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Ottorino Respighi

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Ottorino Respighi
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(born July 9, 1879, Bologna, Italy — died April 18, 1936, Rome) Italian composer. After musical studies in Bologna (1891 – 1901), he played viola in a Russian orchestra and studied with Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, from whom he learned much about orchestration. His best-known works are the colourful tone poems The Fountains of Rome (1916) and The Pines of Rome (1924). Interested in early music, he also produced works such as Gli uccelli (1927), based on works by Jean-Philippe Rameau, and La Boutique fantasque, based on works by Gioacchino Rossini.

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Music Encyclopedia: Ottorino Respighi
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(b Bologna, 9 July 1879; d Rome, 18 April 1936). Italian composer. He studied with Torchi and Martucci at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna (1891-1901), then had lessons with Rimsky-Korsakov during visits to Russia (1900-03). In 1913 he settled in Rome, teaching and composing. He is best known as the composer of highly coloured orchestral pieces, capitalizing on the most brilliant aspects of Rimsky-Korsakov, Ravel and Strauss: Fontane di Roma (1916), Pini di Roma (1924), Vetrate di chiesa (1925), Trittico botticelliano (1927), Gli uccelli (arrangements of pieces by earlier composers,1927) and Feste romane (1928). His interest in the past is to be heard not only in his arrangements of Arie antiche for orchestra but in the use of plainchant and the church modes in such pieces as the Concerto gregoriano (for violin,1921) and the Quartetto dorico (1924). He also wrote operas (La bella dormente nel bosco, 1921) and vocal works. He was greatly helped by his wife, Elsa (b 1894), herself a composer.


Biography: Ottorino Respighi
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The rather conservative eclecticism of the music of the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) made it immediately popular. His skill in writing for orchestra was unsurpassed.

The father of Ottorino Respighi was a professional musician and teacher at Bologna's Liceo Musicale, where Ottorino received his first musical training. He was a gifted violinist, and it was not until after his graduation from the conservatory that he definitely decided to be a composer rather than a violin virtuoso. Realizing that he needed a broader musical background than that supplied at home, he went to St. Petersburg to study with Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and later to Berlin to study with Max Bruch, a rather conservative German composer.

After his return to Italy, Respighi was appointed professor of composition at the prestigious Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome, and in 1923 he became its director. Tours of Europe and the United States in 1925, 1928, and 1932, in which he conducted his compositions with leading orchestras, spread his fame.

Respighi is chiefly remembered as the composer of two tone poems, the Fountains of Rome (1916-1917) and the Pines of Rome (1924), brilliantly orchestrated evocations of the Eternal City. In a preface to the score of the former the composer wrote, "In this symphonic poem the composer has endeavored to give expression to the sentiments and visions suggested to him by four of Rome's fountains, contemplated at the hour in which their character is most in harmony with the surrounding landscape, or in which their beauty appears most impressive to the observer." The Pines also has four sections, depicting the Villa Borghese, a catacomb, the Janiculum, and the Appian Way. These are very effective programs because they allowed the composer to write music of contrasting moods and varying associations, both pictorial and historical.

These compositions show Respighi's complete mastery of modern orchestration. His use of solo woodwinds and brass reveals what he learned from Rimsky-Korsakov, but it is also apparent that he knew the scores of Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, and Richard Strauss as well. In the third section of the Pines, Respighi introduces a recording of an actual nightingale's song into the score.

Other compositions of Respighi are the operas The Sunken Bell, produced at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1928, Maria Egiziaca (1932), and La Fiamma (1934); a ballet commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev, La Boutique fantasque (1919), written on themes by Gioacchino Rossini; and a Concerto Gregoriano (1922) for violin and orchestra, based on Gregorian chant.

Further Reading

There is no biography of Respighi in English, but his wife, Elsa Respighi, wrote a memoir, Ottorino Respighi (trans. 1962). He is discussed in Paul Collaer, A History of Modern Music (1955; trans. 1961), and David Ewen, The World of Twentieth-century Music (1968).

Additional Sources

Alvera, Pierluigi., Respighi, New York, N.Y.: Treves Pub. Co., 1986.

Ottorino Respighi, Torino: ERI, 1985.

Respighi, Elsa, Fifty years of a life in music, 1905-1955, Lewiston: E. Mellen Press, 1993.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Ottorino Respighi
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Respighi, Ottorino (ôttōrē'nō rāspē'gē), 1879-1936, Italian composer, studied with Rimsky-Korsakov and Max Bruch. He was director (1924-25) of the Conservatory of St. Cecilia, Rome, afterward teaching advanced composition there until his death. Among his romantic symphonic poems are The Fountains of Rome (1917), The Pines of Rome (1924), and Roman Festivals (1929), which evoke Italian scenes and show him a master of orchestration. He wrote other orchestral works, chamber music, piano pieces, and operas, including Belfagor (1923; a comic opera), The Sunken Bell (1927; based on Hauptmann's Die versunkene Glocke), The Flame (1934), and the posthumously produced Lucrezia (1937), which was finished by his wife, Elsa.

Bibliography

See biography by E. Respighi (tr. 1962).

Artist: Ottorino Respighi
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Ottorino Respighi
  • Period: Modern (1910-1949)
  • Country: Italy
  • Born: July 09, 1879 in Bologna, Italy
  • Died: April 18, 1936 in Rome, Italy
  • Genres: Ballet, Chamber Music, Concerto, Keyboard Music, Opera, Orchestral Music, Symphony, Vocal Music

Biography

Mostly known for his richly descriptive symphonic poems Fontane di Roma (The Fountains of Rome) and Pini di Roma (The Pines of Rome), Respighi was a versatile composer who translated into music powerful visual experiences and feelings of deep attachment to cherished places. Respighi's symphonic works are praised primarily for their exquisite orchestration, but these compositions also possess a charm which transcends the merely picturesque. This charm is particularly evident in works inspired by Medieval and Renaissance music, such as Ancient Airs and Dances for orchestra.

Born in 1879, Respighi studied from 1891 to 1900 at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna. In 1900 and 1902, he traveled to Russia, where he played the viola in the Imperial Orchestra in St. Petersburg. During his two extended visits to Russia, Respighi studied with Rimsky-Korsakov, absorbing the Russian master's ideas regarding orchestral color. In 1903, Respighi turned to a career of a concert violinist; he also played chamber music, joining Bologna's Mugellini Quartet as a violist. During the early 1900s, Respighi started writing music, but his compositions (chamber and orchestral works) attracted little attention. In 1908-1909, he was in Berlin, where he immersed himself in German musical culture. In 1913, Respighi settled in Rome, accepting a composition professorship at the Liceo (subsequently Conservatorio) di Santa Cecilia. Enchanted by Rome, Respighi found inspiration in the city's unique atmosphere and consequently formulated an original, personal musical language, exemplified by Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), written in 1914-1916.

Respighi's next project was a children's opera, La bella dormente nel bosco (Sleeping Beauty), finished in 1921, and regarded as his best stage work. After the Fontane di Roma, Respighi sought inspiration in early music, introducing Renaissance and Medieval themes into his compositions. In 1917, he composed the first set of his Antiche arie e danze per liuto (&Ancient Airs and Dances for Lute), for piano duet and strings. The second and third sets, for strings, were composed in 1923 and 1931, respectively. Sometimes regarded as adaptations, these compositions nevertheless exude a unique freshness and sincerity.

Works composed in the 1920s reflected both Respighi's fascination with early music and his desire to translate visual sensations into music. Thus, the Concerto gregoriano for violin and orchestra, composed in 1921, and Quartetto dorico, written in 1924, evoke the spirit of ancient music, while The Pines of Rome describes the splendor of the Roman landscape.

In 1924, Respighi was named director of the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, resigning, however, two years later, so he would have more time to compose. Nevertheless, this period included two American tours, in 1925-1926 and 1932, as a conductor and pianist. He also accompanied singers, including his wife, Elsa Olivieri-Sangiacomo, who was also a composer. Works composed during this period include Vetrate di chiesa (Church Windows), for orchestra, written in 1925, and the Trittico botticelliano (Three Botticelli Pictures), composed in 1927 -- a work inspired by three paintings by the great Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. Composed in 1928-1930, Respighi's Lauda per la Nativita del Signore, for two pianos, wind ensembles, vocal soloists, and chorus, develops Renaissance motifs to create a charming, serene celebration of the spirit of Christmas. Elected to the Royal Academy of Italy in 1932, Respighi died in 1936. ~ Zoran Minderovic, All Music Guide
Wikipedia: Ottorino Respighi
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Elsa and Ottorino Respighi in the 1920s

Ottorino Respighi (July 9, 1879 - April 18, 1936) was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral Roman trilogy: Fontane di Roma - "Fountains of Rome"; Pini di Roma - "Pines of Rome"; and Feste Romane - "Roman Festivals". His musicological interest in 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century music led him to also compose pieces based on the music of this period.

Born in Bologna, he studied composition with Giuseppe Martucci and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Many sources indicate that he also studied briefly with Max Bruch, but in her biography of the composer, Respighi's wife asserts that this is not the case.[1] Principally a violinist until 1908, he then turned primarily to composition. He lived in Rome from 1913.

Contents

Biography

Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna, Italy. He was taught piano and violin by his father, who was a local piano teacher. He continued studying violin and viola with Federico Sarti at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna, composition with Giuseppe Martucci, and historical studies with Luigi Torchi, a scholar of early music. A year after receiving his diploma in violin in 1899, Respighi went to Russia to be principal violist in the orchestra of the Russian Imperial Theatre in St Petersburg during its season of Italian opera; while there he studied composition for five months with Rimsky-Korsakov. He then returned to Bologna, where he earned a second degree in composition. Until 1908 his principal activity was as first violin in the Mugellini Quintet. In 1908-09 he spent some time performing in Germany before finally returning to Italy and turning his attention entirely to composition.

Upon being appointed a teacher of composition at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in 1913, Respighi moved to Rome and lived there for the rest of his life. In 1919 He married a former pupil, singer Elsa Olivieri-Sangiacomo. From 1923 to 1926 he was director of the Conservatorio. In 1925 he collaborated with Sebastiano Arturo Luciani on an elementary textbook entitled Orpheus. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Italy in 1932.

A visit to Brazil resulted in the composition "Brazilian Impressions". Initially he intended to have a sequence of five pieces, but by 1928 he had completed only three, and decided to present what he had. Its first performance was in 1928 in Rio de Janeiro. The first piece is a nocturne, "Tropical Night", with fragments of dance rhythms suggested by the sensuous textures. The second piece is a sinister picture of a snake research institute, Butantan Institute, that Respighi visited in São Paulo, SP, with hints of birdsong (as in The Pines of Rome). The final movement is a vigorous and colourful Brazilian dance.

Respighi maintained an uneasy relationship with Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party during his later years. He vouched for more outspoken critics such as Arturo Toscanini, allowing them to continue to work under the regime.[2] Feste Romane, the third part of his Roman trilogy, was premiered by Toscanini and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 1929; Toscanini recorded the music twice for RCA Victor, first with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1942 and then with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in 1949, and RCA released both versions, first on LP and then CD. Respighi's music had considerable success in the USA: the Toccata for piano and orchestra was premiered (with Respighi as soloist) under Willem Mengelberg with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in November 1928, and the large-scale theme and variations entitled Metamorphoseon was a commission for the fiftieth anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

In his role as musicologist, Respighi was also an enthusiastic scholar of Italian music of the 16th-18th centuries. He published editions of the music of Claudio Monteverdi and Antonio Vivaldi, and of Benedetto Marcello's Didone. Because of his devotion to these older figures and their styles of composing, it is tempting to see him as a typical exponent of Neo-classicism. In fact, Neo-Renaissance or Neo-Baroque would probably more accurately describe his compositions that are based on earlier work. Respighi generally kept clear of the musical idiom of the classical period, unlike most neo-classical composers. He preferred combining pre-classical melodic styles and musical forms (like dance suites) with typical late 19th century romantic harmonies and textures.

He continued to compose and tour until January 1936, after which he became increasingly ill. A cardiac infection led to his death by heart failure on April 18 of that year at the age of 56. A year after his burial, his remains were moved to his birthplace Bologna and reinterred at the city's expense.

Works

Opera

  • Re Enzo (1905)
  • Semirâma (1909)
  • Marie Victoire (completed in 1913, but not produced until 2004)
  • La bella dormente nel bosco (1922)
  • Belfagor (1923)
  • La campana sommersa (1927)
  • Maria Egiziaca (1932)
  • La fiamma (1934)
  • Lucrezia (1937) (completed posthumously by his wife, Elsa, and his pupil Ennio Porrino)

Ballet

  • La Boutique fantasque (1918), which borrows tunes from the 19th century composer Rossini. Premiered in London on June 5, 1919.
  • Sevres de la vieille France (1920)
  • La Pentola magica (1920)
  • Le astuzie de Columbina (1920)
  • Belkis, Regina di Saba (1930), his last work for ballet

Orchestral

  • Symphonic Variations (1900)
  • Preludio, corale e fuga (1901)
  • Suite in E major (Sinfonia) (1901 rev. 1903)
  • Burlesca (1906)
  • Ouverture carnevalesca (1913)
  • Sinfonia Drammatica (1913-14)
  • The Roman trilogy (three symphonic poems evoking Roman places and times of day)
  • Ancient Airs and Dances
  • Ballata delle Gnomidi (Dance of the Gnomes) (1920), based on a poem by Claudio Clausetti
  • Rossiniana (1925) - free transcriptions from Rossini's Les petits riens
  • Vetrate di chiesa (Church Windows) (1925), four movements of which three are based on Tre Preludi sopra melodie gregoriane for piano (1919)
  • Gli Uccelli (The Birds) (1927), based on Baroque pieces imitating birds
  • Trittico Botticelliano (1927)
  • Brazilian Impressions (1928)
  • Metamorphoseon Modi XII: Tema e Variazioni (1930)

Concerto

  • Piano
    • Piano Concerto in A minor (1902)
    • Fantasia Slava (1903)
    • Concerto in modo misolidio (Concerto in the Mixolydian mode) (1925)
    • Toccata for Piano and Orchestra (1928)
  • Violin
    • Violin Concerto in A minor ("Concerto all'antica") (1908)
    • Concerto Gregoriano (1921)
    • Poema Autunnale (Autumn Poem) (1920-5)
  • Suite in G major for organ and string orchestra (1905)
  • Adagio con variazioni (1920), for cello and orchestra
  • Concerto a cinque (Concerto for Five) (1933), for oboe, trumpet, piano, viola d'amore, double-bass, and strings

Vocal/Choral

  • Christus (text by Respighi) (1898-99), Biblical cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra
  • Nebbie (1906), voice and piano
  • Stornellatrice (1906?), voice and piano
  • Cinque canti all'antica (1906), voice and piano
  • Aretusa (text by Shelley) (1910-11), cantata for mezzo-soprano and orchestra
  • La Sensitiva (The Sensitive Plant, text by Shelley) (1914), for mezzo-soprano and orchestra
  • Il Tramonto (The sunset, text by Shelley) (1914), for mezzo-soprano and string quartet (or string orchestra)
  • Dietà silvane (Woodland Deities, texts by Antonio Rubino) (1917), song-cycle for soprano and small orchestra
  • Cinque liriche (1917), voice and piano
  • Quattro liriche (Gabriele d'Annunzio) (1920), voice and piano
  • La Primavera (The Spring, texts by Constant Zarian) (1922) lyric poem for soli, chorus and orchestra
  • Lauda per la Natività del Signore (Laud to the Nativity, text attributed to Jacopone da Todi) (1930), a cantata for three soloists (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor), mixed chorus (including substantial sections for 8-part mixed and TTBB male chorus), and chamber ensemble (woodwinds and piano 4-hands)

Chamber/Instrumental

  • String Quartets
    • String Quartet in D Major in one movement (undated)
    • String Quartet No.1 in D Major (1892-98)
    • String Quartet No.2 in B flat Major (1898)
    • String Quartet in D Major [1907)
    • String Quartet in D minor (1909) subtitled by composer "Ernst is das Leben, heiter ist die Kunst"
    • Quartetto Dorico or Doric String Quartet (1924)
  • Tre Preludi sopra melodie gregoriane, for piano (1921)
  • Violin Sonata in B minor
  • Variazioni, for guitar
  • Double Quartet in D minor (1901)
  • Piano Quintet in F minor (1902)
  • Six Pieces for Violin & Piano (1901-06)
  • Quartet in D Major for 4 Viols (1906)
  • Huntingtower: Ballad for Band (1932)
  • Several instrumental sonatas
  • String Quintet for 2 Violins, 2 Violas & Violoncello (undated)

Note: The bulk of these chamber compositions have not been published and are in manuscript at the conservatories in Bologna and Rome. Three String Quartets (1907, 1909 & 1924) and the Piano Quintet have been published.

Recordings

Note: The three works of the Roman Trilogy are among the most ubiquitous works in the catalogue, and have been recorded by all the major world ensembles under many prominent conductors. The recording of the first two with Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is one of the most respected in the catalogue and features prominently in recommended listings in such publications as the Good CD Guide and the Penguin Guide to CDs.

Biographical Sources

  • Respighi, Elsa (1955) Fifty Years of a Life in Music
  • Respighi, Elsa (1962) Ottorino Respighi, London: Ricordi
  • Nupen, Christopher (director) (1983) Ottorino Respighi: A Dream of Italy, Allegro Films
  • Barrow, Lee G (2004) Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936): An Annotated Bibliography, Scarecrow Press

References

  1. ^ Elsa Respighi, Ottorino Respighi, London, Ricordi, p. 25
  2. ^ Liner notes from RCA Toscanini Edition CD Vol 32 (1990)

External links


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