Ottorino Respighi
A Different Approach
Relative to most other composers we have studied on Conductor’s Corner, Respighi did not provide us with many statements or opinions about his compositions, artistic creed, or life experiences-he was a very private man. Therefore, here are some reflections on his music by listeners, fans, critics, etc., taken from many sources. I hope you enjoy them!
“Atonality? Thank heaven, that's done for! The future course of music? Who can say? I believe that every composer should first of all be individual.
-Ottorino Respighi
“I have always striven to bring the spirit and grandeur of Italy into my music.”
-Ottorino Respighi
“Orchestration is the art of painting with sound.”
-Ottorino Respighi
"Respighi’s music is a sumptuous tapestry of sound—a blend of the ancient and the modern that forever changed the palette of orchestral color."
"In works like Pines of Rome, Respighi not only composed music but created sonic portraits of a city’s soul. His tone poems remain among the most evocative and cinematic orchestral works ever written."
“I think the Ancient Airs and Dances suites are my favorites that I have heard from Respighi, probably because I love baroque so much, and these are like baroque on steroids.”
“That's what's great about Respighi...he sounds like he started composing music about 40 or 50 years too late. While the world around hi began to embraces the silly sounds of Schonberg and others, he was at home in a late-Romantic idiom, which suits me fine.”
“Indeed, he was a great orchestral colorist, but he learned from one of the best...Rimsky-Korsakov.”
“Indeed, he was a great orchestral colorist, but he learned from one of the best...Rimsky-Korsakov.”
“I’m only familiar with his Botticelli Triptych. I suppose it contains the one of the best musical portrayals of spring ever written. In a way he was an impressionist like Debussy, but somewhat less radical as he recreated old forms in his music.”
“I love the music of Respighi, but somehow I have never been able to reconcile it with his politics.”
“In a different vein from what he is famous for, Respighi also composed a fair amount of chamber music - some of these pieces are amongst his strongest in my opinion.”
“I know some members are interested in the influence of Russian music in Europe. Respighi trained for half a year with Rimsky-Korsakov and was fluent in Russian; those interested in the Russian flavor of his output may like to seek out seldom-heard gems like "The Magic Pot," which abounds in allusions to Russian composers.”
“Some other spectacular works that should be mentioned are the various works for piano and orchestra, from the more monumental Concerto Misolidio (here I prefer the chandos recording by Toperzer to Scherbachov on naxos; their interpretations are very different from each other) to the very fresh and rhapsodic early Concerto in a-minor and the meditative Toccata or the Russian-flavoured Fantasia Slava. His Violin Concerto, "Gregoriano", is likewise an attractive work if it is not played too heavily; there is a rare recording by Jenny Abel, for instance, which captures its autumnal mood very well.”