difference? Is it worth it?


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## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

Tapkaara said:


> I was thinking of getting the Chandos disc of the 2nd to compare it with the Naxos. Is there any real difference? Is it worth it?


I'm not much good at critical comparisons (anyone on TC is probably better at it than me ), but I'd say that the Chandos CD puts more emphasis on the brass and percussion, whereas the Naxos has a heavier, more visceral feeling in the strings. The stupendous finale with the bells sounds great on them both. Since the sound quality on both discs is hard to fault, it really comes down to a matter of personal preference. In my opinion it's worth having both. I prefer the coupling on the Naxos CD, _A notte alta_, to _Scarlattiana_ on the Chandos one, and I think I marginally prefer the Naxos performance of the symphony.

Classics Today has reviews of both of them--one for the Naxos by David Hurwitz, and two for Chandos (one by Hurwitz, who liked it, and one by another reviewer who was somewhat less enthusiastic).

I haven't listened to either of the two recordings of the third symphony yet. I'll have to spend some time on that this weekend.

Here's a Naxos CD you should consider buying; I think you would like it:

*http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=13517*


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Fsharpmajor said:


> I'm not much good at critical comparisons (anyone on TC is probably better at it than me ), but I'd say that the Chandos CD puts more emphasis on the brass and percussion, whereas the Naxos has a heavier, more visceral feeling in the strings. The stupendous finale with the bells sounds great on them both. Since the sound quality on both discs is hard to fault, it really comes down to a matter of personal preference. In my opinion it's worth having both. I prefer the coupling on the Naxos CD, _A notte alta_, to _Scarlattiana_ on the Chandos one, and I think I marginally prefer the Naxos performance of the symphony.
> 
> Classics Today has reviews of both of them--one for the Naxos by David Hurwitz, and two for Chandos (one by Hurwitz, who liked it, and one by another reviewer who was somewhat less enthusiastic).
> 
> ...


Hahaha, you settled it. I am getting the Chandos one, too!


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## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

Scarpia said:


> I have two discs of orchestral music from Casella with Alun Francis conducting (cpo). I also have a couple discs of chamber music. Both are fantastic, and make me wonder why Casella is not better known.


I'm listening to the CPO recording of the third symphony right now, just after hearing the Naxos one. They're both very good--I think it will take a couple more listens to each CD for me to decide which one I like better.


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## hespdelk (Mar 19, 2011)

I had read about Casella's symphonies years ago, but there were no recordings then - its exciting that there are actually multiple versions out now. I've heard snippets of the new recordings and they are all on my wish list. It gladdens me that others are excited about this music as well. 

Casella's later work took a different stylistic turn from his first two symphonies (he was of the neo-classical school - a similar shfit as we can observe in Stravinsky compared to his early big three ballets), but these are wonderful works that should be heard more often.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

hespdelk said:


> I had read about Casella's symphonies years ago, but there were no recordings then - its exciting that there are actually multiple versions out now. I've heard snippets of the new recordings and they are all on my wish list. It gladdens me that others are excited about this music as well.
> 
> Casella's later work took a different stylistic turn from his first two symphonies (he was of the neo-classical school - a similar shfit as we can observe in Stravinsky compared to his early big three ballets), but these are wonderful works that should be heard more often.


Yes, this is my underdtanding as well. He started as sort of a gushing late-romantic (post-romantic, maybe?) and ended up moving toward a more biting neo-classicism. I am starting out with the symphonies and I am sure that I'll get into his chamber works and piano works, which I have heard good things about. That is one drawback to discovering a new composer...it means you have to spend more money!


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## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

His opera and ballet works are absolutely brilliant, and he also conducted some of his own orchestral transcriptions of Bach that I'm sure would interest you.


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## hespdelk (Mar 19, 2011)

Tapkaara said:


> Yes, this is my underdtanding as well. He started as sort of a gushing late-romantic (post-romantic, maybe?) and ended up moving toward a more biting neo-classicism. I am starting out with the symphonies and I am sure that I'll get into his chamber works and piano works, which I have heard good things about. That is one drawback to discovering a new composer...it means you have to spend more money!


Definetly a gushing late-post romantic in his early phase.
The influence of Mahler is definetly there, but also R.Strauss. Also not to be underestimated in his formation is the french school he was surrounded by in his Parisian years - some of the linear thinking you mentioned is surely part of an essentially "classical" outlook on music akin to what Ravel was doing (in his own different way). Through that his later his neo-classical evolution becomes almost self-evident.

Speaking of spending more, the following disc of some of his "mature" works is excellent:










His Trio is another of his major compositions, I've heard it in passing but don't know it well.


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