I’ve got to hand it to Dave - he got this exactly right. The Botticelli suite is a masterpiece of short form composition and orchestration. The “Adoration of the Magi” is absolutely splendid.
Waiting for my two favourite composers lately: CPE BACH - it is a difficult choice between orchestral and piano music. Maybe we need to meet halfway and pick Concerto for Harpsichord and Pianoforte E-flat Major? I doubt it is most beautiful CPE's work, but it is quite unique and grasp this short moment when "klavier" instruments start to diversify - modern piano in statu nascendi. This concerto is an answer for question "how to use the difference". TELEMANN - is it your "Scarlatti" case? We need to have more of them to understand significance of his work? My vote is for Der Getreue Music-Master, it is more than "one album", but what a wealth!
Excellent choice. I actually just got to know this work only about a month ago when I got the CD with John Neschling and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liege on Bis. I'm not sure how, after 30 plus years of listening to classical music, I had never been aware of this glorious piece.
My choice would be Belkis; wonderful piece of eastern exoticism. Great orchestration, exciting music, very colourful and the music does transports one’s mind to some wonderful middle eastern land. Lovely mystical and very colourful, opening leading on to a great finale. It is up there with his one time teacher Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and Antar (well perhaps not as good but certainly in the same room as those two great pieces). There is a great recording by Geoffrey Simon and the Philharmonic but I like Oue and the Minnesota, they bring out the shear beauty of the piece where as Simon is more about the power. In conclusion, it is a wonderful, beautiful, dramatic, decadent piece of exoticism and on a cold, wet and grey day in England that can be a very good thing.
La Sensitiva is a wonderful and beautiful composition. My go to recording features Dame Janet Baker with Richard Hickox conducting the City of London Sinfonia.
I’m absolutely loving this series so far! One of the most creative and wholly entertaining things yet that I’ve seen from this channel. Also a great thought exercise as well Here’s some of the folks I’d like to see your take on in future videos! (1) Telemann (2) Hindemith (3) Seeger (4) Crumb (5) Glass (6) Barber (7) Penderecki (8) Lutoslawski (9) Saariaho (10) Bernstein (11) Tan Dun (12) Grainger (13) Still Thanks so much for all your work, and get well soon!
Precisely what I would have chosen. In fact, as I started watching, but was ignorant of your pick, I chose Trittico Botticelliano. A brilliant piece. Lovely beyond words - or pictures.
I’m not sure if I’ve seen any calls for Carl Maria von Weber. No surprises from me: Der Freischutz. The definition of early Romanticism and such a wonderfully lyrical opera even if the plot is a touch daft. The invention in the Wolf’s Glen scene alone wins it for me. It doesn’t get much attention live these days, certainly not where I’m sitting, but I am very fond of it and it was so influential in Germanic circles. If you want to go alternative I suppose you could get an album of overtures so you don’t miss out on the Oberon overture. Or one of the Clarinet Concerti? Oh this is so hard!
Very good choice, Mr. David. Hard to argue with that one. However, in my humble opinion, it would have been Ancient Airs and Dances. It's a gorgeous work and has the qualities of early works you mention. You also mentioned Antonnio Vivaldi and I think he's still missing from your list. My pick would be "L' Estro Armonico." The harmonies among the strings are stunningly gorgeous and its solo lines are filled with soaring grace and style. Just my 2 cents.
Yes L'Estro should be the Vivaldi choice, I completely agree...over those 12 concertos, he laid out a compendium of the possibilities for concerto form for years to come, and it was from this set that Bach made transcriptions...excellent and non obvious choice there!
Great choice - a lovely work which I was just listening to recently. My choice would be his still sadly-neglected (in the concert hall, anyway) late masterwork “Metamorphoseon modi XII”, which can easily stand with the greatest sets of orchestral variations ever penned. Great as the Roman Trilogy, Church Windows etc. are, “Metamorphoseon” has an added depth of feeling, dark coloring, and coloristic subtlety which is really remarkable. The “Cadenza” variation, which features several haunting solos for the principal viola, cello, harp, and clarinet players, is worth the price of admission alone. And the piece certainly isn’t devoid of Respighi’s customary technicolor brilliance, either - just witness the majestic ending! Both the Philharmonia/Simon on Chandos and Liège Philharmonic/Neschling on BIS recordings are marvelous in their own unique ways. Anyone not familiar with this piece is really missing out on one of the great orchestral masterworks of the 20th century!
I really enjoyed the Three Botticelli Pictures and listened to it multiple times but for me it is edged out by The Birds. I just feel in love with The Birds. I have a clear bird feeder attached to my mother's window and she lies in her hospital bed and watches them all day so I played the piece for her and she loved it too. EMI Classics has a 2 CD digital recording compilation of Respighi streaming 2 hours and 16 min which has both pieces by the Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields conducted by Neville Marriner that I loved but my pick is just The Birds since it actually made my mother smile which is no easy thing - lol.
Couldn't suggest because I know so little of this composer. But find this music to top the Pines of Rome because it moves me also while it is beautiful. And you can actually see the orchestra on RUclips and what he makes of it is such a prodigy. Thank you to have made me discover this triptic in one of your fabulous programmes.
A very good choice, but my vote goes to the stunningly beautiful Concerto Gregoriano (in effect a violin concerto). In compositional terms Respighi seems always to have had one foot rooted in the distant past, and the other exploring more modern 20th century idioms - the Concerto Gregoriano is a prime example of this, albeit inexplicably neglected. The concerto utilises plainsong and Gregorian chant elements, and these are expressed in music of beguiling beauty and lyricism. And yes, the work contains examples of the full-on orchestral tutti writing that we have come to expect from Respighi, though the prevailing mood throughout the work is meditative. I was lucky enough to have witnessed a performance of the Concerto Gregoriano during the 2021 season of the BBC Proms here in London, after having spent a lifetime thinking I would never hear the piece 'live' in concert. The concert I attended was part of the return season after the 2020 COVID outbreak, and so it was memorable for all kinds of reasons. Incidentally, when is Chandos going to box up their splendid series of Respighi orchestral recordings? I'm sure there would be an appreciative market waiting out there.
Excellent choice, especially since Respighi was at heart a miniaturist; his transformations of ancient/modal music were the essence of his art. In addition to "Veni, Emmanuel", his use of the lovely shepherd's Zampognari (bagpipe) carol near the end of the 2nd Movement is positively sublime. Along with the Botticelli Triptych, the exquisite Laud to the Nativity ( 3 soloists, choir, 6 woodwinds, plus piano 4-hands and TRIANGLE in the finale) is about as perfect a work as can be imagined. Hard to choose between them. Agree with several posts here re: Metamorphosen; it's terrific (wasn't it commissioned for the Boston Sym's 50th anniversary along with Honegger 1, Stravinsky Psalms, Bax 2, Roussel 3, Profofiev 4, etc etc?) LR
My first guess was his nocturne for piano. It my second guess was right haha. I also love the Botticelli pictures; specifically the birth of Venus with that rising motif when it ramps up
My first Respighi disc was Geoffrey Simon's CALA disc with the Botticellis, Suite in G for Strings & Organ et al, and I got to know these works before I ever heard any of the more famous suites. By coincidence Signum is re-releasing that disc next week!
Please do a video on his Concerto Gregoriano if younget the chance. It is the most underrated yet gorgeous violin concertos ever written ( in my opinion ).
I do love Respighi. I thought you might pick Ancient Airs and Dances, which would be my choice. I could also choose The Birds or Pines of Rome. But Trittico Botticelliano would also be a good choice, did you consider it? (Just kidding)!
of resphigi, my choice is on the pines....no....! in fact on the gregoriano concerto, I like the atmosphere of this work, where we find a certain atmosphere of an abbey, in a very well written modal writing.
Hello Dave, As one of, if not the, greatest Walton fans in the world, I would like to TRY to pick one essential and characteristic work of his. Obvious choices would be the 1st Symphony or Belshazzar’s Feast, obviously two of the greatest works of their genres in the history of the universe. But I’m also very much interested in considering other works that are just as characteristic: The Quest is an incredible work which shows so much of his versatility and expression; the Gloria I think is even greater than Belshazzar and has an even wider range of expression. And the neglected 2nd Symphony is also quite representative. I know that you love the Hindemith Variations, though it’s a little more “cool” and “objective” than these others in my opinion. Of course it’s a great work. In some ways I’d love to have one of these later works because they are relatively less well known and regarded. I disagree completely with the idea that his post war works were less good. They are just exploring other moods. I mean who can blame him for not attempting to duplicate the volcano of the mind-blowing intensity of the First Symphony. The 2nd is also great, just not the same kind of work. Anyway, as always I can’t pick one! But these are my reasons for why any of the above would do just fine. But I will say The Quest and the Gloria must be better known for the masterworks that they are! The latter still awaits a truly great recording. The two commercial ones are Ok, more so the Willcocks. But it is also quite a difficult work-the choral parts especially.
I should add that when asked what his “dessert island” choice of his own works was, Walton chose the violin concerto. This is also really a great choice. His three concerti (or four of you count the sinfonia concertante with piano) are really at the pinnacle of his work, and would also fit the bill for representative choices.
I would like to make an additonal remark: If you listen to Alex North's 'Cleopatra' Soundtrack, you would notice a slightly similar sound as the 2nd B. Picture.
My favorite Hollywood movie titles curtain raiser is the opening of Kubrick's 'Spartacus' to Alex North's stunning music. As much drama as the following movie!
Botticelli Triptych for me. But I'd like to mention La Boutique Fantasque. I know, it isn't Respighi, it's Rossini's late-in-life piano tunes. But Respighi gave them life with his brilliant orchestration. As a ballet, "The Magic Toyshop," it should be a regular Christmas event.
I’m just glad you didn’t choose the “Lauda per la natività”. Unless old Cancrizans has a high tolerance for boredom, he would have been none too pleased!
Utterly, totally disagree. "Lauda" is, in my opinion, the single most purely beautiful work I know. Seriously. Maybe you've heard only slow, draggy performance/recordings. The old 1961 Wallenstein/Roger Wagner chorale on Capitol (now Clarion) highlights the work's lightness, charm and "airy" qualities, as well as the hushed reverence. Sublime music. LR
I agree - at least as virtuosic & fantastic as anything by Wagner, Mahler, Stravinsky, etc etc... But I love the Botticelli and agree with Dave's choice.
@@kylejohnson8877My feeling has always been that a major cause of the neglect could lie with the composer himself - the choice of the title for the work. It does not attract prospective listeners - or performers - to the work.
@@raymondcox789 I dunno, I kinda like the title. Sounds very ancient and imposing. But sure, it’s a bit of a mouthful compared to “Pines of Rome”, for example.
I’ve got to hand it to Dave - he got this exactly right. The Botticelli suite is a masterpiece of short form composition and orchestration. The “Adoration of the Magi” is absolutely splendid.
Hurray! My personal favorite also! Thanks Mr. Hurwitz.
I agree with u with this one, that piece is totally mastery of colour and deep...
Really enjoyed this. Such beautiful orchestration. So glad to learn of the Three Botticelli Pictures
Waiting for my two favourite composers lately:
CPE BACH - it is a difficult choice between orchestral and piano music. Maybe we need to meet halfway and pick Concerto for Harpsichord and Pianoforte E-flat Major? I doubt it is most beautiful CPE's work, but it is quite unique and grasp this short moment when "klavier" instruments start to diversify - modern piano in statu nascendi. This concerto is an answer for question "how to use the difference".
TELEMANN - is it your "Scarlatti" case? We need to have more of them to understand significance of his work? My vote is for Der Getreue Music-Master, it is more than "one album", but what a wealth!
thank you once again, David. have been a Respighi fan for a long time....thanks for this insight into the Three Boticellis Pictures.....
Excellent choice. I actually just got to know this work only about a month ago when I got the CD with John Neschling and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liege on Bis. I'm not sure how, after 30 plus years of listening to classical music, I had never been aware of this glorious piece.
There's just so much music out there!
My choice too. Watching the Dave’s faves Respigi by Orpheus video got me to listen to them in earnest. Yes, they’re so beautiful!
I so love when the choice is not obvious, however good the obvious choice might have been.
Nonsense.
@@DavesClassicalGuide I see you're doing better already 😄
My choice would be Belkis; wonderful piece of eastern exoticism. Great orchestration, exciting music, very colourful and the music does transports one’s mind to some wonderful middle eastern land. Lovely mystical and very colourful, opening leading on to a great finale. It is up there with his one time teacher Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and Antar (well perhaps not as good but certainly in the same room as those two great pieces).
There is a great recording by Geoffrey Simon and the Philharmonic but I like Oue and the Minnesota, they bring out the shear beauty of the piece where as Simon is more about the power.
In conclusion, it is a wonderful, beautiful, dramatic, decadent piece of exoticism and on a cold, wet and grey day in England that can be a very good thing.
La Sensitiva is a wonderful and beautiful composition. My go to recording features Dame Janet Baker with Richard Hickox conducting the City of London Sinfonia.
I’m absolutely loving this series so far! One of the most creative and wholly entertaining things yet that I’ve seen from this channel. Also a great thought exercise as well
Here’s some of the folks I’d like to see your take on in future videos!
(1) Telemann
(2) Hindemith
(3) Seeger
(4) Crumb
(5) Glass
(6) Barber
(7) Penderecki
(8) Lutoslawski
(9) Saariaho
(10) Bernstein
(11) Tan Dun
(12) Grainger
(13) Still
Thanks so much for all your work, and get well soon!
Precisely what I would have chosen. In fact, as I started watching, but was ignorant of your pick, I chose Trittico Botticelliano. A brilliant piece. Lovely beyond words - or pictures.
I’m not sure if I’ve seen any calls for Carl Maria von Weber. No surprises from me: Der Freischutz. The definition of early Romanticism and such a wonderfully lyrical opera even if the plot is a touch daft. The invention in the Wolf’s Glen scene alone wins it for me. It doesn’t get much attention live these days, certainly not where I’m sitting, but I am very fond of it and it was so influential in Germanic circles. If you want to go alternative I suppose you could get an album of overtures so you don’t miss out on the Oberon overture. Or one of the Clarinet Concerti? Oh this is so hard!
Very good choice, Mr. David. Hard to argue with that one. However, in my humble opinion, it would have been Ancient Airs and Dances. It's a gorgeous work and has the qualities of early works you mention. You also mentioned Antonnio Vivaldi and I think he's still missing from your list. My pick would be "L' Estro Armonico." The harmonies among the strings are stunningly gorgeous and its solo lines are filled with soaring grace and style. Just my 2 cents.
Yes L'Estro should be the Vivaldi choice, I completely agree...over those 12 concertos, he laid out a compendium of the possibilities for concerto form for years to come, and it was from this set that Bach made transcriptions...excellent and non obvious choice there!
Amen, brother!
Great choice - a lovely work which I was just listening to recently. My choice would be his still sadly-neglected (in the concert hall, anyway) late masterwork “Metamorphoseon modi XII”, which can easily stand with the greatest sets of orchestral variations ever penned. Great as the Roman Trilogy, Church Windows etc. are, “Metamorphoseon” has an added depth of feeling, dark coloring, and coloristic subtlety which is really remarkable. The “Cadenza” variation, which features several haunting solos for the principal viola, cello, harp, and clarinet players, is worth the price of admission alone. And the piece certainly isn’t devoid of Respighi’s customary technicolor brilliance, either - just witness the majestic ending! Both the Philharmonia/Simon on Chandos and Liège Philharmonic/Neschling on BIS recordings are marvelous in their own unique ways. Anyone not familiar with this piece is really missing out on one of the great orchestral masterworks of the 20th century!
Your Right!....the perfect choice 👍
I really enjoyed the Three Botticelli Pictures and listened to it multiple times but for me it is edged out by The Birds. I just feel in love with The Birds. I have a clear bird feeder attached to my mother's window and she lies in her hospital bed and watches them all day so I played the piece for her and she loved it too. EMI Classics has a 2 CD digital recording compilation of Respighi streaming 2 hours and 16 min which has both pieces by the Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields conducted by Neville Marriner that I loved but my pick is just The Birds since it actually made my mother smile which is no easy thing - lol.
Couldn't suggest because I know so little of this composer. But find this music to top the Pines of Rome because it moves me also while it is beautiful. And you can actually see the orchestra on RUclips and what he makes of it is such a prodigy. Thank you to have made me discover this triptic in one of your fabulous programmes.
A very good choice, but my vote goes to the stunningly beautiful Concerto Gregoriano (in effect a violin concerto). In compositional terms Respighi seems always to have had one foot rooted in the distant past, and the other exploring more modern 20th century idioms - the Concerto Gregoriano is a prime example of this, albeit inexplicably neglected. The concerto utilises plainsong and Gregorian chant elements, and these are expressed in music of beguiling beauty and lyricism. And yes, the work contains examples of the full-on orchestral tutti writing that we have come to expect from Respighi, though the prevailing mood throughout the work is meditative. I was lucky enough to have witnessed a performance of the Concerto Gregoriano during the 2021 season of the BBC Proms here in London, after having spent a lifetime thinking I would never hear the piece 'live' in concert. The concert I attended was part of the return season after the 2020 COVID outbreak, and so it was memorable for all kinds of reasons. Incidentally, when is Chandos going to box up their splendid series of Respighi orchestral recordings? I'm sure there would be an appreciative market waiting out there.
Excellent choice, especially since Respighi was at heart a miniaturist; his transformations of ancient/modal music were the essence of his art. In addition to "Veni, Emmanuel", his use of the lovely shepherd's Zampognari (bagpipe) carol near the end of the 2nd Movement is positively sublime.
Along with the Botticelli Triptych, the exquisite Laud to the Nativity ( 3 soloists, choir, 6 woodwinds, plus piano 4-hands and TRIANGLE in the finale) is about as perfect a work as can be imagined. Hard to choose between them.
Agree with several posts here re: Metamorphosen; it's terrific (wasn't it commissioned for the Boston Sym's 50th anniversary along with Honegger 1, Stravinsky Psalms, Bax 2, Roussel 3, Profofiev 4, etc etc?) LR
A real winner.
My first guess was his nocturne for piano. It my second guess was right haha. I also love the Botticelli pictures; specifically the birth of Venus with that rising motif when it ramps up
Yes, excellent choice. I might also go with "Church Windows", but "C.W." requires a really good performance.
I was not familiar with this work, than you for the introduction! I have the Orpheus Camber version of the work lined up for listening.
Hope you enjoy it!
What’s your favourite recording of the work, Dave? I love the recent Neschling recording on BIS
Honestly, I don't think there's a bad one.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Cheers, Dave… and thanks again for promoting great, unheralded composers and/works to a wider audience!
My first Respighi disc was Geoffrey Simon's CALA disc with the Botticellis, Suite in G for Strings & Organ et al, and I got to know these works before I ever heard any of the more famous suites.
By coincidence Signum is re-releasing that disc next week!
YES!!
Please do a video on his Concerto Gregoriano if younget the chance. It is the most underrated yet gorgeous violin concertos ever written ( in my opinion ).
I do love Respighi. I thought you might pick Ancient Airs and Dances, which would be my choice. I could also choose The Birds or Pines of Rome. But Trittico Botticelliano would also be a good choice, did you consider it? (Just kidding)!
Dave, you popping over to Newark this weekend to hear the New Jersey Symphony in the Mahler 3rd?
I’ll be there! Looking forward to it, conductor Xian Zhang says it is her favorite work.
of resphigi, my choice is on the pines....no....! in fact on the gregoriano concerto, I like the atmosphere of this work, where we find a certain atmosphere of an abbey, in a very well written modal writing.
Love it.
When describing Venus rising up and having her hair cover her ….. you want to say ‘beauteous orbs’.
Resphigi taught Ralph Vaughn Williams and for my money was the precursor to Morricone.Great choice!!
Hello Dave, As one of, if not the, greatest Walton fans in the world, I would like to TRY to pick one essential and characteristic work of his. Obvious choices would be the 1st Symphony or Belshazzar’s Feast, obviously two of the greatest works of their genres in the history of the universe. But I’m also very much interested in considering other works that are just as characteristic: The Quest is an incredible work which shows so much of his versatility and expression; the Gloria I think is even greater than Belshazzar and has an even wider range of expression. And the neglected 2nd Symphony is also quite representative. I know that you love the Hindemith Variations, though it’s a little more “cool” and “objective” than these others in my opinion. Of course it’s a great work. In some ways I’d love to have one of these later works because they are relatively less well known and regarded. I disagree completely with the idea that his post war works were less good. They are just exploring other moods. I mean who can blame him for not attempting to duplicate the volcano of the mind-blowing intensity of the First Symphony. The 2nd is also great, just not the same kind of work. Anyway, as always I can’t pick one! But these are my reasons for why any of the above would do just fine. But I will say The Quest and the Gloria must be better known for the masterworks that they are! The latter still awaits a truly great recording. The two commercial ones are Ok, more so the Willcocks. But it is also quite a difficult work-the choral parts especially.
I should add that when asked what his “dessert island” choice of his own works was, Walton chose the violin concerto. This is also really a great choice. His three concerti (or four of you count the sinfonia concertante with piano) are really at the pinnacle of his work, and would also fit the bill for representative choices.
I would like to make an additonal remark: If you listen to Alex North's 'Cleopatra' Soundtrack, you would notice a slightly similar sound as the 2nd B. Picture.
My favorite Hollywood movie titles curtain raiser is the opening of Kubrick's 'Spartacus' to Alex North's stunning music. As much drama as the following movie!
Get well, Dave! We miss you!
Will Alkan be featured any time soon? Looking forward to more of this series.
Depends on how you define "soon," but yes, of course.
Botticelli Triptych for me.
But I'd like to mention La Boutique Fantasque. I know, it isn't Respighi, it's Rossini's
late-in-life piano tunes. But Respighi gave them life with his brilliant orchestration.
As a ballet, "The Magic Toyshop," it should be a regular Christmas event.
When will you do Nielsen? :)
I think I'll go with one of your Dave's Faves here: Toscanini doing the Roman Trilogy. :)
I’m just glad you didn’t choose the “Lauda per la natività”. Unless old Cancrizans has a high tolerance for boredom, he would have been none too pleased!
Utterly, totally disagree. "Lauda" is, in my opinion, the single most purely beautiful work I know. Seriously. Maybe you've heard only slow, draggy performance/recordings. The old 1961 Wallenstein/Roger Wagner chorale on Capitol (now Clarion) highlights the work's lightness, charm and "airy" qualities, as well as the hushed reverence. Sublime music. LR
@@HassoBenSoba I'll give it a listen
Lauda is a masterpiece.
Dave, which recording of the Botticelli Pictures do you recommend?
See reviews at ClassicsToday.com for recommendations.
Can't wait to hear your choice for my beloved Vivaldi, knowing and trusting you will not pick The 4 Seasons now partially covered by Respighi.
My choice, the relatively neglected Metamorphseon
Mine too!! An inexplicably neglected masterwork.
I agree - at least as virtuosic & fantastic as anything by Wagner, Mahler, Stravinsky, etc etc... But I love the Botticelli and agree with Dave's choice.
@@kylejohnson8877My feeling has always been that a major cause of the neglect could lie with the composer himself - the choice of the title for the work. It does not attract prospective listeners - or performers - to the work.
@@raymondcox789 I dunno, I kinda like the title. Sounds very ancient and imposing. But sure, it’s a bit of a mouthful compared to “Pines of Rome”, for example.
I think I would have picked Church Windows.
That would have been my choice.