It is no exaggeration to say that Italy's role in contemporary music was not as brilliant and influential as in other periods. However, from the generation of the eighties of the 19th century onwards, Italian music did indeed participate in the renewal of musical language and, thanks to the knowledge of its past (which is no small thing), musicians were able to break new ground in the search for new paths. Among these composers – contemporaries of the French musicians who reacted against Germanic post-romanticism (Debussy, Satie, Ravel, to name a few) – Ottorino Respighi stands out as the most famous worldwide among his Italian colleagues.
The "Roman" trilogy
In his early thirties, Respighi settled in Rome after taking over, in 1913, the post of teacher of composition at the Accademia Santa Cecilia. The academy would soon become the Conservatory of Rome, and Ottorino would be appointed director of the prestigious institution in 1924. Seduced by the Roman musical life and the remarkable landscape of the city, he decided, during the first year of his administration, to resume his tribute to the eternal city with the composition of the tone poem Pines of Rome, a tribute that had begun in 1916 with Fontana di Roma, and that would culminate with Feste Romane, in 1928.
Pini di Roma
Although in close competition with Fontana... it is the most popular work of the trilogy, and certainly the one that arouses the greatest enthusiasm of the orchestral ensembles of the world. It had its premiere, not without a few setbacks, on December 14, 1924, in Rome.
The theater was packed, but Respighi sensed that the audience would soon be disappointed in the first movement. And indeed there was a considerable whistling at the end of the first section, not at all surprising since the trumpets insist with clatter on a discordant note, completely alien to the tonality in progress [minute 2:31 and later]. In the second movement, the orchestra calmed down, and so did the audience, although it remained intrigued by the development of the work. A resounding ovation greeted the end of the piece.
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| Ottorino Respighi, in 1935 1879 - 1936 |
Although in close competition with Fontana... it is the most popular work of the trilogy, and certainly the one that arouses the greatest enthusiasm of the orchestral ensembles of the world. It had its premiere, not without a few setbacks, on December 14, 1924, in Rome.
The theater was packed, but Respighi sensed that the audience would soon be disappointed in the first movement. And indeed there was a considerable whistling at the end of the first section, not at all surprising since the trumpets insist with clatter on a discordant note, completely alien to the tonality in progress [minute 2:31 and later]. In the second movement, the orchestra calmed down, and so did the audience, although it remained intrigued by the development of the work. A resounding ovation greeted the end of the piece.
Movements
Aware that Italian audiences have always been more inclined to opera than to instrumental music, the author included some "explanatory" notes in the hand program, for each of the sections. The following is a synopsis:
00 I Pini di Villa Borghese
Children play around the pines of the Villa Borghese [the opulent mansion of the conspicuous 17th-century Roman family]; they dance in circles, they play at being soldiers, marching and fighting, they come and go in flocks. Suddenly, the scene changes and...
2:50 Pini presso una Catacomba
... we see the shadows of the pine trees framing the entrance to a catacomb. From the depths emerges the sound of a funeral psalm, floating in the air like a solemn hymn, which gradually and mysteriously begins to dissipate.
... we see the shadows of the pine trees framing the entrance to a catacomb. From the depths emerges the sound of a funeral psalm, floating in the air like a solemn hymn, which gradually and mysteriously begins to dissipate.
9:94 I Pini del Gianicolo
The air shivers: The pines of the Gianicolo [Rome's hill from which the best views of the city are enjoyed] can be seen outlined by the clear light of the full moon. A nightingale sings... [The score calls for the inclusion of birdsong, real, recorded... innovation that became prophetic].
The air shivers: The pines of the Gianicolo [Rome's hill from which the best views of the city are enjoyed] can be seen outlined by the clear light of the full moon. A nightingale sings... [The score calls for the inclusion of birdsong, real, recorded... innovation that became prophetic].
18:27 I Pini della Via Appia
Misty dawn on the Via Appia: the solitary pines are guardians of the magical landscape; the insistent rhythm of countless footsteps can be heard. The poet has a fantastic vision of past glories: trumpets sound and, in the brightness of the new radiant sun, a consular army is gradually approaching the sacred Via, heading triumphantly towards the Capitol...
Critics have often called Respighi ultra-conservative, among other less-than-warm epithets. But audiences love it. That's what ultimately matters.
The performance is by the Slovenian ensemble, Gimnazija Kranj Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro Nejc Bečan.
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