{"product_id":"casella-symphony-no-1-concerto-for-piano-timpani-percu","title":"Casella: Symphony No. 1 - Concerto for Piano, Timpani, Percu","description":"Starter question for 10 - can you name any Italian orchestral                     composers of the early to mid 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e century? Ottorino                     Respighi comes to mind, as do Gian Francesco Malipiero, Ildebrando                     Pizzetti and - thanks in part to those enterprising souls at                     Naxos - we can now add Alfredo Casella. This recording of the                     latter’s \u003ci\u003eSymphony No. 1,\u003c\/i\u003e a world premiere, is just                     part of a projected series devoted to Casella’s \u003ci\u003eœuvre\u003c\/i\u003e;                     the most recent instalment - which includes \u003ci\u003eSymphony No 2\u003c\/i\u003e                     - is available on 8.572414. Naxos have stolen a march on Chandos,                     who have just released a recording of the latter - coupled with                     \u003ci\u003eScarlattiana\u003c\/i\u003e - featuring Gianandrea Noseda and the BBC                     Philharmonic (CHAN 10605). And we mustn’t forget CPO,                     whose contribution to this \u003ci\u003erisorgimento\u003c\/i\u003e includes the                     Op. 63 \u003ci\u003eSinfonia. \u003c\/i\u003e                    \u003cbr\u003e                        \u003cbr\u003e                    At first glance, Casella’s enrolment at the Paris Conservatoire                     - Gabriel Fauré was one of his teachers - and his admiration                     for Debussy might suggest strong links with French music of                     the period. However, the First Symphony, which dates from 1905,                     doesn’t strike me as particularly Gallic, either in sensibility                     or sound world; indeed, Casella is quoted in the liner-notes,                     where he dismisses the work as a potpourri of Borodin, Brahms                     and Enescu. These influences may be there, but they aren’t                     striking. Perhaps it’s the Italian band and conductor                     who are to blame, as they add a touch of southern warmth to                     this absorbing score. \u003cbr\u003e                      \u003cbr\u003e                    True, the brooding start to the Lento seems Russianate, but                     then there’s an arresting lyricism in the strings and                     an orchestral blush that speaks more of Richard Strauss. As                     for the Roman orchestra they sound full-bodied and precise,                     climaxes expanding with plenty of weight and impact. Musically                     the score may seem a tad threadbare at times, but it’s                     well shaped and convincingly paced. Initial impressions suggest                     this is not the youthful indiscretion it first seems; in fact,                     the Adagio - reprised in the Second Symphony - is rather lovely.                     After a quiet, rather unsettling theme at the outset there are                     some melting string tunes - just listen to the passage that                     begins at 3:44. It really is luminous, heart-stopping music,                     most eloquently phrased. \u003cbr\u003e                      \u003cbr\u003e                    The final movement, like the first, is a dark-toned Lento, the                     grumble of percussion at the start thrillingly caught. And,                     for the first time, there’s a real sense of nobility,                     a Wagnerian amplitude if you like, the muted brass simply splendid.                     Moreover, there’s a momentum here - listen out for that                     recurring, jaunty little tune - and a firm sense of purpose,                     which ensures that any structural weaknesses are artfully concealed.                     Such advocacy augurs well for the rest of this series; indeed,                     having heard both Noseda and La Vecchia’s accounts of                     the Second Symphony I can assure you the latter yields little                     or nothing to the former in terms of execution although, as                     expected, the Chandos sound is both weightier and more spacious.                     \u003cbr\u003e                        \u003cbr\u003e                    The concerto is a wartime work, written while the composer was                     recovering from a serious illness. The soft edges of the symphony                     are replaced here by a harder, more muscular idiom, which includes                     strong, uncompromising rhythms. There’s plenty of bite                     to the strings, ever-present timps commendably crisp and clear,                     the Sarabande more lyrical - and inward - than one might expect.                     The piano part is carefully woven into the musical fabric, which                     only shows signs of fraying in the latter half of this movement.                     The brisk, martial opening to the final Allegro - snare drums                     very much in evidence - takes us back to the sinewy world of                     the first. It’s well played and tightly argued, the muted                     march coloured by the gentlest of taps on the tam-tam. \u003cbr\u003e                      \u003cbr\u003e                    So, a most encouraging start to this new cycle which, along                     with Noseda’s, will surely bring this music back into                     the mainstream, where it belongs. It seems entirely right that                     La Vecchia and his Roman band are leading the charge; goodness                     knows, they play this music with verve and vision - and that’s                     just what it needs \u003cbr\u003e                      \u003cbr\u003e                    Nice one, Naxos. \u003cbr\u003e                        \u003cbr\u003e                    -- Dan Morgan, MusicWeb International","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49705697968408,"sku":"747313241378","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/1326685-2701028.jpg?v=1777571880","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/casella-symphony-no-1-concerto-for-piano-timpani-percu","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}