Respighi: Suite In E Major / Symphonic Variations / Burlesca

Description

Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)Suite in E major Variazioni sinfoniche Preludio, corale e fugaListening to the early orchestral works of Respighi allrecorded here for the first time, one would neversuppose the composer to have been Italian. They belongto the earlier period of Respighi's career, before thewater-shed of his development, which, in his ownjudgement, came at the age of 37, in 1916, the year ofFontane di Roma. If Respighi had lived no longer thanthis, posterity would have seen him as a very talentedBologna composer, a former pupil of the violinistFederico Sarti, of Luigi Torchi and, for composition, ofGiuseppe Martucci, with a predilection for a form ofmusic largely neglected at that time in Italy: thesymphonic. Bologna was, in fact, the centre of Germanorientedtendencies, and the whole musical atmosphereof the place, where Respighi, like Toscanini, served asorchestral players, exercised an influence on thecomposer that deserves further detailed treatment.Respighi had first studied German and Frenchcomposers even more seriously than he had the Italianmasters, writing music that contains more or less overttributes to the former, in, for example, sonatas, quartets,orchestral suites and songs. These works he eventuallyput on one side, but never destroyed, although very fewwere published in his life-time.Another very important influence on Respighi'searly symphonic work came from the Russian school. In1900-1 and 1902 he accepted a contract from theImperial Theatres of St Petersburg and the Bolshoy inMoscow as a viola-player for two seasons of Italianopera. This brought him an introduction to Rimsky-Korsakov, who immediately recognised his talent andgave him lessons over a period of five months. Inbetween his two stays in Russia, Respighi took acomposer's diploma at the Conservatory of Bolognawith his Preludio, corale e fuga, his second work for alarge symphony orchestra. Other important events inRespighi's early career include the two periods he spentin Berlin, in 1902 as an occasional and somewhatdissatisfied pupil of Max Bruch and in 1908 as a pianocoach in the singing-class of Etelka Gardini Gerster. In1913 he was appointed professor of composition at theLiceo di Santa Cecilia in Rome, where he remained untilhis death in 1936.Respighi had his Symphonic Variations performedfor the first time at the Bologna Conservatory on 24thJune 1900 and took the score with him to Russia, whereRimsky-Korsakov was favourably impressed by thework. Still neo-classical in form, the work gives theimpression of a tribute to the romanticism of CesarFranck and Brahms. It consists of a series ofpassacaglia-like variations, preceded by an introductionand the actual passacaglia theme in D minor,transformed, in various episodes, into a march, anadagio and a scherzo. The climax comes in a fugue,introduced by the organ, leading to a triumphantrestatement of the theme in D major. Already Respighishows a masterly command of writing for brass. Theorchestration includes