Respighi Piano

Conservative in his musical style as in his politics – rightly or wrongly the whiff of Fascism hangs over his name – Ottorino Respighi is remembered today almost exclusively for the blazing triptych of Roman tone poems. He also, however, produced a corpus of chamber, keyboard and vocal works, not to mention operas and orchestral pieces, many of which are crying out to be rediscovered. Slowly they are finding their way into concert programmes and on to record, and this disc from the Ambache should bring three of them a well-deserved wider currency. The superb Piano Quintet in F minor occasionally recalls Franck (who wrote one in the same key), but its piano-dominated lyrical effusion is wholly individual. The substantial ten-minute first movement is inadequately balanced by a two-minute Andantino and four-minute scherzo-like Vivacissimo, however, and it is possible that a finale has somehow become detached.

Respighi followed his famous orchestral set of Antiche danze ed arie (transcriptions from lute tablature), with some for the piano. He also transcribed others: the first by the Genovese, Simone Molinaro, Balletto ditto il Conte Orlando bears a strong resemblance to the first movement of The Birds, as does the Gagliarda by Vincenzo Galileo (father of the famous scientist). Of the other pieces, the Notturno from the Six Pieces has a distinctly Rachmaninovian feel. The F minor Sonata (1897–8) is a rarity, and it is difficult to imagine a performance that is more persuasive than this—at any price level. Konstantin Scherbakov is a pianist of quality, combining the highest musicianship with sensitivity and refinement. He is excellently recorded too.

Respighi followed his famous orchestral set of Antiche danze ed arie (transcriptions from lute tablature), with some for the piano. He also transcribed others: the first by the Genovese, Simone Molinaro, Balletto ditto il Conte Orlando bears a strong resemblance to the first movement of The Birds, as does the Gagliarda by Vincenzo Galileo (father of the famous scientist). Of the other pieces, the Notturno from the Six Pieces has a distinctly Rachmaninovian feel. The F minor Sonata (1897–8) is a rarity, and it is difficult to imagine a performance that is more persuasive than this—at any price level. Konstantin Scherbakov is a pianist of quality, combining the highest musicianship with sensitivity and refinement. He is excellently recorded too.

There are two early works and one latish one on this disc. The brief Slavic Fantasy is obviously one outcome of Respighi’s period of study with Rimsky-Korsakov, but the piano concerto (even earlier) is of a more generalised late-romantic type, which is not surprising when one considers that at its date of publication Brahms was only five years dead and Dvorak was still alive. These pieces make no demands of the listener, but there is no reason to be supercilious about them.

Borrowing from the title of Proust’s great novel, the latest recital by Imogen Cooper features a collection of pieces that she learnt as a teenager in Paris, or in her twenties working with Alfred Brendel in Vienna, but none of which she has performed on the concert platform, or really played at all in the intervening years. Cooper studied in Paris from 1961 to 1967 with Jacques Février (who had known Ravel well), Yvonne Lefébure (who had known Alfred Cortot), and Germaine Mounier. She started to wonder about the messages from her teachers she would find on her scores, and about the nature of memory. She was also interested to see if the repertoire she has acquired since she learnt these pieces would change her view, or shed new light on them. This highly personal recital is an exemplar of Imogen Cooper’s outstanding pianism and musicianship.

Another entry in the Steinway Classics series featuring sparkling performances of Mozart's Piano Sonatas Nos. 5, 10 and 12 by Antonio Pompa-Baldi.

Respighi’s orchestral music is loved for its lavish, operatic ‘fireworks’, its pomp and circumstance. This recording of his music for violin and piano demonstrates a more tender and intimate side to the composer, and also shows what a master he was of melody. Respighi had many influences from all over Europe and an enthusiasm for German music which perhaps explains the pleasing echoes of Brahms and Schumann among others. The sonatas, especially the later in B minor, are important works of nineteenth-century chamber music, and gems such as the Valse caressante and the Serenata are suffused with lyrical elegance which is perfectly carried off by the wonderful violinist Tanja Becker-Bender.