Romeo Cascarino (1922-2002)

Started by Oates, June 19, 2018, 03:29:47 AM

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Oates

Given the number of fans of Vaughan Williams, Moeran etc that are active on this forum I thought it worth dropping in the unlikely name of Romeo Cascarino, who produced a small body of very lush, atmospheric pastoral orchestral works that do compare with the RVW idiom despite Cascarino being from the United States. We have Naxos and JoAnn Falletta to thank for a gorgeous CD of premier recordings.

https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.559266

   

kyjo

Sounds right up my alley! This name somehow slipped under my radar...thanks for bringing him up!
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Oates

Yes, I think Cascarino is a name that slips under many a radar - his name sounds like he could be an Italian tenor or flamboyant conductor! The music is beautifully atmospheric, mostly calming and delicate but with powerful flourishes along the way. Inspired by literary works (Browning, Poe) and Greek myths. The CD makes me wish he'd composed more - its a slim but perfectly formed body of work. The CD notes quote his dismissal of atonal composers: "If they could write a melody, they would write a melody."

bhodges

Today Cascarino would have turned 100. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of interviewing his wife, and the result is this article for the public radio station WRTI, affiliated with Temple University. Anyone who enjoys the phrasing of Delius or Vaughan Williams will likely find pleasure here.

https://www.wrti.org/wrti-spotlight/2022-09-28/romeo-cascarino-at-100-remembering-a-self-taught-composer-dedicated-to-beauty

--Bruce

vandermolen

Quote from: Brewski on September 28, 2022, 03:33:53 AM
Today Cascarino would have turned 100. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of interviewing his wife, and the result is this article for the public radio station WRTI, affiliated with Temple University. Anyone who enjoys the phrasing of Delius or Vaughan Williams will likely find pleasure here.

https://www.wrti.org/wrti-spotlight/2022-09-28/romeo-cascarino-at-100-remembering-a-self-taught-composer-dedicated-to-beauty

--Bruce
I misread the opening of your post as 'Tony Cascarino' whom I remember as a professional footballer who played for Chelsea FC ::)
Actually, I did have one or two Cascarino CDs (Naxos) but I don't recall that they made much impression. I shall have to try again.
"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).

bhodges

Quote from: vandermolen on September 28, 2022, 04:53:46 AM
I misread the opening of your post as 'Tony Cascarino' whom I remember as a professional footballer who played for Chelsea FC ::)
Actually, I did have one or two Cascarino CDs (Naxos) but I don't recall that they made much impression. I shall have to try again.

Chuckling at 'Tony Cascarino'.  ;D (Who knows? Perhaps Romeo was a part-time footballer as well.)

His work will be an acquired taste for some. (I'm thinking of people who roll their eyes at Delius.) But then, what composer is for every day? When I'm craving Xenakis, I won't really be in the mood for Rachmaninoff, though I adore both composers.

--Bruce

vandermolen

#6
Quote from: Brewski on September 28, 2022, 05:46:43 AM
Chuckling at 'Tony Cascarino'.  ;D (Who knows? Perhaps Romeo was a part-time footballer as well.)

His work will be an acquired taste for some. (I'm thinking of people who roll their eyes at Delius.) But then, what composer is for every day? When I'm craving Xenakis, I won't really be in the mood for Rachmaninoff, though I adore both composers.

--Bruce

OK thanks. I'll give him another listen to when I come across the Naxos CD.

The 'Divertimento' on You Tube is very nice.
"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).

Scion7

When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

Scion7

When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."

bhodges

Quote from: Scion7 on September 29, 2022, 03:29:32 AM
http://www.kcstudio.com/cascarino2.html

^ interview

Thank you so much for unearthing this interview, which somehow did not show up in my research -- perhaps because of the age of the article. While some of the contents appear elsewhere (and/or were confirmed by his wife), others do not. This is the sole interview with him I have seen! (There really is not much available.) Given the time constraints for writing the piece (and length), it turned out fine, but I wish I could have inserted perhaps a few of Cascarino's own comments.

Appreciate your posting this, thanks again.

--Bruce

Scion7

He's not listed in my New Grove,
and I can't find a complete list of works anywhere.
He apparently wrote a considerable amount of chamber works and solo piano pieces  -  a bassoon sonata from a 1962 recording has been posted on YT (obviously not pristine vinyl.)
When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."