Ottorino Respighi - Violin Concerto in A major; etc. (Laura Marzadori; Salvatore Di Vittorio)

Information

Composer: Ottorino Respighi

• Aria for strings, P. 32
• Violin Concerto in A major, P. 49
• Suite for strings, P. 41
• Rossiniana: Suite for orchesra, P. 148

Laura Marzadori, violin

Chamber Orchestra of New York

Salvatore Di Vittorio, conductor

Date: 2011

Label: Naxos

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Review

The most noteworthy piece on this disc of Respighi rarities and premiere recordings is the early Violin Concerto, revised and completed by conductor Salvatore Di Vittorio. The first two movements are complete, the finale sketched out as to its initial thematic material. Di Vittorio has completed it quite effectively by turning it into a rondo based on the tunes of the earlier movements, a process very similar to that found in, say, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto or Bartók’s Second for that instrument. Suffice it to say that the piece sounds like genuine Respighi, with anticipations of such characteristic moments as the catacombs in The Pines of Rome. Laura Marzadori plays the piece very well, with a nice balance of lyrical fulsomeness and virtuoso flashiness.

The Suite for Strings, in six dance-inspired movements, is the largest work in this recital, and reveals the composer in one of his neo-baroque moods. Rossiniana makes an appealing conclusion; it’s not nearly as well known as the composer’s other Rossini pastiche, La boutique fantasque, but it’s just as much fun (the funereal second movement has remarkable atmosphere and sounds more like Verdi). The orchestra, a New York “pickup” ensemble, plays quite well for the most part; there are a few moments of splayed ensemble in the strings in the concluding Tarantella of Rossiniana, but otherwise there’s very little to carp at, and the sonics are quite good. For fans of the composer this disc is a must, and I also can see the opening Aria for strings getting a good bit of radio play. It’s a charmer.

— David Hurwitz

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Ottorino Respighi (9 July 1879 – 18 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. He studied at the Liceo Musicale di Bologna, and also studied briefly with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. His compositions range over operas, ballets, orchestral suites, choral songs, chamber music, and transcriptions of Italian compositions of the 16th–18th centuries, but his best known and most performed works are his three orchestral tone poems which brought him international fame: Fountains of Rome (1916), Pines of Rome (1924), and Roman Festivals (1928).

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Laura Marzadori (born 9 January 1989 in Bologna) is an Italian violinist. She began violin studies before age four and trained under renowned teachers including Enzo Porta, Marco Fornaciari, Pavel Berman and Zakhar Bron. A prodigy, she won numerous national and international competitions in her teens, such as the Città di Vittorio Veneto and the Andrea Amati contests. In 2014, at just 25, she became Concertmaster of the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, chosen by a jury led by Daniel Barenboim. Marzadori is also a passionate chamber musician and soloist, known for premiering and recording rare violin concertos.

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Salvatore Di Vittorio (born 22 October 1967 in Palermo) is an Italian composer and conductor. He studied composition and conducting in New York and Italy. Known for his lyrical orchestral poems, he has been commissioned by major orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony and Teatro alla Scala. In 2008, he was entrusted by Ottorino Respighi's family to restore and complete several of the composer's early works, notably the first violin concerto. As Music Director of the Chamber Orchestra of New York, Di Vittorio has gained international recognition through his performances and recordings for Naxos.

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