Ottorino Respighi is one of those musicians who in his time gave a huge boost to music without having been monumental figures themselves like the great masters. Born in Bologna, Italy, in 1879, he took his first steps in the art of music at the hands of his father, a piano teacher. Then he will enter the Liceo Musicale in his hometown, where he will study violin, viola and composition. A year after receiving his diploma in 1899, he traveled to Russia to perform as a principal violist at the Imperial Russian Theater in Saint Petersburg, where he met Rimsky-Kórsakov, of whom he was also a student.
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First violin and composer
During the first decade of the twentieth century, Ottorino stood out primarily as a performer, forming part of a famous quintet in which he took the position of the first violin. In the second decade of the century, he added composing to his activity as a performer.
In 1913, when his compositions began to attract attention, he was appointed professor of composition at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia, in Florence, a position he held for a short time, although he will remain in the city for the rest of his days.
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| Ottorino Respighi (1879 - 1936) |
For a long time, Respighi's work was considered music of little value, even vulgar, strident and indebted to other minds. Furthermore, his most recognized work, the trilogy of "Roman" symphonic poems – which stands out as I Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome), a remarkable composition for its surprising orchestral effects – was associated with Mussolini's fascism, accusing Ottorino, in passing, of support the fascist regime.
The truth is that the composer, in addition to being shy, was not interested in politics at all. His world was simply made up of music alone. However, the celebrations for the centenary of his birth, in 1979, faced strong political opposition. It has only been since 1986, for the commemoration of the 50 years of his birth, that things have begun to change, leading the composer and his music to an honored place.
An early work - Six pieces for violin and piano
Ottorino Respighi was also a musicologist. In this vein, he studied in depth Italian musicians from the 16th to the 18th centuries, rescuing compositions by authors such as Marcello, Vivaldi, Monteverdi, and publishing their works, as well. For this reason, some of his early compositions are strongly influenced by baroque authors, or are perhaps tinged with a late romanticism. This is the case, in our opinion, of the Notturno, from his Six Pieces for Violin and Piano, published between 1901 and 1906, later transcribed for solo piano.
Notturne, for piano solo, in the rendition (audio only) of the Armenian pianist Sergei Babayan.
