Chtchedrine Carmen Suite Respighi Pini di Roma

Description

Two famous orchestral pieces written in the 20th century, yet breathing the spirit of 19th-century music, are recorded on this new disc from BR-KLASSIK: the ballet music "Carmen Suite," based on the famous melodies from the eponymous opera by Georges Bizet and arranged and adapted by composer Rodion Shchedrin in 1968, and Pini di Roma, the very famous symphonic poem by Ottorino Respighi, written in 1924. Rodion Shchedrin's name is primarily associated with the West thanks to his "Carmen Suite," which became very popular from its first performance. The thirteen movements of this ballet music are based on the opera Carmen, carefully adapted to the musical language of its time. After Shchedrin's wife, Maya Plisetskaya, a long-time prima ballerina, asked respectively Shostakovich and Khachaturian to compose a ballet around Carmen specifically for her, her husband decided to do it in their place—a decision rewarded with international success. The catchy music in Shchedrin's interpretation sounds very familiar, and at the same time, very new! The Italian composer Ottorino Respighi is particularly admired for his masterful instrumentation. The symphonic poems in his Roman Trilogy, which speak of fountains, pines, and festivals in his beloved city, Rome, have made him an immortal artist. In his Pini di Roma, he describes four locations in the Eternal City, each with a different historical background.