Enrique Batiz on Naxos - damn! what a smashing opening. It's a beautiful jangle of orchestral bells and whistles. I never listened to the Roman Trilogy apart until more recently.
Dorati with the Minneapolis Orch was my intro to this work - fabulously noisy, with the loudest tam-tam crash in the flipside Church Windows I've ever heard. I adore Respighi in trashy mode - Belkis Queen of Sheba and Brazilian Impressions are wonderfully decadent orientalist nonsense! No way could I live without them.
The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg is now 7 years old and Pines and Fountains have been played maybe once each. No part of the trilogy is scheduled this season or the next. For the life of me I do not understand this. Simone Young once did the whole thing (Pines->Fountains->Feste) and it was great!
Just wanted to alert everyone to a neglected composer who wrote a 45 minute beefy, romantic symphony: Julius Beliczay (1835-1893). As well as a delightful Serenade for Strings. What's interesting about his symphony, is that it was written in 1888. The same year as the premiere of Franck's D Minor. Which coincidentally, is the same key used in both Beliczay's works. They're available on Sterling Classics. Would love to see Dave do a review of it if he could. A nice respite from Respighi's Feste. Keep up the good work, Mr. Hurwitz. Your videos are the best!
Love the Maazel and also the Ormandy on Sony with its beauty, drama and clarity of individual instruments. I especially love the mandolin and the quiet nocturne-like section, which Ormandy gets so wonderfully.
I've played celeste twice in this work and there is a moment when you have to move from the celeste to the piano for a 4hand piano section and then back while counting measures in transit. Fun
As Dave always points out, references are just that: historic references. Not necessarily the best. After listening to Maazel's excellent rendition on you tube, the site automatically played another version on its accord. I started listening distractedly, but after a few bars I was hooked. Boy, did the lions roar, the christians howl, the earth quake! I enjoyed this second version just as much, then I checked the interpreters:Tokyo Philarmonic conducted by Battistoni. Reinforcing my idea: modern orchestras have generally gotten much better and can always surprise you, rivalling with references, with a superb rendition of anything.
I still have this Feste Romane on a stunning Mobile Fidelity (remember them....actually I think they are still going) lp from the early Eighties. As already eluded to, the clarity is stunning even in the heaviest tuttis. To be honest I think Maazel did some of his best work in Cleveland - his Daphnis et Chloe is gorgeous, the Prokofiev Romeo and Juilet stunning and even his Telarc Shostakovich 5 and Stravinsky Rite of Spring pretty impressive.
What a trashy piece that, yes, I didn't care if it has a reference. But I really love it! And of course is has to be Maazel. I was actually listening to this album a couple of months ago after not having heard it for quite a while. It really is so beautifully & excitingly done. Has it been bettered? Ozawa? Muti? Dutoit? Neschling? They're all amazing, but I don't know that any of them is better.
@@petertaplin4365 I found the Wilson to be very underwhelming. I really do like the new Trevino a lot. The Batiz is excellent & along with Tortelier on Chandos is one of my "sleeper" picks.
Respighi in general is a curious case. He doesn't really get played over here in the UK, and I wonder about the rest of Europe. I didn't know this is 3rd part of the Roman trilogy, as Dave points out. Is Respighi a huge gap in UK concert life?!
I care [sniffle]. As a moonlighting classical mandolinist who could best be described as only semi-professional on my best days, Roman Festivals provided me with the only opportunity I've had to play with a very large orchestra. It holds a very special place for me. I tend to favor recordings with a natural mandolin sound and consistent, even tremolo. The piece is cleverly composed for the mandolin to be perfectly audible without amplification. And amplification often does not sound "natural."
I always think of Feste romana as sounding like horror movie music. Sure, horror movies didn’t really exist yet, but if you don’t go in expecting musicological sophistication you should leave enthralled rather than frustrated. Giving the reference a listen now and it is great fun.
Having grown up in Canada, the record stores and radio broadcasts were all raving about everything Montreal and Dutoit. Even when I discovered I could borrow CDs from the library and make a playlist to record on cassette, the libraries were filled with Dutoit and Montreal Decca CDs. So naturally I grew up thinking Dutoit was the go to reference for this type of repertoire. His Respighi Roman trilogy CD blew my socks off for the precision and power of the playing. Since then I have tried to de-imprint on that CD because I thought I had been brain washed by the local Canadian media and also inadvertantly influenced by civic pride, which I think is dumb. But every Roman trilogy I tried failed in an A/B comparison to match the Montreal precision and brightness in orchestral color and detail. Even the Ozawa and Muti sets. But you said the maazel was the reference and I’ve built a habit of trying all your recommendations. Well, I think I’ve finally found a Festivals to match Dutoit. And I even like the Pines, although the climax of the last movement fails to get my blood pumping as Dutoit does. Now I find myself wishing Maazel did the fountains with Cleveland as well. I think you’ve finally found me an alternative Festivals to love as much as the Dutoit, Dave. Thanks 👍
In case you missed it, I will point out again that Toscanini’s recording is missing a big THUMP at the end of the 1st mvt, and the bells are so late in the 2nd, which is a shame. Otherwise I agree that it is ‘exciting as hell’ as you’d say, especially the super fast, penultimate section of the whole thing. Damn!
I agree with your choice. Another recording that captures the entire splendor of Feste Romane is the Eugene Goossens. Hardly anyone I know even knows about this recording.
Goossens' was my first "Roman Festivals", and I do maintain a soft spot for it, even with its occasional inaccuracies. Also, it doesn't QUITE capture the "entire" splendor of Respighi's vision - there's no organ in that recording.
@@musicianinseattle Well, that would disqualify my using the adjective "entire." It is quite sonically splendid, though, if my memory serves me correctly.
![[TH] VCT Masters Shanghai Playoffs DAY 1 // 100T vs FUT | FNC vs GEN](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/erQ7pGChzxA/mqdefault.jpg)
Enrique Batiz on Naxos - damn! what a smashing opening. It's a beautiful jangle of orchestral bells and whistles. I never listened to the Roman Trilogy apart until more recently.
Dorati with the Minneapolis Orch was my intro to this work - fabulously noisy, with the loudest tam-tam crash in the flipside Church Windows I've ever heard. I adore Respighi in trashy mode - Belkis Queen of Sheba and Brazilian Impressions are wonderfully decadent orientalist nonsense! No way could I live without them.
This may be the better recording Maazel ever made. Specifically the Roman Festival not the coupling.
The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg is now 7 years old and Pines and Fountains have been played maybe once each. No part of the trilogy is scheduled this season or the next. For the life of me I do not understand this. Simone Young once did the whole thing (Pines->Fountains->Feste) and it was great!
Just wanted to alert everyone to a neglected composer who wrote a 45 minute beefy, romantic symphony: Julius Beliczay (1835-1893). As well as a delightful Serenade for Strings. What's interesting about his symphony, is that it was written in 1888. The same year as the premiere of Franck's D Minor. Which coincidentally, is the same key used in both Beliczay's works. They're available on Sterling Classics. Would love to see Dave do a review of it if he could. A nice respite from Respighi's Feste. Keep up the good work, Mr. Hurwitz. Your videos are the best!
Love the Maazel and also the Ormandy on Sony with its beauty, drama and clarity of individual instruments. I especially love the mandolin and the quiet nocturne-like section, which Ormandy gets so wonderfully.
Ormandy does a lot of rescoring--that's how you get that clarity.
@@DavesClassicalGuide I didn't know that. I'll have to listen more closely.
I've played celeste twice in this work and there is a moment when you have to move from the celeste to the piano for a 4hand piano section and then back while counting measures in transit. Fun
As Dave always points out, references are just that: historic references. Not necessarily the best. After listening to Maazel's excellent rendition on you tube, the site automatically played another version on its accord. I started listening distractedly, but after a few bars I was hooked. Boy, did the lions roar, the christians howl, the earth quake! I enjoyed this second version just as much, then I checked the interpreters:Tokyo Philarmonic conducted by Battistoni. Reinforcing my idea: modern orchestras have generally gotten much better and can always surprise you, rivalling with references, with a superb rendition of anything.
Agreed! The Maazel is a ball-tearer! My jaw hit the floor when I heard those snarling trombones!
For me, no one sells the bombast of the La Befana movement, like Bernstein.
I still have this Feste Romane on a stunning Mobile Fidelity (remember them....actually I think they are still going) lp from the early Eighties. As already eluded to, the clarity is stunning even in the heaviest tuttis. To be honest I think Maazel did some of his best work in Cleveland - his Daphnis et Chloe is gorgeous, the Prokofiev Romeo and Juilet stunning and even his Telarc Shostakovich 5 and Stravinsky Rite of Spring pretty impressive.
And Porgy and Bess.
@@DavesClassicalGuide absolutely I'd forgotten his Porgy and Bess was in Cleveland
Good selection, dear David. Well documented. 👌
What a trashy piece that, yes, I didn't care if it has a reference. But I really love it! And of course is has to be Maazel. I was actually listening to this album a couple of months ago after not having heard it for quite a while. It really is so beautifully & excitingly done. Has it been bettered? Ozawa? Muti? Dutoit? Neschling? They're all amazing, but I don't know that any of them is better.
Try Wilson, Trevino/RAI Orchestra and for mad percussion Batiz/Royal Phil. on Naxos!
@@petertaplin4365 I found the Wilson to be very underwhelming. I really do like the new Trevino a lot. The Batiz is excellent & along with Tortelier on Chandos is one of my "sleeper" picks.
Respighi in general is a curious case. He doesn't really get played over here in the UK, and I wonder about the rest of Europe.
I didn't know this is 3rd part of the Roman trilogy, as Dave points out. Is Respighi a huge gap in UK concert life?!
I care [sniffle]. As a moonlighting classical mandolinist who could best be described as only semi-professional on my best days, Roman Festivals provided me with the only opportunity I've had to play with a very large orchestra. It holds a very special place for me. I tend to favor recordings with a natural mandolin sound and consistent, even tremolo. The piece is cleverly composed for the mandolin to be perfectly audible without amplification. And amplification often does not sound "natural."
Mahler 7 next!
@@DavesClassicalGuide , I've actually been campaigning to local community orchestras. I'd love a crack at Mauler 7.
I always think of Feste romana as sounding like horror movie music. Sure, horror movies didn’t really exist yet, but if you don’t go in expecting musicological sophistication you should leave enthralled rather than frustrated. Giving the reference a listen now and it is great fun.
Horror films absolutely were a thing in 1928. It's among the oldest film genres and had been around for around 30 years at the time.
@@classicallpvault8251 I stand corrrected, thank you.
Having grown up in Canada, the record stores and radio broadcasts were all raving about everything Montreal and Dutoit. Even when I discovered I could borrow CDs from the library and make a playlist to record on cassette, the libraries were filled with Dutoit and Montreal Decca CDs. So naturally I grew up thinking Dutoit was the go to reference for this type of repertoire. His Respighi Roman trilogy CD blew my socks off for the precision and power of the playing. Since then I have tried to de-imprint on that CD because I thought I had been brain washed by the local Canadian media and also inadvertantly influenced by civic pride, which I think is dumb. But every Roman trilogy I tried failed in an A/B comparison to match the Montreal precision and brightness in orchestral color and detail. Even the Ozawa and Muti sets. But you said the maazel was the reference and I’ve built a habit of trying all your recommendations. Well, I think I’ve finally found a Festivals to match Dutoit. And I even like the Pines, although the climax of the last movement fails to get my blood pumping as Dutoit does. Now I find myself wishing Maazel did the fountains with Cleveland as well. I think you’ve finally found me an alternative Festivals to love as much as the Dutoit, Dave. Thanks 👍
That's great, although I find the Dutoit to be lightweight, too quick, and lacking both transparency and power.
The feste romane arrangement for band actually works quite well. The marine band recorded it and it’s worth checking out
I made that transcription. Thank you for the reference.
@@LyleFrancisDelpI played the transcription in college. Boy was it a lot of fun too on that bass trombone part
@@ethanwarren9006 That’s so very cool. Thanks for the info. Glad you enjoyed playing it. I’m a trombonist myself.
In case you missed it, I will point out again that Toscanini’s recording is missing a big THUMP at the end of the 1st mvt, and the bells are so late in the 2nd, which is a shame. Otherwise I agree that it is ‘exciting as hell’ as you’d say, especially the super fast, penultimate section of the whole thing. Damn!
I bought this Toscanini performance by accident with a different "La Mer", and it is indeed "all that".
I agree with your choice. Another recording that captures the entire splendor of Feste Romane is the Eugene Goossens. Hardly anyone I know even knows about this recording.
Goossens' was my first "Roman Festivals", and I do maintain a soft spot for it, even with its occasional inaccuracies. Also, it doesn't QUITE capture the "entire" splendor of Respighi's vision - there's no organ in that recording.
@@musicianinseattle Well, that would disqualify my using the adjective "entire." It is quite sonically splendid, though, if my memory serves me correctly.
It's a shame that Reiner and his Chicago gang didn't record it. RCA likely felt it wasn't going to sell well enough.
Maazel got this right!!!