Ottorino Respighi(1879-1936)

Started by Dundonnell, May 12, 2009, 04:05:50 AM

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Scarpia

I enjoy the Pines of Rome, especially the final movement.  But I have to say that I have found almost every other piece by Respighi that I've heard a disappointment.

vandermolen

Quote from: Mirror Image on September 26, 2010, 07:01:36 AM

Simon's recording of Bloch's Sacred Service is very beautiful indeed. I, too, think Simon is an underrated conductor.

By the way, like the Myaskovsky avatar.  8)

OT

Thank you  :) - probably my favourite photo of the great man.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

anasazi

Besides the more famous compositions, I'm kind of fascinated by Respighi's compositions that are somewhat loosely based on painting or in one case: stained glass.  CHURCH WINDOWS and the BOTICELLI PICTURES.  Both among my favorites.  I did own a copy of that Reference Recording CD at one time, but never found it quite to my taste.  I kind of wish that old Ormandy Columbia album would see new light on a CD some day.  For now, I have contented myself with the Telarc CD (Corboz/Cincinatti Orchestra).

Being a (very) amateurish pianist, I have the Dover pub. collection of Respighi's Ancient Airs (some of them, although I understand they were all originally written for the keyboard) and Thee Gregorian Pieces (two of which were later orchestrated and became part of Church Windows).  These are all frightfully difficult and I doubt I will ever play any of them well, but it is interesting to look inside of some of these works.  Respighi, being a particularly good pianist, wrote really very difficult piano music. 


Wanderer

Quote from: drogulus on September 26, 2010, 07:21:34 AM
     The Autumn Poem on the RR Church Windows disc reminds me of The Lark Ascending. It's a terrific disc to learn about Respighi minus pines & fountains. This pic was supposed to be in an earlier post but vanished somehow.

     

   

I can vouch for this disc, as well. An impressive rendition of the mighty Vetrate di chiesa (soundwise, too); the Poema autunnale is appropriately wistful and serene.

abidoful

It seems that much of his works are still unpublished---particularly the early works. I just found out that he has  A PIANO SONATA (in f-minor)---i looked it from amazon listened a clip and sounded just terrific :o :o :o :o

Rinaldo

Oh, Respighi, where have you been all my life?

A strong renaissance / baroque melody makes me swoon so I went absolutely bonkers when I first sampled the Ancient Airs & Dances. And when I say "bonkers", I mean "bought the overpriced Mercury Living SACD even though I've yet to buy a SACD player (but definitely will)".

[asin]B0000057LF[/asin]
Glorious recording! I'll be eating rice all month but I don't mind! The strings are perhaps too sharp for someone's ears but I love the way it makes the music jump out of the speakers and into my living room. Karajan's 3rd suite on DG is more lyrical and perhaps suits the melancholy of the piece better but hey, it's Ancient Airs & Dances and Dorati w/ Philharmonia Hungarica certainly makes me DANCE!

Lisztianwagner

#26
I really like Respighi too; his music is very thrilling and overwhelming, and shows a brilliant, colourful orchestration, great intensity and a high, beautiful harmony  :)

My favourite Respighi's works are Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome, Roman Festivals,  Ancient Airs and Dances, Church Windows, The Piano Concerto, the Nocturne, Concerto in modo misolidio and Botticelli Triptych.

Ilaria
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

The new erato

Quote from: Rinaldo on August 07, 2011, 01:38:10 AM
Oh, Respighi, where have you been all my life?

A strong renaissance / baroque melody makes me swoon so I went absolutely bonkers when I first sampled the Ancient Airs & Dances. And when I say "bonkers", I mean "bought the overpriced Mercury Living SACD even though I've yet to buy a SACD player (but definitely will)".

[asin]B0000057LF[/asin]
Glorious recording! I'll be eating rice all month but I don't mind! The strings are perhaps too sharp for someone's ears but I love the way it makes the music jump out of the speakers and into my living room. Karajan's 3rd suite on DG is more lyrical and perhaps suits the melancholy of the piece better but hey, it's Ancient Airs & Dances and Dorati w/ Philharmonia Hungarica certainly makes me DANCE!
Overpriced it ain't no more:


vandermolen

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on September 11, 2011, 01:33:57 PM
I really like Respighi too; his music shows a brilliant, colourful orchestration, great intensity and a high, beautiful harmony  :)

My favourite Respighi's works are Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome, Roman Festivals,  Ancient Airs and Dances, Concerto in modo misolidio and Botticelli Triptych.

Ilaria
You might also like the Concerto Gregoriano and Church Windows -but maybe you know them already.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: vandermolen on September 11, 2011, 01:50:44 PM
You might also like the Concerto Gregoriano and Church Windows -but maybe you know them already.

Yes, I already know them, they're both excellent pieces; anyway thanks for your suggestion  :)

Ilaria
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

Rinaldo

Quote from: The new erato on September 11, 2011, 01:38:26 PM
Overpriced it ain't no more:


Is that SACD? The standard Mercury CD was 10$ but the SACD jumps to 74$.

Cato

#31
A few years ago, the Toledo Symphony (GMG member "Toledobass" i.e. Allan plays the double bass for them) performed the Pines of Rome with a 70-member drum-and-bugle corps sliently marching into the hall toward the end as the ghostly Roman army, and then playing along with the orchestra!

Talk about SurroundSound!  They lined the aisles, the sides, etc., and the effect was awesome, dudes!

They are repeating this in January: if you have the time and money, go to Toledo, which also has one of the greatest art collections in America at the Toledo Museum of Art in the same building as the orchestra's home, the Peristyle.

See:

http://www.toledosymphony.com/performances/2010-2011-Season/Classics/ClassicsIV.html
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

The new erato

Quote from: Rinaldo on September 12, 2011, 09:07:27 AM
Is that SACD? The standard Mercury CD was 10$ but the SACD jumps to 74$.
Probably not.

John Copeland

Quote from: vandermolen on September 25, 2010, 11:35:49 PM
I think that Geoffrey Simon is underrated as a conductor, his 'Sacred Service' by Bloch is my favourite version (out of 6  :o). The 'Poem Autumnal' by Respighi is another favourite of mine.

Yes.  Some years ago (!!) you kindly sent me a Chandos release of Geoffrey Simon and the PO, Respighi, Church Windows and Brazilian Impressions, neither works I had heard before.  I have listened many times.  It is certainly not conducted without foresight, the music is beautifully portrayed by Simon.

madaboutmahler

Respighi is amazing! What a brilliant, imaginative orchestrator he was!  I think he wrote some of the most thrilling music ever written, the finale to Feste Romane, or the War Dance from Belkis for examples. And I can not think of many pieces that are more powerful than the end to Pini di Roma. Absolutely great music!
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Mirror Image

#35
Quote from: madaboutmahler on November 07, 2011, 10:19:28 AM
Respighi is amazing! What a brilliant, imaginative orchestrator he was!  I think he wrote some of the most thrilling music ever written, the finale to Feste Romane, or the War Dance from Belkis for examples. And I can not think of many pieces that are more powerful than the end to Pini di Roma. Absolutely great music!

I was bitten by the Respighi bug years ago, but the one work that really made me a Respighi fan was Church Windows. This is such a powerful work. The crescendos will blow your socks off! It also contained many beautiful, lyrical moments. Many people like the Roman Trilogy and I don't fault them for liking it, but there's much more to enjoy from this composer.

Christo

Always good to consider the "10 personally favorite works" and desert island choice as listed by Respighi's fiercest champion, Swish conductor Adriano, in an interview with him on the occasion of the 75th year of Respighi's death, from last April: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Apr11/Adriano_interview.htm

1. La campana sommersa
2. Metamorfoseon
3. La primavera
4. La Fiamma
5. Concerto in modo misolidio
6. Concerto gregoriano
7. Il tramonto
8. La sensitiva
9. Quartetto dorico
10. Fontane di Roma

Speaking for myself: I didn't listen to the operas enough (Nos. 1 and 4), though I love his Maria Egiziaca, but I would endorse Nos. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10.  Conclusion: I should pay more attention to La sensitiva :-) and would like to add Trittico botticelliano, Lauda per la nativitá del Signore and the Belfagor Overture myself.  8)
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on September 11, 2011, 01:33:57 PM
I really like Respighi too; his music is very thrilling and overwhelming, and shows a brilliant, colourful orchestration, great intensity and a high, beautiful harmony  :)

My favourite Respighi's works are Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome, Roman Festivals,  Ancient Airs and Dances, Church Windows, The Piano Concerto, the Nocturne, Concerto in modo misolidio and Botticelli Triptych.

Ilaria

I've dived into a Respighi phase this week, he definitely became one of my favourite composers :)
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

Mirror Image

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on September 11, 2011, 01:33:57 PM
I really like Respighi too; his music is very thrilling and overwhelming, and shows a brilliant, colourful orchestration, great intensity and a high, beautiful harmony  :)

My favourite Respighi's works are Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome, Roman Festivals,  Ancient Airs and Dances, Church Windows, The Piano Concerto, the Nocturne, Concerto in modo misolidio and Botticelli Triptych.

Ilaria

What do you think about Belkis, Queen of Sheba, Ilaria? I think this is a fine work as well. The War Dance, in particular, is absolutely fantastic.

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: Mirror Image on November 07, 2011, 11:59:02 AM
What do you think about Belkis, Queen of Sheba, Ilaria? I think this is a fine work as well. The War Dance, in particular, is absolutely fantastic.

I agree, it's a very beautiful and impressive work; what a pity Respighi is mainly known just for the Roman Trilogy, he composed many other outstanding pieces! :) About Belkis, Queen of Sheba, the War Dance is my favourite part as well, really harmonic and powerful :)
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler