Alfredo Casella - Scarlattiana for piano and chamber orchestra Op. 44 (audio + sheet music)

Alfredo Casella may not be well remembered today, but during his lifetime he was far from obscure. From his post on the faculty of the Liceo di S Cecilia in Rome (held from 1915 to 1922), and then as director and founder of a number of Italian musical organizations and festivals, he achieved a worldwide fame and influence that no Italian composer since the previous century had enjoyed (and, one might go so far as to say, no non-operatic Italian composer had enjoyed for quite some time before that). Some idea of the esteem in which Casella was held by the world's musicians (some of whom would later, ironically, find Casella guilty of musical provincialism) during the 1920s can be found in the fact that his Scarlattiana for piano and chamber orchestra, Op. 44 of 1926 -- a work written by an Italian using as its starting point the music of another Italian -- was premiered in New York City's Carnegie Hall under the directorship of a German conductor (Gustav Mahler's one-time protégé, Otto Klemperer).
Scarlattiana is a five-movement work -- a quasi-piano-concerto if you will -- in which Casella uses themes and snippets from the harpsichord sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti and builds them up into new musical shapes. It was written just a few years into Casella's exploration of a neo-Classical style of composition, and, as many have rightly pointed out, Stravinsky's Pulcinella of 1920 was likely the guiding model. The five movements are: 1. Sinfonia (Lento, grave -- Allegro molto vivace), 2. Minuetto, 3. Capriccio (Allegro vivacissimo ed impetuoso), 4. Pastorale (Andantino dolcemente mosso), and 5. Finale (Lento molto e grave -- Presto vivacissimo).
(AllMusic)
Please take note that the audio AND sheet music ARE NOT mine. Feel free to change the video quality to a minimum of 480p for the best watching experience.
Performers: Sergio Fiorentino (piano), Orchestra Alessandro Scarlatti di Napoli, Ferruccio Scaglia (conductor)
( • Alfredo Casella: Scarl... )
Sheet music: imslp.org/wiki/Scarlattiana%2...) (Universal Edition, 1928)

[@stellaclef]

Alfred casella - Scalattiana
1.Symphonia 0:00
2.Minuetto 5:32
3.Capriccio 13:09
4.Pastorale 16:36
5.Finale 22:01

[@steveegallo3384]

Astounding for us Scarlatti lovers.....Fascinating Casella bio....THANKS!

[@giorgiocucek7518]

Grande originalita propria del novecanto di Strawinsky Ravel, un abbtaccio al settecento cosi strumentalmente provvido.

[@sergio6357]

Oh..Grande Fiorentino!!

[@adeline-music]

Long live, Mekas

[@WilfriedBerk]

4.Pastorale 16:36

[@lylecohen1638]

Which Scarlatti sonatas is this based on? I only managed to recognize the cat fugue at 25:01

[@lylecohen1638]

I also recognize 7:13 but I can’t remember from which sonata 😅

[@opus-43]

@@lylecohen1638 I think it's a fragment from Scarlatti's Sonata in E major, K. 162! Listen to this: ruclips.net/video/aNztJtZClhA/видео.html

[@lylecohen1638]

@@opus-43 it is, thank you!

[@lylecohen1638]

9:04

[@owengette8089]

2:01
6:39/11:07
15:14
17:54

[@aprilh3882]

interesting piece. too bad the composer was a good for nothing fascist.

[@thebrainnugget]

Do you know of any thorough articles or biographies regarding this? A fair browsing shows little reference aside from a slightly odd and sourceless article by James Reel.

[@ChrisBreemer]

Good for nothing ? Where'd you get THAT from ? Many composers have been wooed, at least in the beginning by nationalist/fascist movements. That does not make them worthless per se.

[@aprilh3882]

@@ChrisBreemer yes it does

[@nikitalvov40]

Ur a tool

[@lylecohen1638]

I completely feel your need to struggle against him given those tendencies he had, I completely have the same problem as well as with others such as Malipiero. Here's a great booklet article about it, which studies it more deeply, as I do think is necessary with those very few who made great art yet were fascist - such a terrible contradiction that it always ought to be looked into.
www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.572415&catNum=572415&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English