Nino Rota - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 (Marzio Conti)

Information

Composer: Nino Rota

• Symphony No. 1 in G major
• Symphony No. 2 in F major

Filarmonica '900 del Teatro Regio di Torino

Marzio Conti, conductor

Date: 2009

Label: Chandos

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Review

As with Miklós Rózsa, Nino Rota is so well known as a film composer (of over 100 scores) that his concert music has all but been eclipsed. The brilliance and power of his music to The Godfather Parts 1 and 2 or Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, with its glorious setting of “What is a youth?”, are among his finest work and one will look in vain for the familiar Rota-cinematic style in the first two symphonies. The First (1935-39) is a largely pastoral affair, full of sunlit harmonies and quietly lush textures in denial of the nervous political times in which it was written, except in the grave Largo introduction to the finale. Otherwise, this is a relaxed and genial work, stylistically slightly anachronistic, with bright and breezy quick movements and a lilting Adagio: the type of piece one might expect from a master symphonist in between two weightier masterworks.

The Second (1937-39) is unsurprisingly very close in manner and spirit to No 1, which may partly account for why it waited until 1975 for its premiere (the First was unveiled in 1940). A little more varied in profile, it is less individual (reminding me in places of Ives’s Camp Meeting) but still makes a rewarding listen, especially in these lovingly prepared accounts. Conti gets to the heart of both symphonies, finding the inner warmth that eluded Ruud for BIS. The Italian orchestra (who have made several film music recordings) play Rota’s lines with greater fervour and understanding than their Swedish rivals and with sumptuous Chandos sound this is the version to have. Presumably No 3 will follow with other orchestral works in due course.

— Guy Rickards

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Nino Rota (3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and educator, internationally acclaimed for his film scores. He is best known for his collaborations with Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti, as well as for scoring The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, the latter earning him an Academy Award. Over a 46-year career, Rota composed more than 150 film scores, in addition to operas, ballets, orchestral and chamber works, including a notable concerto for strings. He also wrote music for theatre and served for nearly three decades as director of the Liceo Musicale in Bari.

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Marzio Conti (born 1960 in Florence) is an Italian conductor. He began his career as a flautist, debuting at the Salzburg Festival at age 20 with I Solisti Veneti, before shifting to conducting after studying with Piero Bellugi. He has held principal and artistic leadership roles with several orchestras, including the Istituzione Sinfonica Abruzzese, Turin Philharmonic, Teatro di Tradizione in Chieti and Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo. From 2011 to 2017, he led the Oviedo Filarmonia in Spain. Conti is also active as a guest conductor and educator, and has recorded for major classical labels such as Warner and Naxos.

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