Beautiful piano music of Respighi – complete, in one long video. A full album, with all the piano music of the legendary composer!
Tracklist below.
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Acclaimed composer, violinist and musicologist, Ottorino Respighi has been remembered mostly for his vivid and skilful orchestral writing. Little known are his many fine piano works (he also worked frequently as an accompanist for singers and soloists), which include arrangements of his own and original works for the instrument.
Works such as Antiche danze ed arie per liuto and Tre preludi su melodie gregoriane betray Respighi’s fascination with ancient music. Active as an arranger and transcriber during the latter half of his life, both works are arranged from their original orchestral versions (selections from Antiche danze suites I & III and Vetrate di Chiesa P150 respectively), and retain the vivacity, colour and poignancy of the originals, whilst showcasing Respighi’s dexterous writing for piano. Other pieces find Respighi in
more familiar romantic territory: the Sei pezzi’s characterful six movements – including the gorgeous Nocturne – display his mastery of old musical forms and an uncanny ability to dress them in 19th-century musical language, with smatterings of Debussy and Schumann throughout. Schumann’s influence is present also in the Sonata in F minor, with decidedly more tempestuous writing, and demonstrates Respighi’s ability to write clarity and emotional depth into his music. Much of Respighi’s early work is under-represented, and pianist Michele D’Ambrosio brings these surprising and powerful works to life with a rare display of Respighi’s precocious talent. Largely written whilst still a student, the Sonata in A minor and Andante in F show the early influence of Schubert, whilst the Suite shows inspiration from Tchaikovsky.
Many of these works are newly discovered and, having also recorded the entire piano works of Alfredo Casella, D’Ambrosio
brings his dedication to cataloguing these rare and under-performed works along with technical prowess and interpretive imagination.
00:00:00 Sonata in F Minor, P. 016: I. Allegro
00:06:41 Sonata in F Minor, P. 016: II. Lento
00:12:47 Sonata in F Minor, P. 016: III. Allegretto
00:15:54 Sei pezzi, P. 044: I. Valse caressante
00:19:41 Sei pezzi, P. 044: II. Canone
00:22:33 Sei pezzi, P. 044: III. Notturno
00:27:36 Sei pezzi, P. 044: IV. Minuetto
00:31:20 Sei pezzi, P. 044: V. Studio
00:33:00 Sei pezzi, P. 044: VI. Intermezzo – Serenata
00:35:25 Antiche danze ed arie per liuto, P. 114: I. Balletto detto “Il Conte Orlando”
00:38:04 Antiche danze ed arie per liuto, P. 114: II. Villanella
00:42:01 Antiche danze ed arie per liuto, P. 114: III. Gagliarda
00:45:27 Antiche danze ed arie per liuto, P. 114: IV. Italiana
00:48:22 Antiche danze ed arie per liuto, P. 114: V. Siciliana
00:51:22 Antiche danze ed arie per liuto, P. 114: VI. Passacaglia
00:54:32 Tre preludi su melodie gregoriane, P. 131: I. Molto lento
00:59:42 Tre preludi su melodie gregoriane, P. 131: II. Tempestoso
01:05:41 Tre preludi su melodie gregoriane, P. 131: III. Lento
01:10:59 Sonata in A Minor, P. 004: I. Allegro moderato
01:21:10 Sonata in A Minor, P. 004: II. Andantino
01:25:39 Sonata in A Minor, P. 004: III. Finale. Allegro vivace
01:31:13 Andante in F Major, P. 006
01:36:03 Andante in D Major, P. 007
01:39:48 Allegro in B Minor, P. 010
01:43:35 Suite, P. 022: I. Vivace
01:44:43 Suite, P. 022: II. Tema. Andante poco mosso
01:47:37 Suite, P. 022: III. Sarabanda. Lento
01:51:20 Suite, P. 022: IV. Allegro con brio
01:52:53 Suite, P. 022: V. Presto
01:54:13 Preludio in B-Flat Minor, P. 023
01:55:42 Preludio from Suite per pianoforte, P. 043
01:59:36 Preludio in D Minor, P. 043a
02:02:24 Variazioni sinfoniche, P. 028