Casella: Orchestral Works Volume 2

[A notte alta] has a dark beauty and some striking sonorities. Martin Roscoe is the exquisite soloist here, and this atmospheric performance should win new friends for a work that is among Casella's... — BBC Music Magazine, July 2012, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 30th Apr 2012
Catalogue No: CHAN10712
Label: Chandos
Series: Musica Italiana, Casella Orchestral Works
Length: 73 minutes

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Casella: Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 61

Work length27:04

$6.00

$7.75

$10.50

BBC Philharmonic
Gianandrea Noseda

I. Sinfonia

Track length8:27

$2.00

$2.60

$3.50

II. Passacaglia

Track length11:41

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

III. Inno

Track length6:56

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Casella: A notte alta for piano and orchestra, Op. 30bis

Work length20:01

$5.00

$6.50

$8.75

Martin Roscoe (piano)
BBC Philharmonic
Gianandrea Noseda

Lento molto, misterioso

Track length5:27

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Andante molto tranquillo e calmo, quasi adagio

Track length6:58

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Agitando e cresc, molto

Track length1:50

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Lento motlo, misterioso

Track length3:35

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Andante molto tranquillo e calmo, quasi adagio

Track length2:11

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Casella: La donna serpente Suite No. 1, Op. 50bis

Work length9:33

$3.00

$3.90

$5.25

BBC Philharmonic
Gianandrea Noseda

I. Musica del sogno di re altidor: Andante

Track length2:50

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

II. Interludio: Andante moderato

Track length1:22

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Marcia Guerriera: Tempo di marcia

Track length5:21

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Casella: La donna serpente Suite No. 2, Op. 50ter

Work length16:43

$3.00

$3.90

$5.25

BBC Philharmonic
Gianandrea Noseda

I. Sinfonia Allegro vivacissimo

Track length5:28

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

I. Preludio Lento, ma non troppo: Sempre piu ff

Track length6:49

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

II. Battaglia - III. Finale Allegro vivacissimo

Track length4:26

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

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About

This is Volume 2 in the series of orchestral works by Alfredo Casella, performed by the BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Noseda, with the pianist Martin Roscoe. The disc also forms part of the ‘Italian Series’ on Chandos, in association with Ricordi Music and the BBC Philharmonic. International Record Review said of the previous volume: ‘Anyone with more than a passing interest in this fascinating composer needs to have this remarkable disc.’

Albeit largely forgotten today, Casella was in fact one of the most important composers of his generation, possessing creativity in abundance, and rare technical skill.

The earliest music on this disc, A notte alta (In Deepest Night), is Casella’s only piece of programme music, inspired, the composer tells us, ‘by sentimental events in my personal life’. You do not need to look far to get a good understanding of what these events might have been: the dedication ‘To Yvonne’ and the 1917 date on the solo piano version clearly indicate that they relate to his affair with a student, Yvonne Müller, who would become his wife after his first marriage was annulled in 1921.

Unlike most Italian composers of his generation, Casella had no operatic ambitions in the early part of his career. It was not until after his return to Italy from Paris in 1915 that he began to take a creative interest in the theatre, and the result was La donna serpente. This operatic score has much in common with Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, from the magic and comic elements to the heroic rescue of a beautiful young woman, in this case a half fairy-queen condemned to assume the shape of a serpent for 200 years.

The Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 61 was written to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. It was performed for the first time by this orchestra in its famous concert hall in 1938.

Reviews

July 2012

[A notte alta] has a dark beauty and some striking sonorities. Martin Roscoe is the exquisite soloist here, and this atmospheric performance should win new friends for a work that is among Casella's best...Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic capture the verve and spirit of Casella's oft-changing music.

11th May 2012

For anyone inquisitive about what happened to Italian music after the death of Puccini, these forthright performances with all musicians on top form come thoroughly recommended.

August 2012

The music of Alfredo Casella (1883-1947) charts a fascinating stylistic journey...[A notte alta is] a moody, at times downright sinister soundscape...Need I add that both performances and sound are absolutely top drawer? Enthusiastically recommended. I look forward to future instalments.

June 2012

It's music that...makes its impact through colour: here the orchestra provides a slithering, chromatic background for an incisively luminous Martin Roscoe. Quite wonderful...Casella's imagination and grasp of orchestral orchestral colouring simply shine through. Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic are the performers to bring it to life.

August 2012

The orchestra plays its collective heart out, and the Chandos recording is stunning in its realism and impact.

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