Ottorino Respighi
Late Romantic · 1879–1936
Ottorino Respighi came from Bologna, trained as a violinist and viola player, and spent two seasons in the opera orchestra in St. Petersburg, where he took lessons from Rimsky-Korsakov, the Russian master of orchestral color. The lessons stuck: at a time when Italian composers mostly wrote opera, Respighi built his career on brilliant, picture-painting orchestral music.
From 1913 he taught composition in Rome, and the city gave him his best subjects. Fountains of Rome and Pines of Rome portray specific places at specific hours of the day; Pines even calls for a phonograph recording of a real nightingale, an early use of recorded sound in the concert hall. He also loved old music, turning Renaissance lute pieces into the three suites of Ancient Airs and Dances.
Pines of Rome is the showpiece to start with; its final minutes, a Roman army marching up the Appian Way, deserve good speakers. Fountains of Rome comes next.
94 works in the catalog, across 5 genres. Log what you listen to with Opus, the classical music journal for iPhone.
Chamber
- 3 Pezzi for Organ, P.92
- 5 Pezzi for Violin and Piano, P.62
- 6 Pezzi for Violin and Piano, P.31
- Allegretto vivace, for violin and piano
- Giga, for violin and piano, P.15b
- Huntingtower, ballad for instrumental ensemble, P.173
- Quintet for Piano and Strings in F minor, P.35
- Sarabanda, for violin and piano, P.15a
- String Quartet, P.144, "Quartetto dorico"
- String Quartet in D minor, P.91, "Ernst ist das Leben heiter ist die Kunst"
- Suite della tabacchiera, P.168
- Violin Sonata in B minor, P.110
- Violin Sonata in D minor, P.15
- Woodwind Quintet in G minor, P.21
Keyboard
- 3 Pezzi, for organ, P.92
- 3 Preludes on Gregorian melodies, P.131
- 6 Pezzi per bambini, P.149
- 6 Pieces, P.44
- Elevazione, for organ
- Piano Sonata in F minor, P.16
- Preludio, for organ in D minor, P.56
Orchestral
- Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite no. 1, P.109
- Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite no. 2, P.138
- Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite no. 3, P.172
- Feste romane, P.157
- Fontane di Roma, P.106
- Gli uccelli, P.154
- Pini di Roma, P.141
- Rossiniana, P.148
- Trittico botticelliano P.151
- Adagio con variazioni, for cello and piano, P.188
- Ballata delle gnomidi, P.124 Symphonic poem
- Belkis, Queen of Sheba, P.177 Suite from the ballet
- Berceuse, for string instruments, P.38
- Burlesca, P.59
- Concerto a cinque, for oboe, trumpet, violin, bass, piano, and strings, P.174
- Concerto gregoriano, for violin and orchestra, P.135
- Concerto in modo misolidio, for piano and orchestra, P.145
- Fantasia slava, for piano and orchestra in G minor, P.50
- Impressioni brasiliane, P.153
- Metamorphosen modi XII, Theme and Variations for Orchestra, P.169
- Notturno, P.74
- Ouverture carnevalesca, P.99
- Piano Concerto in A minor, P. 40
- Piano Concerto in A minor, P.40
- Poema autunnale, for violin and orchestra, P.146
- Preludio, corale, e fuga, P.30
- Sinfonia drammatica, P.102
- Suite for orchestra in E major, P.34
- Suite for Strings, P.41
- Suite in E major, P.51
- Suite in G major, for organ and strings, P.58
- Toccata for Piano and Orchestra, P.156
- Variazioni sinfoniche, P.28
- Vetrate di chiesa, P.150
- Violin Concerto in A major, P.49
Stage
- La Boutique Fantasque Ballet
- Belkis, Queen of Sheba, P.171 Ballet
- La bella dormente nel bosco, P.176 Opera
- La fiamma, P.175 Opera
- La pentola magica, P.129
- Marie Victoire, P.100 Opera
- Scherzo veneziano P.130
- Semirâma, tragic, P. 94 Opera
- Sèvres de la vieille France, P.128
Vocal
- 3 Liriche, P.99a
- 4 Liriche, for voice, harp, keyboard, and strings, P.125
- 4 Liriche su parole di poeti armeni, P.132, "4 Lyrical Songs on Texts by Armenian Poets"
- 5 Canti all'antica, for mezzo-soprano and piano, P.71, "5 Songs of Antiquity"
- 5 Liriche, P.108, "5 Lyrical Songs"
- 6 Liriche, Series 1, P.90
- 6 Liriche, Series 2, P.97
- Aretusa, for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, P.95
- Arie scozzesi, 4 songs for voice and piano, P.143
- Bella porta di rubini
- Contrasto, song for mezzo-soprano and piano, P.66
- Deità silvane, for soprano and 15 instruments, P.147
- Deità silvane, song cycle for soprano and piano, P.107
- E se un giorno tornasse, recitative for mezzo-soprano and piano, P. 96
- Fuga reale a 4 voci, for chorus, P.25
- Il tramonto, for voice and string quartet, P.101
- L' Ultima ebbrezza!, song for soprano and piano, P.8
- La primavera, for voices, chorus, orchestra, and organ, P.136
- La Sensitiva, for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, P.104
- Lauda per la Natività del Signore, for soloists, chorus, and ensemble, P.166
- Melodie, 6 songs for voice and piano, P.89
- Nebbie, for mezzo-soprano and piano, P.64, "Fog"
- Nevicata, for mezzo-soprano and piano, P.65, "Snowstorm"
- Notte, P.55a
- Notturno, romanza for tenor and piano, P.11
- Rispetti toscani, 4 songs for soprano and piano, P.103
- Scherzo, song for soprano and piano, P.68
- Stornellatrice, for soprano and piano, P.69
- Tanto bella!, romanza, P.12, "So Beautiful!"
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