Alfredo Casella(1883-1947)

[kyjo]

Not sure if I had given Casella's Triple Concerto (1933) a listen before, but glad I did it today. This composer rarely disappoints, this is a terrific work where the piano, violin and cello are perfectly integrated in the musical discourse, hooking from the ominous introduction and as a whole features propulsive energy tinged with certain acerbic harmonic touches in the outer movements (even some mildly reminding of Hindemith), and as usual with him, the slow movement emphasizes the soulful very effectively. The recording below sounded rather fine to me. There are at least other two recordings of this piece, which is a good indication about how good it is.

Indeed, it's a very fine work! As with the accompanying Violin Concerto on that disc, the touching and contemplative slow movement is perhaps the highlight. In fact, I don't know a single work by Casella which manages to be less than impressive. A remarkably consistent composer in my book!

[pjme]

Casella's second symphony as performed by the Bucheon PhO in South Korea.

[kyjo]

Was recently listening to this exceedingly fine recording:



Though the three works here were all written within just 10 years of one another, they all sound remarkably different from one another! The Symphonic Fragments from the ballet Le couvent sur l'eau (1912-13) show the more good-natured, colorful side of Casella's personality. There's bustling energy galore in the first few movements, with freely-flowing lyricism to the fore in the more extended central movements, one of which features a soprano solo. The WWI-inspired Elegia eroica (1916) from just a few years later couldn't be more different - an expressionistic nightmare of a piece with an explosive opening that grabs the listener by the throat and doesn't let go until near the end of its 15-minute duration, when a simple, almost childlike theme is played by the flute in a most touching way. I do feel that the very ending of the work is a bit abrupt and unsatisfying, however.

(continued in next post because it won't let me post the whole thing at once for some reason...)

[kyjo]

(...continued from previous post)

And as for the Symphony No. 1 in B minor (1905-06), it's a wonderfully accomplished premiere symphonic statement that is bursting with high-voltage drama, colorful orchestration, and inspired melodic writing. Mahler is often cited as an influence on Casella's early style (which can be heard to some extent in his Second Symphony), but if anything the First Symphony is red-bloodedly Russian in temperament, with the occasional "operatic" turn of the phrase which hints that the work is indeed by an Italian. The piece is especially remarkable for its prominent and thrilling writing for the timpani, and the timpanist of the BBC Philharmonic clearly relishes his role with gusto (reminding me of the firebrand timpanist of The Philharmonia featured in N. Jarvi's recording of Taneyev 4). If the lyrical theme of the third movement bears a certain resemblance to the melody found in the trio section of the scherzo of Brahms' Piano Trio No. 1, well, I can forgive Casella since it's so beautiful! Casella has the confidence to end the symphony quietly at the end of its radiant coda.

Gianandrea Noseda deserves so much credit for not only promoting and recording so much fine forgotten Italian orchestral music, but also for interpreting it with so much insight and personality - and he gets the BBC Phil to pay like a truly world-class orchestra throughout the Chandos Casella series (which is preferable to the one on Naxos IMO).

[Symphonic Addict]

(...continued from previous post)

And as for the Symphony No. 1 in B minor (1905-06), it's a wonderfully accomplished premiere symphonic statement that is bursting with high-voltage drama, colorful orchestration, and inspired melodic writing. Mahler is often cited as an influence on Casella's early style (which can be heard to some extent in his Second Symphony), but if anything the First Symphony is red-bloodedly Russian in temperament, with the occasional "operatic" turn of the phrase which hints that the work is indeed by an Italian. The piece is especially remarkable for its prominent and thrilling writing for the timpani, and the timpanist of the BBC Philharmonic clearly relishes his role with gusto (reminding me of the firebrand timpanist of The Philharmonia featured in N. Jarvi's recording of Taneyev 4). If the lyrical theme of the third movement bears a certain resemblance to the melody found in the trio section of the scherzo of Brahms' Piano Trio No. 1, well, I can forgive Casella since it's so beautiful! Casella has the confidence to end the symphony quietly at the end of its radiant coda.

Gianandrea Noseda deserves so much credit for not only promoting and recording so much fine forgotten Italian orchestral music, but also for interpreting it with so much insight and personality - and he gets the BBC Phil to pay like a truly world-class orchestra throughout the Chandos Casella series (which is preferable to the one on Naxos IMO).

I love that symphony too. Interesting that Casella used the slow movement (which features a great melody) of that symphony in his second one. I think it's practically the same.