# Ottorino Respighi



## Weston

I listened to "The Pines of Rome" at work this week for the first time in many years. Parts of it made me wonder.

About 8 to 9 minutes into it, maybe in the second section, I hear what sounds like blues riffs in strings. I think they could be in fifths even, It sounds so much like how we would expect an orchestra backing a pop band today would sound - very familiar. But this must have been a radical and strange sound in the 20's or 30's or whenever it was written. I know the blues ostinato was just a coindcidence if I'm even hearing it correctly.

I'm also curious if they used bird recordings when this was first performed. They couldn't have had the recording capabilities we have today, so are the current performances better now? When this piece is recorded, does the mixer put the birds in after the fact or re-record the recording of them? It's a very gray area isn't it?

I need to listen to the other two of the rome trilogy, but I only know of "The Fountains - ."
I'll have to look up the the other piece.

I think the Ancient Airs and Dances suites are my favorites that I have heard from Respighi, probably because I love baroque so much, and these are like baroque on steroids.

He was a great orchestral colorist. I'm not sure any twentieth century composer surpassed him in that department.


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## david johnson

as i understand it, toscanini used the same recording of the nightingale for his nbc symphony record as was used in the premier.

'roman festivals' is the third in the trilogy. you would also enjoy 'church windows'.

dj


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## Tapkaara

Respighi is a great composer. I enjoy his music very much.

Indeed, he was a great orchestral colorist, but he learned from one of the best...Rimsky-Korsakov.

That's what's great about Respighi...he sounds like he started composing music about 40 or 50 years too late. While the world around hi began to embraces the silly sounds of Schonberg and others, he was at home in a late-Romantic idiom, which suits me fine.

I think another similir composer is Khachaturian, in the sense that he was a throwback to a not-too-distant past and he was a master or orchestral color.


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## Kuhlau

Together with Ravel and Rimsky-Korsakov, Respighi was one of the finest orchestrators in all of art music. The works mentioned so far clearly prove this.

There are four other works by Respighi which I urge people to hear. These two inexpensive titles will give you more-than-adequate introductions to them all:



















FK


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## music17

Respighi is my favorite composer. He is truly one of the greatest orchestrators. All of his symphonic poems are amazing. I also recommend _Brazilian Impressions_. If you like _Ancient Airs and Dances_, you will also like _The Birds_. While the _Dances_ were transcribed from Baroque lute pieces, _Birds_ was transcribed from Baroque keyboard pieces. 
It is a shame that Respighi does not receive more recognition.


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## Tapkaara

The Birds is a wonderul work. I had the chance to see/hear the Kalamazoo Symphony perform it last March. Well orchestrated and very tuneful, just like the Ancient Airs and Dances. I return to Ancient Airs and Dances often, as it is pure, soul-lifting music.

I have Brazilian Impressions on disc, but only listened to it once. I'll have to give it another go.


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## music17

Of Respighi's symphonic poems, I think _Brazilian Impressions _is probably my least favorite work, but it is still quite interesting. The first movement, "Tropical Night," reminds me of Debussy's "La Parfumes de la Nuit" from _Iberia_ from _Images for Orchestra_. "Butantan" is supposed to represent a snake farm, I believe. "Song and Dance" is rather fun! 
I just got Respighi's opera _La Fiamma_ on disc. I'm more of an orchestral music person than an opera lover, so I need to listen to it a few more times. It is an interesting work as well.


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## Habib

I'm only familiar with his Botticelli Triptych. I suppose it contains the one of the best musical portrayals of spring ever written. In a way he was an impressionist like Debussy, but somewhat less radical as he recreated old forms in his music.


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## Eftos

great man and output. roman trilogy: the work of a lifetime in one zyclus. highly underrated imho.


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## Lang

I love the music of Respighi, but somehow I have never been able to reconcile it with his politics.


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## JTech82

Respighi is a great composer. Very much in the impressionist style, but did his own thing with it.

I'll echo what Eftos said above, the Roman Trilogy is great. I also like "Church Windows," "Three Botticelli Pictures," "Brazilian Impressions," among others, but he's not for everybody.

Usually people into Debussy, Ravel, and Delius can get into Respighi pretty easily. As I have said in other posts, you just have to listen to this music on its' own terms, then, and only then, can it be fully appreciated.


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## World Violist

I heard not too long ago the Pines of Rome for the first time, live, from _a college orchestra_. And they were amazing, which made the music amazing. That was quite the experience!


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## the_unexpected

I would *highly* recommend (especially to anyone enjoying the Pines of Rome, and presumably the climax of the finale - Pines of the Appian Way) Respighi's Church Windows suite, the finale of which contains what is (in my humble opinion) one of the grandest climaxes in classical music, and the other movements are just as enjoyable to me. The recording I have is conducted by Lopez-Cobos with the Cincinnati Symphony ($8.99 on Amazon), although there are other recordings available. As others have said, the Ancient Airs and Dances are superbly arranged and orchestrated! A master talent sadly unrecognized!


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## Huilunsoittaja

I enjoy Boutique Fantastique, because it even has hints of Russian style, probably because Respighi did get some training from Rimsky-Korsakov in orchestration.


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## hespdelk

A few years ago I made a deeper exploration of this composer's work - there is so much more to him than the Roman Trilogy that is, deservedly, so well known.

I wonder how well Respighi's output is known by the members here?

In the same programmatic large orchestral vein, his "Ballata delle gnomidi":






In a different vein from what he is famous for, Respighi also composed a fair amount of chamber music - some of these pieces are amongst his strongest in my opinion.

Here is what is probably the finest performance of his Violin Sonata performed by no less than Jascha Heifetz - I was excited to see this version pop up, its been hard to track down in recent years:
















Any other favourite rarities or interesting performances anyone would care to mention? There is still a fair amount of material by this composer that has never been recorded...


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## joen_cph

Some other spectacular works that should be mentioned are the various works for piano and orchestra, from the more monumental *Concerto Misolidio *(here I prefer the chandos recording by Toperzer to Scherbachov on naxos; their interpretations are very different from each other) to the very fresh and rhapsodic early *Concerto in a-minor *and the meditative *Toccata* or the Russian-flavoured *Fantasia Slava*. His *Violin Concerto, "Gregoriano*", is likewise an attractive work if it is not played too heavily; there is a rare recording by Jenny Abel, for instance, which captures its autumnal mood very well.

The chandos recording of the *Belkis Suite *and the *Metamorphosen* conducted by Geoffrey Simon should be one of the most well-known Respighi CDs; the Belkis Suite is one of the most spectacular and catchy among late-Romantic orchestral works in existence.

As regards the chamber music, his *piano quintet *must also be mentioned (it has been recorded with an attractive ditto by his fellow-countryman Giuseppe Martucci).

Scherbachov´s naxos discs are nonetheless good and interesting; this also applies to the CD with *solo piano works*.

Among Respighi´s works are also two string quartets and orchestral songs, but I can´t say that I know them well yet.


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## hespdelk

I second the violin concerto - to my taste the best recording I've found of the work is this one:










Some of the others out there, which I shall refrain from mentioning, leave much to be desired. :lol: They don't do the work justice.

I am not familiar with the Jenny Abel recording - I will have to try and track this down.


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## hespdelk

Thinking of the Respighi violin concerto the last day or so I came across this version on Youtube:
















Soloist Carmencita Lozada with the Hannover Radio Orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Balzer. I was not aware of this version, and very much like what I am hearing. I tried to see if there was a cd available but could find nothing...


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## Nix

Weston said:


> I listened to "The Pines of Rome" at work this week for the first time in many years. Parts of it made me wonder.
> 
> About 8 to 9 minutes into it, maybe in the second section, I hear what sounds like blues riffs in strings. I think they could be in fifths even, It sounds so much like how we would expect an orchestra backing a pop band today would sound - very familiar. But this must have been a radical and strange sound in the 20's or 30's or whenever it was written.


I think I know what your talking about, and after 3 years I can provide a reply to your post! The strings at that moment are supposed to resemble gregorian chant- before 'parallel 5ths' were in the equation of things not to do. The movement takes place in the catacombs, so I guess he wanted ancient music for an ancient setting.


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## joen_cph

Hadn´t heard of the Lozada recoring of the violin concerto posted above. It perfectly illustrates potential differences in classical recordings of the same work: Jenny Abel plays it in 28:52, as opposed to Lozadas 33´ ! There´s even another one on you-tube lasting 34:42. However, judging from the short excerpts I just heard of Lozada I think I´ll give it a try also.

The often repeated relationship between Respighi and the Fascists (mentioned earlier in this thread also) has been revised by historians, cf. also the current wikipedia-article: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottorino_Respighi

and the conductor Adriano´s views published in a letter on MusicWeb, as president of the Respighi Society (2000).


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## GraemeG

While we're answering three-year-old questions, let's continue.
The original nightingale recording was some ancient RCA disc (from the 1930s, obviously) which Resphighi actually lists in the score. I guess all through the second half of the century some kind of gramophone LP was played within the orchestra.
I played in a performance about 3 years ago; our precussionist had a PC with speaker set up at the back of the orchestra, so she opened a suitable "nightingale singing" file then turned up the volume when the conductor indicated, and down aging at the finish.
I'm sure that's what would happen at professional recordings these days - there's no need to overlay sound in the post-production stage.

On the other hand, when you hire the orchestra parts of "An American in Paris", you'd better make sure the score comes with the tuned taxi horns. They're not easy to find otherwise...
GG


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## Lunasong

I'm currently listening to my newly acquired Roman Trilogy CD which I purchased after hearing _Feste Romana_ on the radio. If I had ever heard this work before it did not stick, but it certainly did this time! I had to own it. I love the use of the brass.

I didn't feel so bad that I wasn't familiar with the piece after reading that it is the least programmed of the three. I'm intrigued that Respighi wrote parts for buccina, which is one of those obsolete "ancestor" instruments. I found the following information on the buccina: (this link also contains info on other Roman instruments).

_The buccina was a kind of horn-trumpet, anciently made out of a shell. In later times it was carved from horn, and perhaps from wood or metal, so as to imitate the shell. The buccina was curved for the convenience of the performer, with a very wide mouth, to diffuse and increase the sound. The buccina was chiefly used to proclaim the watches of the day and of the night. It was also blown at funerals, and at festive entertainments both before and after sitting down for meals. The musician who played the buccina was called buccinator._

The buccinator muscle is in the cheeks and thus probably an important element of the brass embouchure, and etymologically derived from the same root as the instrument.

For further amusement and information, I'm providing a link to comic strip use of the buccina, cornu, and other Roman brass instruments in _Asterix_ as collected and explained by Daniel A. Russell.








http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Asterix/02-RomanBrass.html
_The buccina was similar to the cornu, except that it had a slightly smaller bore and a more flared bell opening at the end. The buccina was used to signal changes of watch during the night, wake up calls and for announcing mealtimes. Buccina players were not as high ranking as the soldiers who played tuba/trumpet or cornu - in addition to their musical responsibilities they also had to dig graves and cut wood._

The buccine parts in _Pini di Roma_ and _Feste Romana_ are now typically played by trumpet or flugelhorn. I think a soprano trombone, if available, would also have a nice sound.


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## Lunasong

It's appropriate to note this time of year the lovely quotation of _Veni, veni, Emmanuel_ in "The Gift of the Magi" Trittico Botticelliano (Three Botticelli Pictures).


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## neoshredder

Listening to the Birds. Sounds like something from Handel at the beginning. It definitely leads into Late Romantic sounding after that. Very nice.


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## Blancrocher

I just read a good review essay on MusicWeb by Ian Lace, called "The Ballet World of Respighi." I am posting it in particular because I know some members are interested in the influence of Russian music in Europe. As has been mentioned in this thread, Respighi trained for half a year with Rimsky-Korsakov and was fluent in Russian; those interested in the Russian flavor of his output may like to seek out seldom-heard gems like "The Magic Pot," which abounds in allusions to Russian composers (



). Like so many composers, he seems to have had difficulties with the practicalities of staging his works, including the limitations of his dancers: at least he was able to get his revenge by composing a work for puppets--"it was a joy to work with actors one could pack away into a box after rehearsal, so that they could not bother one with complaints and gossip, as their flesh and blood colleagues do!" In any case, the review mentions several not-quite-famous cds that I think are worth exploring.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/respighi/ballet.htm

While I'm here, I'll also mention a popular disk that has brought me a lot of pleasure, since none of the works on it have been mentioned in this thread: The Brodsky Quartet and Anne Sofie von Otter in the Quartetto dorico, String Quartet in D major, and Il tramonto (which sets poetry by P.B. Shelley).









There is a lot of stellar competition for the latter masterpiece, of course.


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## Rhythm

Blancrocher said:


> ...I am posting it in particular because I know some members are interested in the influence of Russian music in Europe. As has been mentioned in this thread, Respighi trained for half a year with Rimsky-Korsakov and was fluent in Russian; those interested in the Russian flavor of his output may like to seek out seldom-heard gems like "The Magic Pot," which abounds in allusions to Russian composers (
> 
> 
> 
> ). ...


Thanks! I'm listening at this moment, and, before sitting again, I had removed myself from this desk chair so moving around to the music was  motivating. La Pentola magica is just that kind of music for a quiet Saturday morning. Oh, and I just heard the celesta, too.

Back to topic. 
R.


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## techniquest

The Rome trilogy is wonderful and hugely under-appreciated. Each poem is a showpiece for the orchestra. One of the best recordings - if a little bright - is that by the RPO under Enrique Batiz on Naxos


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## Marschallin Blair

> hespdelk: Thinking of the Respighi violin concerto the last day or so I came across this version on Youtube:







03:20-03:50 in that first movement is pure exaltation. I'll get the cd just for that. The sound quality is stellar. I've never even seen this cd. Thanks for posting it.


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## kennethray

Lang said:


> I love the music of Respighi, but somehow I have never been able to reconcile it with his politics.


I feel the same way about the poetry of Ezra Pound.

To keep myself on topic, you folks have got me looking into other works - and recordings - of Respighi's besides Ancient Airs and Dances (Ozawa/Boston) and Pines of Rome (Muti/Philadelphia). Thanks!


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## joen_cph

Am currently digging a bit into the Naxos series with *Malipiero*´s (many) symphonies (formerly on Marco Polo). They can be quite similar to Respighi at times. 
The 3rd Symphony, Sinfonia del Mare


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## Xaltotun

the_unexpected said:


> I would *highly* recommend (especially to anyone enjoying the Pines of Rome, and presumably the climax of the finale - Pines of the Appian Way) Respighi's Church Windows suite, the finale of which contains what is (in my humble opinion) one of the grandest climaxes in classical music, and the other movements are just as enjoyable to me. The recording I have is conducted by Lopez-Cobos with the Cincinnati Symphony ($8.99 on Amazon), although there are other recordings available. As others have said, the Ancient Airs and Dances are superbly arranged and orchestrated! A master talent sadly unrecognized!


Thank you very much for this tip, I listened to the Church Windows and found it immediately satisfying, perhaps a bit vulgar but so tasty that I don't care. My admiration for Respighi sure went up!


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## R3PL4Y

I have been listening to a lot of Respighi recently, and I have found that he caters to one of my favorite things in music which is modes. I also really enjoy his colorful orchestration and rhythmic vitality. Really an underrated composer, and there is a lot more to him than just the Pines of Rome. I have recently been listening to the Metamorphoseon and the ballet Belkis and both are really interesting pieces that deserve to be heard more than they are.


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## Rogerx

^^^^
View attachment 103996

May I recommend you this disc, it's just released and the recording is awesome.


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## MusicSybarite

Thanks for the reminder. Respighi is a hell of composer, somewhat underrated, yet he's being recognized much more nowadays for our fortune. One of the best orchestrators ever, many works are proof of it (Roman Trilogy, Metamorphoseon, Vetrate di Chiesa, Sinfonia Drammatica, Impressioni Brasiliane, Belkis, La Boutique Fantasque, Études tableaux arranged from the Rachmaninov's pieces, Rossiniana, etc.). Even in smaller ensembles his masterful handle of instruments is not less than magical and effective (Trittico Botticelliano, Gli Uccelli, Toccata, Suites on ancient airs and dances, Lauda per la nativitá del Signore, among others). I know most of his orchestral works, so I need to pay attention to the chamber ones and the vocal output.

Talking about Belkis, this is seriously pure fire! I only know the stupendous suite, not the whole ballet, which unfortunately has speaker parts.

This work (at least the suite) has to be one of the most THRILLING pieces I know. Simply fantastic, spellbinding, exuberant, exotic, with an indisputably impeccable orchestration. All in all, Belkis can raise the spirit even the most depressed person 

Here there are two recordings I like very much:

Geoffrey Simon has been a great conductor of Respighi's works






And this one, a live concert at the Proms:


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## Merl

One of my favourite Respighi discs.


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## R3PL4Y

Belkis is really a great ballet. The entire thing is about 80 minutes, but has not been recorded. Respighi was also working on a second suite from the opera at his death, but did not finish it. I don't know how extensive the speaker parts are; some ballets which have these the spoken dialogue is very minimal. I would be very interested in hearing the complete ballet.


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## R3PL4Y

Belkis is really a great ballet. The entire thing is about 80 minutes, but has not been recorded. Respighi was also working on a second suite from the opera at his death, but did not finish it. I don't know how extensive the speaker parts are; some ballets which have these the spoken dialogue is very minimal. I would be very interested in hearing the complete ballet.


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## MusicSybarite

Actually, it does exist a recording (a blu-ray one) which has the entire ballet.









I wish I had the ballet on an audio CD, though.


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## Andante Largo

His other great works:
Poema autunnale, for violin & orchestra, P. 146 (1925) 





Concerto a cinque





Suite in G Major for String Orchestra and Organ, P. 58 (1905)


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## Allegro Con Brio

I know this sounds rather strange, but one of the very first classical pieces I ever heard that wasn't solo piano was Respighi's Violin Sonata. It struck me as positively heavenly. He's somewhat of a fond composer for me due to that.


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## Strange Magic

One of the great ''Might-Have-Beens" of Respighi is the marvelous piece that could have resulted from a vigorous pruning/editing of his Concerto in Modo Misolidio, the work I have read that Respighi considered his best ever. It has many remarkable and beautiful moments, but suffers badly from _longueurs_ IMHO that, if corrected by a sympathetic composer/editor, could result in a thing of strange beauty.


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## MusicSybarite

Strange Magic said:


> One of the great ''Might-Have-Beens" of Respighi is the marvelous piece that could have resulted from a vigorous pruning/editing of his Concerto in Modo Misolidio, the work I have read that Respighi considered his best ever. It has many remarkable and beautiful moments, but suffers badly from _longueurs_ IMHO that, if corrected by a sympathetic composer/editor, could result in a thing of strange beauty.


I agree. Somewhat prosaic work. The 3rd movement appears to be the best of that piece, though.


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## MusicSybarite

Andante Largo said:


> His other great works:
> Poema autunnale, for violin & orchestra, P. 146 (1925)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Concerto a cinque
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Suite in G Major for String Orchestra and Organ, P. 58 (1905)


I'm not familiar with the Concerto a cinque, the other two are so lovely, mostly the achingly beautiful Poema autunnale. It's like the Italian The Lark Ascending.


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## Art Rock

Wednesday before I went to sleep, I changed the CD in the player. Thursday morning, for the life of me, I could not remember what I had selected, and I did not see a CD box lying around. I decided to turn it into a challenge and see whether I could identify it just by listening. I could not. My notes were: symphony, late romantic influences and also some modernism, around 1920, central Europe. I liked it. A lot. So at the end, I pressed the eject button to find it was Respighi's Sinfonia Drammatica from 1914.


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## Dirge

Ottorino RESPIGHI: *Quartetto Dorico* (1924)
:: Barylli Quartet [Westminster '54]




:: Brodsky Quartet [Challenge '00]





Quartetto Dorico is doggedly based on a single theme in the Dorian mode that's presented in organ-like unison at the very outset, and the work in general has an ancient, quasi-religious atmosphere that occasionally brings to mind, however tenuously, the concertino passages of Vaughan Williams's _Tallis Fantasia_, the Adagio of Rodrigo's _Concierto de Aranjuez_, and even parts of "Pini presso una catacomba" of Respighi's own _Pini di Roma_ (which was composed the same year). The work is cast in a continuous 20-minute span and divides naturally into four sections/movements: i. Energico - ii. Allegro moderato (scherzo) - iii. Elegiaco (adagio) - iv. Moderato energico (passacaglia). It's an earnest and ascetic work by Respighi's standards, with every element seemingly designed to further the evolution and development of the music in as focused and elegant a way as possible. While the use of the Dorian theme provides an intrinsic ancient underpinning to the proceedings, the work is otherwise rather modern and Romantic in conception. The theme is thoroughly morphed, manipulated, and recast in different moods and atmospheres throughout, being forceful and strident one moment, sweeping and lyrical the next. There's a fair amount of counterpoint to found, most notably in the fugato of the Scherzo and the passacaglia of the Finale, but elsewhere as well. Quartetto Dorico's detractors complain that there's not enough musical substance to go around and that the music is often too sparing and a bit monotonous-I prefer to think of it as nobly economical and austere-but most concede that what's there is well conceived and craftily forged.

I've heard eight or nine recordings of Quartetto Dorico over the years, with the two listed striking me as the most convincing and compelling in their different ways. The high-strung Barylli Quartet brings a trenchant, highly wrought (some might say overwrought) intensity and pioneering sense of purpose and occasion to the table that's very much to my overwrought and pioneering taste. Unfortunately, the old mono recording is close-up and a bit thin and raw, verging on aggressive and edgy/strident. The more composed Brodsky Quartet is richly (almost thickly) recorded and captures the work's ancient modal/quasi-religious atmosphere especially well, and the group's rich corporate tone and suave/seductive phrasing are a balm to the ear, but trenchancy and inner tension are not quite what they might be. (I'm a glutton for trenchancy and inner tension, so a perceived shortage of either bothers me far more than it would a normal, well-adjusted listener.) Most listeners are understandably seduced by the sheer beauty and evocative atmosphere of the Brodsky account and tend to favor it, but I lean toward the Barylli.


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## leonsm

Concerto Gregoriano, Vetrati de Chiesa, Sinfonia Drammatica, Violin Sonata, the Roman Trilogy, Trittico botticelliano, Ancient Airs, Concerto a cinque (what a adagio!), are all amazing.


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## philoctetes

Been probing the obscure Respighi and discovered the Sinfonia Drammatica... this seems to combine the dreaminess of the Botticelliana with the intellectual excursions of Modo Misolido. Neschling's recordings on BIS are really nice. Respighi has many faces and hits on many levels.


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## Plague

Respighi also did some orchestral transcriptions:

















I very much like his Chaconne for Violin, Organ and Strings after Vitali:


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## philoctetes

The all-organ program seems well performed and engineered...


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