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Naxos

Pizzetti: Concerto Dell'estate, La Festa Delle Panatenee, Preludii / Michailidis, Thessaloniki State SO

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Details

Composer
PIZZETTI, ILDEBRANDO
Artist
Michailidis
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Apr 28, 2009
Catalog #
8572013
UPC
747313201372

About

Ildebrando Pizzetti's Concerto dell'estate of 1928 (really a three-movement symphony) is one of the most attractive of all early 20th-century Italian orchestral works. It hasn't been recorded since Gardelli did it for Decca some 40 years ago, and this new version is most welcome. While Myron Michailidis chooses virtually identical tempos in the outer movements, the central nocturne runs a bit slower (but not duller) than the earlier version, at some gain in atmosphere. The recording balances, which place the woodwinds and harps relatively forward, also suit the work very well. It's a beautiful performance, well played and atmospheric.

I have a sentimental attachment to the Oedipus Rex Symphonic Preludes: this was the very first work that I played as a percussionist with the Johns Hopkins Symphony Orchestra in my undergraduate days, and it introduced me to Pizzetti. To be honest, the cymbal part didn't give me much to do, but it did offer me the opportunity to simply listen to a very beautiful piece that, like the Concerto dell'estate, deserves far greater currency than it enjoys. It was recorded relatively recently by Vänskä for Hyperion, quite well too, but this version is just as good, with confident horn playing and powerful climaxes.

The remaining two works receive their recording premieres. Pizzetti was basically a gentle, lyrical composer, but he could get his dander up quite effectively: witness the five-minute prelude to Clitennestra. Composed in the 1960s just before his death, you'd never know it from the harmonic style--it's just as attractive and approachable as the Oedipus Rex music of some 60 years earlier. La Feste delle Panatenee is another tryptich that, like the work just mentioned, takes ancient Greece as its inspiration. Less somber than its predecessor, it concludes with an imposing procession that could use a touch more heft from the brass and a less prominent snare drum--but as with all of these performances conductor Michailidis and the Thessaloniki State Symphony certainly do the music justice. Strongly recommended.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 10 tracks

  1. 1 I. Mattutino: Vivace e arioso 10:19
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Mattutino: Vivace e arioso
    Duration
    10:19
    Composer
    Ildebrando Pizzetti
    Ensemble
    Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Myron Michailidis
  2. 2 II. Notturno: Largo 07:52
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Notturno: Largo
    Duration
    07:52
    Composer
    Ildebrando Pizzetti
    Ensemble
    Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Myron Michailidis
  3. 3 III. Gagliarda e Finale: Allegro vigoroso 11:51
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Gagliarda e Finale: Allegro vigoroso
    Duration
    11:51
    Composer
    Ildebrando Pizzetti
    Ensemble
    Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Myron Michailidis
  4. 4 No. 1. Largo 05:55
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 1. Largo
    Duration
    05:55
    Composer
    Ildebrando Pizzetti
    Ensemble
    Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Myron Michailidis
  5. 5 No. 2. Con impeto, ma non troppo mosso 06:02
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 2. Con impeto, ma non troppo mosso
    Duration
    06:02
    Composer
    Ildebrando Pizzetti
    Ensemble
    Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Myron Michailidis
  6. 6 No. 3. Con molta espressione di dolore 05:46
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 3. Con molta espressione di dolore
    Duration
    05:46
    Composer
    Ildebrando Pizzetti
    Ensemble
    Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Myron Michailidis
  7. 7 Clitennestra: Prelude: Molto largo 05:12
    Track
    7
    Title
    Clitennestra: Prelude: Molto largo
    Duration
    05:12
    Composer
    Ildebrando Pizzetti
    Ensemble
    Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Myron Michailidis
  8. 8 I. Preludio: Molto largo 03:47
    Track
    8
    Title
    I. Preludio: Molto largo
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    Ildebrando Pizzetti
    Ensemble
    Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Myron Michailidis
  9. 9 II. Danza di Offerta del Peplo a Pallade Atena 05:19
    Track
    9
    Title
    II. Danza di Offerta del Peplo a Pallade Atena
    Duration
    05:19
    Composer
    Ildebrando Pizzetti
    Ensemble
    Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Myron Michailidis
  10. 10 III. Marcia del Corteo: Andante sostenuto 07:12
    Track
    10
    Title
    III. Marcia del Corteo: Andante sostenuto
    Duration
    07:12
    Composer
    Ildebrando Pizzetti
    Ensemble
    Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Myron Michailidis