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Respighi, like Sibelius, was a highly trained violinist (and violist) with aspirations for a career in performance. In 1900, at the age of  21, he accepted the position of principal violist in the orchestra of the Russian Imperial Theatre in Saint Petersburg, which he held for two years. After 1902, Respighi began to focus his energies more and more on composition. One can get an idea of Respighi’s violinistic prowess by listening to his Concerto Gregoriano for violin and orchestra, composed in 1921, an excerpt of which is offered here with Frank Peter Zimmermann as soloist.