Sinfonia Drammatica

1. Sinfonia drammatica, P. 102
Composed by Ottorino Respighi
Performed by Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted by Daniel Nazareth

Sinfonia Drammatica,Respighi,Daniel Nazareth,Slovak Philharmonic,Marco Polo,Classical,Classical Music

Respighi: Sinfonia Drammatica
Average customer rating:

If you like the Alpine Symphony then get this

Respighi: Sinfonia Drammatica

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000000AT2
Release Date: 1994-02-08

Tracks:

Sinfonia drammatica: I Allegro energico
Sinfonia drammatica: II Andante sostenuto
Sinfonia drammatica: III Allegro impetuoso - Tempo di marcia triste

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Respighi was a student of Rimsky-Korsakov (along with Stravinsky), and the parallels between the two are curious. Both composers demonstrated their mastery of the late Romantic orchestral vocabulary by turning to Baroque and Renaissance music and adopting a neo-classical aesthetic. Both composers also "graduated" by writing a huge Romantic symphony. But whereas Stravinsky's Symphony in E-flat takes Tchaikovsky and Borodin as its model, Respighi is more indebted to the German masters, particularly Strauss. The piece is scored for a vast orchestra with a large percussion section and organ, and it's simply a big, passionate, splashy chunk of late Romantic schlock. In short, it's great, and this performance takes no prisoners. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

If you like the Alpine Symphony then get this.......2007-02-22

This is a latter recording of Respighi's Sinfonia drammatica (1993) and is even preferable to the Naxos. This is a dazzling performance with real conviction and is also superbly recorded.

Highly recommended!

Average customer rating:

Symphonically Dramatic...for sure
wowww!
Too expansively written and performed
Too expansively written and performed
Lives up to its title

Respighi: Sinfonia Drammatica

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Respighi: Piano Concerto / Fantasia Slava

ASIN: B00000JMVF
Release Date: 1999-06-22

Tracks:

Allegro Energico
Andante Sostenuto
Allegro Impetuoso

Customer Reviews:

Symphonically Dramatic...for sure.......2006-02-25

The Rimsky-Korsakov schooled Respighi composed this early three
movement work in 1914. It is a massive piece for large orchestra
and expanded battery of percussion. Eclectic in style, it consists of elements of Mahler and Debussy(especially in the 2nd.
move.)and a touch of R. Strauss with occassional orchestral effects. The dramatic mood carries consistently throughout, and the last few bars of the finale seem almost lavishly Hollywood inspired. What is lacking is a memorable theme, that made his "Pines and Fountaines of Rome" so great. So, this overall is a good work, decently performed, lacking a bit in detail from the engineers, half the price of it's only competitor. An inexpensive way to round out your Respighi collection.

wowww!.......2004-07-25

It is a very good recording for any Respighi admirers or searching for unkonwn post-romantic music.

Respighi written this work in his early period. It is written for very large orchestra (quadruple orchestra). And there are many influences from Mahler. Especially in climaxes of the last movement, Allegro impetuoso. With its' orchestration, it is similar to R. Strauss's orchestration. And in the second movement, Andante, there are beautiful impressionist Debussyian colours. But even so, in this work, there are twinkles of his future that he will write Pini de Roma, Feste e Fontane di Roma.

I like especially the last movement, with it's contrasts between very symphonic and very calm passages.

The performance is very good. This is one of the best recordings of Slovak P O. And Daniel Nazareth's reading of this hard work is amazing. Even so the sound quality is very good.

This is a very worthy listening, and I think, at this price, you can buy this without hesitate.

Highly recommended.

Too expansively written and performed.......2002-03-31

A Respighi symphony? A rare, uanppreciated find, you might think. Not so. There's a reason you've never heard this symphony, and probably never will in concert. Several composers' influences are heard, to the point of making it derivitive. The "drama" contained in this symphony is stretched too thin. Material that would have made a good 15 minute tone poem is stretched out into a 58 minute symphony. To make the drama work here requires a tight, dynamic performance, accentuating what energy is here to be had. This performance doesn't do that. This is a straightforward, adequate performance that never tries to inject the needed juice. Fantastic engineering, though. If you're a die-hard Respighi fan, I could approve of this as a performance to buy. But if you're merely curious, I don't think your curiosity will be rewarded.

Too expansively written and performed.......2002-03-31

A Respighi symphony? A rare, unappreciated find, you might think. Not so. There's a reason you've never heard this symphony, and probably never will in concert. Several composers' influences are heard, to the point of making it derivitive. The "drama" contained in this symphony is stretched too thin. Material that would have made a good 15 minute tone poem is stretched out into a 58 minute symphony. To make the drama work here requires a tight, dynamic performance, accentuating what energy is here to be had. This performance doesn't do that. This is a straightforward, adequate performance that never tries to inject the needed juice. Fantastic engineering, though. If you're a die-hard Respighi fan, I could approve of this as a performance to buy. But if you're merely curious, I don't think your curiosity will be rewarded.

Lives up to its title.......1999-09-16

Nazareths reading of Respighis eclectic symphony is everything it's title implies. Dramatic, with more that liberal doses of Mahler, Strauss and, in the slow movement, Debussy. The orchestra plays with commitment and, for the most part, sophistication (occasional fluffs in brass). And the sound couldn't be improved on, it's realistic, detailed and a total success.

Respighi: Sinfonia drammatica, P 102 P102

Average customer rating:

cheaper on naxos
a 'new' aspect of Respighi

Respighi: Sinfonia drammatica, P 102 P102

Manufacturer: Marco Polo
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Tracks:

Sinfonia drammatica: A. Allegro energico
Sinfonia drammatica: B. Andante sostenuto
Sinfonia drammatica: C. Allegro impetuoso

Customer Reviews:

cheaper on naxos.......2000-11-05

This exact same performance is now available on Naxos (which owns Marco Polo) for $5.97 at Amazon.com. Save the 7+ dollars! It is a very enjoyable cd, powerful Respighi!

a 'new' aspect of Respighi.......2000-03-14

I first came across Respighi in my mid-teens and quickly went through all the recorded works including his smaller pieces. I have not heard anything different by him for years and this welcome CD is certainly more than a mere curiosity. The work was completed in 1914 and may be thought of by some as an hours hunk of pseudo-Straussian orchestral tirade. These 'generic' works are now readily available, for example, I have Szymanowski's first two symphonies and Josef Suk's Asrael Symphony and his tone poem Ripening, which at one time were unavailable. Because it is frequently argued that these works are not reflective of the 'true artist' because they were written when the composer 'was under the Strauss influence' they are sometimes dismissed. While it is true that they use an opulent orchestra which was first used by Richard Strauss, they can be unique works that provide the listener with sounds that are not present in Strauss or anywhere else. I believe this is a mistake and has probably got more to do with their expense and playing difficulty than their artistic merit. This work is early by Respighi's tone poems' standard, although it was penned when he was thirty five years old. The first movement, an Allegro energico is certainly true to its name with its dynamics and has a blazing chorale with overtones of the second movement of 'Pines' when the blazing trumpets escort the Roman legions down the Appian Way in triumph. This music is not Straussian, it is pure Respighi, a first rate musician in his own right. The haunting melody (yes, what effrontery? A melody?) of the second movement deserves to be well known. Its chromatic character may owe something to Tristan but the musical journey it undertakes during its seventeen minutes is Latin in its intensity of feeling and its harmonic world is shared with Debussy, particularly in 'Images'. Yet the brass chorale and climax seem almost Russian, maybe Rachmaninov in his Symphony Number 1. These vatious disparate factors come together and provide us with something totally new which I have not heard elsewhere (how ungeneric can you get?). The most unsatisfactory movement for me is the finale, an Allegro impetuoso, which impressive though it is in terms of inventive orchestration and musical argument, lacks some degree of authenticity, redolent of the finale of Walton's splendid Symphony No 1. It makes huge demands on the conductor to prevent it all falling apart (like Strauss' 'Till Eulenspiegel' and 'Also sprach Zarathustra) and the final product lacks conviction on this recording. The emergence of a quasi-motto theme does a little to pull things together but ultimately the end feeling is of a bombastic work which does not have enough heart. It is a shame that the end effect of the work leaves this taste in the mouth. The playing here contains some audible errors, particularly in the first and last movements. The recording sounds as if they placed the microphones too far way to 'get everybody in'. It sounds a little like those old Melodiya vinyls with which you sometimes could hear the sound echoing off the walls of the auditorium. Every now and again I check the label to see if I have not made a mistake and put an old 'Russky' on the turntable by mistake. If this was well recorded this work might have more authenticity and hold itself together better. However, for me, the CD is worth it for the second movement alone. I have not heard the Downes alternative so I cannot judge by comparison.