Respighi: Symphonic Poems

2010

“This Naxos disc is an extraordinary bargain; it would be recommendable at full price; in the super-bargain area it's unbeatable. It has such excitement and verve that you can accept an extra degree of brazen extroversion, indeed revel in it. In Roman Festivals the opening 'Circuses' is immensely spectacular, its character in the unfettered gladiatorial tradition of the Coliseum: the trumpets and drums are quite thrilling. The gossamer opening of 'The Jubilee' leads to the most dramatic climax. In the 'October Festival' the strings play their Latin soliloquy very exotically for Bátiz. The closing section brings a gentle mandolin serenade. The great clamour of the Epiphany celebrations which follow unleashes a riotous mêlée from the RPO, which sounds as if it's enjoying itself hugely, and the obvious affinity with the final fairground scene of Petrushka is all the more striking when the strings have that bit more bite.
The Pines and Fountains are also very fine. When the unison horns signal the turning on of the Triton Fountain, and the cascade splashes through the orchestra, the RPO unleashes a real flood. Yet the lovely, radiant evocation of the central movements of The Pines, and the sensuous Italian light of the sunset at the Villa Medici, are most sensitively realised by the RPO, and at the very beginning of the finale, 'The Pines of the Appian Way', the ever present sound, with its growling bass clarinet, gives a sinister implication of the advancing Roman might.”

Irish Evening Press

“I doubt if you'll find better performances in the catalogue.”