Search - Respighi, Muti, Philadelphia Orchestra :: Pines of Rome / Fountains of Rome / Roman Festival

Respighi rapido

K. Farrington | Missegre, France | 03/01/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This CD was one of the first CDs I purchased after I switched from vinyl. I had been used to an older RCA Victrola recording with Reiner and the Chicago Symphony of the three Roman Tone Poems. I have been a frequent traveller to Rome all my life and when I first listened to these splendid works I associated my personal experiences with Respighi's orchestral visions. I was really disappointed by this recording, so much so that I only played it a few times after I realized that I did not like Muti's heavily personalised rendition of these works I knew so well. To my mind this was a young conductor's recording. Muti takes the orchestra at a breakneck pace and they do brilliantly to keep up with him. It seems as if he wants to see how fast the works will go or they felt they would be stretched in getting all three works on one CD. He is a true modern interpreter, shearing off the dated romantic 'excess' that people of his generation feel as de trop. Thus, the luscious side of Respighi's orchestration, that sensual impressionistic inheritance from Debussy is lost or at least diluted in the orchestral flight and certain details of Respighi's score are lost due to the breakneck speed of the performance which doesn't allow the listener to comprehend them in real time. This is not only apparent in Respighi's slower episodes either. For example, in the coda and close of the Feste Romane. Here Respighi takes his orchestral mastery to a new height, depicting the revelries of the Befana festival. The garish effects are created by Respighi laying several layers of orchestral coat which are played at different speeds first. The orchestral climaxes are capped by swirling woodwind and its effect on me at the very end is to sit silently and say inwardly,'Wow!' This recording focused primarily on the acceleration and pace of the work to the detriment of the colouristic and harmonic detail. Therefore my searching ear did not pick up those choice subtle pieces of Respighi's depiction of this bacchanal. At first, I assumed that the reason I preferred the Reiner was that I had heard it first and knew the reading. However, on subsequently hearing the Decca version by Dutoit and the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal released in the 1980s I realised this was not the case. This was better than the Reiner version in both recording quality (of course) and interpretation. Dutoit reveals the pure Latin intensity of this romantic music. He languishes in its sensuality. The Gregorian melodies are magnificent. The brass is blazing. If you want to hear the true glories of the music and not behold the lionised ego of a world famous conductor do not buy this version. I would suggest that you invest in a copy of the Dutoit who understands the balance in Respighi's works and brings out the detail without losing the clarity that Respighi, a student of Rimsky-Korsakov, wanted you to hear. I have a copy of this CD if anybody wants it for I never play it."

Different views from different publications

Alan Majeska | Bad Axe, MI, USA | 11/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Riccardo Muti's recording of Respighi's "Roman Trilogy" with the Phildelphia Orchestra has had different views from different publications over the years. A 1986 review in STEREO REVIEW referred to Muti's recording as "Spectacular", but a 1996 AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE review called it "over-rated, and a recording with no real bass" (referring to the engineering). I tend to view it in a more favorable light than the ARG reviewers; Muti conducts with tremendous flair, and if he glosses over some high points in the excitement of the moment, I consider this a great recording, worthy to stir the senses for the moment, which Respighi, like Richard Strauss in his tone poems, should do.



I can't give you a blow by blow description of how Muti does each movement within each work, but he has a great building climax in IV of "Pines of Rome." "Fountains" is more reflective, while "Festivals" is truly savage, and really barbaric in I, depicting the torture and slaughter of Christians at the hands of the gladiators in the Colusseum.



In short, I give Muti's Respighi 5 stars for performance, 4 stars for sound:the bass is a bit diffuse, as ARG's reviewers pointed out.



Alternatives? Ormandy/Philadelphia (Sony) for all 3; Ozawa/Boston (DG) for "Festivals" (maybe hard to find now); Gatti/Santa Cecilia (EMI) for all 3, in digital sound which is state of the art."

Not the best, but quite fine (to me)

S. Smith | Washington, DC | 01/12/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have this on LP, but only have two of them on CD. Fountains is with Shcheherezade, and Pines is with the Romeo & Juliet suites. I don't have Festivals on CD. I do remember the LP being somewhat problematic in terms of sound, and hoped that CD would clear that up. Fountains seems to have worked, but Pines still seems a bit congested. Muti's Philly does play wonderfully, regardless.



Reiner is stil splendid, and I don't mind the sound. Ozawa is a nice way to get all 3, but Maazel/Cleveland (no Fountains) really works the best. Most people rave about his Festivals, but I also love his Pines, especially the Appian Way. His Pittsburgh version (all 3) is also great. Ormandy is OK on a budget, but DeWaart/SanFran, Lane/Atlanta, Com misiona/Baltimore are not. They don't contain all 3, and there are pacing, ensemble, intonation issues. Dutoit just sounds like a run-through. I got a number of Du-what's recordings in the 80's, and they seem so overrated. Their longevity is severely lacking.

I'd say, go ahead with Muti, but don't be surprised if you find that ultimately, you prefer someone else. Of course, he could do it just the way you want it, and you can certainly do worse!"