Respighi: Rossiniana

“This is a delightful collection of lesser-known Respighi... The melodic and freely rhapsodic Humoreske for violin and orchestra dates from 1903. It has all the elements of a concerto in miniature with a grateful part for the violin...A rare treat for Respighi fans. Engaging performances in very good sound. This recording is almost bound to be one of my CDs of 2008.” MusicWeb International

“no one beats Solti for sheer energy. Solti has a style of his own, and the final Entree de Phryne almost goes off the rails with its hard-driven but exciting brilliance...there is no doubting the sheer virtuosity of this remarkable orchestra and their bravura is infectious.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“Performances of all four works are outstanding, with the Chandos sound bringing out the full richness of Respighi's writing.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“The performance of Rossiniana is charming, swirling xylophones pleasingly evident in the 'Tarantella'...Mester encourages hushed playing for the 'Pine Trees near a Catacomb', the tam-tam and piano evoking distant bells sensitively caught, but the strings don't reach the ecstatic rejoicing others achieve. The Janiculum movement has admirable stillness before a well-paced march along the Appian Way to close.” International Record Review, February 2012

“The best known work here is Rossiniana, dating from 1925 and an example of Respighi's postmodern flamboyance at its best. The disc's raison d'être, however, is Di Vittorio's performing version of the Violin Concerto in A...in essence, it's a big, late Romantic concerto, reminiscent of Brahms. Laura Marzadori does some nice things with it – the ornate slow movement is particularly refined” The Guardian, 9th June 2011 ***

“Salvatore di Vittorio, an enterprising scholar/ conductor, has completed Respighi’s Violin Concerto in A and conducts it here with the sinuous-toned young violinist Laura Marzadori tackling the solo part...The 1903 piece has lushly rhapsodic moments...The fillers are fun” The Times, 11th June 2011 ***

“Not a lost masterpiece, but tempting for admirers of the composer – at a handsome bargain price.” london24.com, 17th June 2011

“the concerto inhabits a similar world of sound artfully allied to the dynamism familiar from violin concertos by Mendelssohn, Bruch and Brahms, together with the clarity of orchestration that Respighi inherited from Rimsky-Korsakov. Left unfinished in 1903, the concerto has been completed by Salvatore Di Vittorio, and its performance here is spirited.” The Telegraph, 23rd June 2011 ***

“Most of this music is backward-looking pastiche...The exception is the unfinished Violin Concerto, a fascinating discovery brought to life by Di Vittorio who has done a magnificent job of realising and expanding upon the existing material. Laura Marzadori proves an eloquent and impassioned soloist in the Violin Concerto” Classic FM Magazine, August 2011 ***

“Laura Marzadori proves a big-hearted, assertive soloist” Gramophone Magazine, September 2011

“Naxos offers another group of rich and exotic Respighi works which demonstrate his extraordinary gift for brilliant orchestrations. The longest and most ambitious is Church Windows, though curiously the idea of linking the four pieces with great paintings only came after the work was finished.
He chose The Flight into Egypt for the gentle opening piece, St Michael the Archangel for the vigorous second, The Matins of St Clare for the third and St Gregory the Great for the grandest piece, described by Edward Johnson as like a papal coronation in sound.
Brazilian Impressions stemmed from a visit that the composer made to Brazil. He planned a sequence of five pieces, but by 1928 he had completed only three, and left it at that for the first performance in 1928 in Rio. The first is a nocturne, 'Tropical Night', with fragments of dance rhythms hinted at in the sensuous textures. The second piece is a sinister picture of a snake farm Respighi visited, with hints of birdsong, while the final movement is a vigorous and colourful dance.
Rossiniana of 1925 is Respighi's attempt to follow up the enormous success of La boutique fantasque.
It's also based on pieces by Rossini, this time using some of his piano trifles, Les riens.
The first is a sort of barcarolle, the second a lament and the third an intermezzo featuring the celesta. In the finale he comes nearest to the ebullience of La boutique fantasque in a tarantella, but colourful as these pieces are, they hardly rival those in the earlier suite. Well worth hearing, though. The Buffalo Philharmonic under music director JoAnn Falletta is treated to warm and spectacular recording, apt for such exotica.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“OK, so we all know the evergreen Respighi showpieces The Pines of Rome and The Fountains of Rome. Here, JoAnn Falletta and her Buffalo Philharmonic forces set out to prove that the composer is no two-hit wonder. Prove it they do, in the most enjoyable of fashions, exploring the vivid Respighian worlds of church windows, Rossini tributes and images from Brazil” Gramophone Magazine

“Naxos offers anther group of rich and exotic Respighi works which demonstrate his extraordinary gift for brilliant orchestrations. The Buffalo Philharmonic under music director JoAnn Falletta is treated to warm and spectacular recording, apt for such exotica.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2008