Alfredo Casella(1883-1947)

[Mirror Image]

Thanks John

I am definitely going to buy that recording of the 3rd symphony, but I was wondering, is this one worth is as well? Especially considering it is so inexpensive?

[asin]B004YJZ8CI[/asin]

And also,
I noticed Noseda had made a recording of the 2nd symphony, do you think/know that Noseda will be continuing a Casella cycle?

Daniel,

The Naxos series is very good. I think, however, I prefer Alun Francis's performance of the Symphony No. 3 over the La Vecchia. I also think the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra have a much warmer sound and are captured in better sonics than the Naxos recording. My suggestion is buy the Alun Francis recording on CPO.

[The new erato]

I also prefer the Chandos 2nd over the Naxos equivalent. Still hoping Chandos will do all 3.

[vandermolen]

He has been one of the discoveries of 2011 for me. I really liked Symphony No 2 and look forward to investigating No 3. Good for Naxos! (and Chandos).

[Dundonnell]

Daniel,

The Naxos series is very good. I think, however, I prefer Alun Francis's performance of the Symphony No. 3 over the La Vecchia. I also think the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra have a much warmer sound and are captured in better sonics than the Naxos recording. My suggestion is buy the Alun Francis recording on CPO.

Get both    for the reason I stated earlier-with the Naxos you get the Elegia Eroica.

[madaboutmahler]

Thank you for your feedback.

Get both    for the reason I stated earlier-with the Naxos you get the Elegia Eroica.

Probably shall do that

Noseda will be recording more Casella, apparently, including the Concerto for Orchestra.

Colin, do you know when?

[Dundonnell]

Noseda has already recorded the Concerto for Orchestra. He told this to a member of another forum who spoke to him in August this year. At that time the couplings had not been decided though.

[madaboutmahler]

Noseda has already recorded the Concerto for Orchestra. He told this to a member of another forum who spoke to him in August this year. At that time the couplings had not been decided though.

Excellent! Am I correct in thinking that this will be the premiere recording of the Concerto for Orchestra? Do any of you know it?

[Dundonnell]

Excellent! Am I correct in thinking that this will be the premiere recording of the Concerto for Orchestra? Do any of you know it?

Yes and No are the answers from me

I do know that it was composed in 1932 which makes it one of the earliest Concertos for Orchestra after those by Hindemith(1925), Szeligowski(1930) and Malipiero(1931; strictly speaking his was titled  'Concerti').

[The new erato]

I always tend to think of the Brandenburgs as the first concertoes for orchestra. If not in name, at least in practice.

[madaboutmahler]

Yes and No are the answers from me

I do know that it was composed in 1932 which makes it one of the earliest Concertos for Orchestra after those by Hindemith(1925), Szeligowski(1930) and Malipiero(1931; strictly speaking his was titled  'Concerti').

Fascinating.

I always tend to think of the Brandenburgs as the first concertoes for orchestra. If not in name, at least in practice.

If we are talking about 'concertos for orchestra' in 'practice' then there would certainly be plenty before the 20th century, Rimsky Korsakov's Sheherezade came straight into mind!

[Parsifal]

I've had an interest in Casella since getting the discs from the cpo series years ago.  Recently got this relatively new release and find the Concerto for Orchestra very engaging.

[asin]B007KWD6K2[/asin]

Looking forward to volume 3 of the Chandos series, obviously.

[kyjo]

New Casella recording on the horizon:



http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573180

From the Naxos website:

Both Alfredo Casella and Giorgio Federico Ghedini are featured in ongoing Naxos series of orchestral works, but this is the first release to couple the two of them. The pieces have much in common—not least, both are concertos using the rare combination of piano trio and orchestra, pioneered by Beethoven—but they are also beautifully contrasted. Casella wrote his Triple Concerto for his own Trio Italiano, who performed it five hundred times on three continents in less than a decade. Ghedini's Concerto dell'albatro adds the voice of a narrator to the piano trio and orchestra, evoking, in words from Herman Melville's sea story Moby-Dick, a remarkable encounter with an Antarctic albatross.

I'll definitely be snapping this one up once it comes out!

[pjme]

From Germany's Hessischer Rundfunk:

Noseda conducts Casella's second symphony!

http://youtube.com/v/KDslVGf7OTQ


P.

[snyprrr]

I don't know how much I'm liking Casella as compared with other Italians. Is he more Germanic sounding then? What do you recommend? The Naxos Series just sounds like "Symphony Music" to me- what's his quirkiest stuff? I have the enjoyable Serenade/Serenata...

[Symphonic Addict]

Too bad this composer's thread has too few activity. He's one of my favorites. I was listening to his Symphony No. 1 in B minor (Naxos recording). I'm not sure if this recording under La Vecchia is less polished than that on Chandos under Noseda, but I'm pretty sure this is a fantastic work full of poetry and drama, albeit not in a hysterical way, but more subdued. I could confirm it's a work of substance enough to consider it a work of a formidable accomplished young composer.

[ritter]

A great composer IMHO. A curious evolution and mix of influences: Fauré among his teachers, Debussy and Mahler among his idols (he even transcribed the Seventh Symphony of the latter for piano duet), and then the "return to the homeland" and the development of a personal and very engaging "Mediterranean neoclassicism".

It is his later work I admire the most, and most particularly the ballet La giara, which to me ranks among the very best pieces to come out of Italy in the first half if the 20th century. Music in which Sicilian folklore is elevated to unexpected heights, and a work that can stand comparison to similar endeavours such as Falla's Three-cornered Hat and the folk-inspired music of a Bartök or an Enesco. Of course, the whole creation of La giara meant it was bound to be something special: a Rolf de Maré production, with a scenario by Pirandello, sets by de Chirico, and music by Casella.

But there's other very rewarding works, like the Serenata op. 46 (in its chamber and orchestral versions), the Concerto for Orchestra, op. 61, the Triple Concerto, op. 56, and many more...

[vandermolen]

Too bad this composer's thread has too few activity. He's one of my favorites. I was listening to his Symphony No. 1 in B minor (Naxos recording). I'm not sure if this recording under La Vecchia is less polished than that on Chandos under Noseda, but I'm pretty sure this is a fantastic work full of poetry and drama, albeit not in a hysterical way, but more subdued. I could confirm it's a work of substance enough to consider it a work of a formidable accomplished young composer.

This recording made a big impression on me, especially the imposingly lugubrious opening of the Symphony - a fine disc:

[Symphonic Addict]

A great composer IMHO. A curious evolution and mix of influences: Fauré among his teachers, Debussy and Mahler among his idols (he even transcribed the Seventh Symphony of the latter for piano duet), and then the "return to the homeland" and the development of a personal and very engaging "Mediterranean neoclassicism".

It is his later work I admire the most, and most particularly the ballet La giara, which to me ranks among the very best pieces to come out of Italy in the first half if the 20th century. Music in which Sicilian folklore is elevated to unexpected heights, and a work that can stand comparison to similar endeavours such as Falla's Three-cornered Hat and the folk-inspired music of a Bartök or an Enesco. Of course, the whole creation of La giara meant it was bound to be something special: a Rolf de Maré production, with a scenario by Pirandello, sets by de Chirico, and music by Casella.

But there's other very rewarding works, like the Serenata op. 46 (in its chamber and orchestral versions), the Concerto for Orchestra, op. 61, the Triple Concerto, op. 56, and many more...

Very interesting to read, ritter. I was unaware of a Fauré influence on Casella. La Giara looks like a real treat to hear. You piqued my curiosity. Is there a recording of the full score? I only know a suite of it, but not the whole thing.

[Symphonic Addict]

This recording made a big impression on me, especially the imposingly lugubrious opening of the Symphony - a fine disc:

Yes, yes! Another firm favorite of mine. I like both Chandos and Naxos recording of it. And there is another recording which I haven't listened to it yet. This:

[ritter]

Very interesting to read, ritter. I was unaware of a Fauré influence on Casella. La Giara looks like a real treat to hear. You piqued my curiosity. Is there a recording of the full score? I only know a suite of it, but not the whole thing.

The only recording I know of the complete La giara I know of is this, on the small La Bottega Discantica label from Italy:



To be honest, though, La giara is one of the rare instances  in which the concert suite includes everything that is really worthwhile in the score and feels "complete" and fully coherent; the complete ballet doesn't really add that much more IMHO. For the suite, I'm very fond of the Christian Benda recording on Naxos (with tenor Marco Beasley really seductive in the vocal number, "La storia della fanciulla rapita dai pirati"). The vintage Decca recording conducted by Fernando Previtali (reissued in a great twofer by Australian Eloquence with other Italian music more or less from the same period) also made a very good impression on me when I first listened to it recently.