Alfredo Casella - La donna serpente; Partita (Francesco La Vecchia)

Information

Composer: Alfredo Casella

1. Introduzione, aria e toccata, Op. 55: I. Introduzione
2. Introduzione, aria e toccata, Op. 55: II. Aria
3. Introduzione, aria e toccata, Op. 55: III. Toccata
4. Partita for piano and small orchestra, Op. 42: I. Sinfonia
5. Partita for piano and small orchestra, Op. 42: II. Passacaglia
6. Partita for piano and small orchestra, Op. 42: III. Burlesca
7. La donna serpente, opera, Op. 50: Musica del sogno de Re Altidòr (Act 1)
8. La donna serpente, opera, Op. 50: Interludio (Act 2)
9. La donna serpente, opera, Op. 50: Musica guerriera (Act 2)
10. La donna serpente, opera, Op. 50: Sinfonia (Act 1)
11. La donna serpente, opera, Op. 50: Preludio (Act 3)
12. La donna serpente, opera, Op. 50: Battaglia e finale (Act 3)

Sun Hee You, piano (4-6)
Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma
Francesco La Vecchia, conductor

Date: 2012
Label: Naxos
https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573005

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

The composer that Casella most resembles in his chameleon-like musical personality is probably Martinu, and this is nowhere more true than in the Partita for piano and small orchestra. Scored for the distinctive combination of oboe, two clarinets, bass clarinet, three trumpets, timpani and strings, the work is an unalloyed delight. Listen to the end of the first movement recapitulation, and you’ll be hooked. Like Martinu’s Sinfonietta giocosa, the lightweight title in fact conceals a work of genuine substance, lasting (in this case) just over half an hour. The central Passacaglia (a form much exploited by Casella) is profoundly beautiful, and its evocative use of trills reveals that Casella learned a trick or two from the first Nachtmusik of Mahler’s Seventh, which he arranged for piano four-hands.

The Introduzione, aria e toccata again recalls (or foreshadows) Martinu–in this case the Toccata e due canzone. Like that piece, this is a substantial, at times brooding work brimming with memorable invention. The music’s stylized, neo-Baroque idiom couldn’t be farther removed from the nearly contemporary orchestral fragments from Casella’s only opera, La donna serpente (The Snake Woman), after a play by Gozzi. These “fragments” are actually pretty extensive, lasting a full half an hour, and if they pay homage to anyone I’d have to mention Rimsky-Korsakov. The Military March that ends the first suite evokes a fairytale atmosphere similar to that of The Golden Cockerel or Tsar Sultan, but there’s nothing Russian about the melodic material, which is completely personal.

This disc marks the conclusion of Naxos’ Casella series, and it has been a wonderful journey. As with the other discs, the performances are excellent. Sun Hee You does a wonderful job in the Partita, offering effortless virtuosity and an aptly light touch. There’s only one other recording available, featuring the very good Joshua Pierce, coupled to concertante works by Respighi and Rachmaninov, but conductor Franceso La Vecchia proves himself more imaginative an accompanist the Anton Nanut, and he also has the better orchestra and engineering. Casella truly was a great composer. The evidence on this disc is incontestable.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.573005&languageid=EN
https://www.amazon.com/Casella-serpente-Introduzione-toccata-orchestra/dp/B009F2CWGE

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Alfredo Casella (25 July 1883 in Turin – 5 March 1947 in Rome) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. He entered the Paris Conservatoiry in 1896 to study piano under Louis Diémer and composition under Gabriel Fauré. In this period, Casella developed a deep admiration for Debussy's output, but pursued a more romantic vein in his own writing. His work on Italian Baroque composers put him at the centre of the early 20th Century Neoclassical revival and also deeply influenced his own compositions. The resurrection of Vivaldi's works in the 20th century is mostly thanks to the efforts of Casella.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfredo_Casella

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Francesco La Vecchia (born September 10, 1954 in Rome) is an Italian classical conductor. La Vecchia's first instrument was the classical guitar. In 1972, he founded the Boccherini Quintet, and played hundreds of concerts with this ensemble in Europe, America and Asia. He began his career as conductor in 1982, and since then has conducted more than one hundred orchestras around the world. La Vecchia was named artistic and musical director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma in 2002. Specializing in Italian music, he has made dozens of recordings, mostly for the Naxos label.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_La_Vecchia

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