July 8, 2013.Ottorino Respighi andGiovanni Battista Sammartini.Ottorino Respighi, one of the most interesting Italian composers of the early 20th century, was born on July 9, 1879 in Bologna.We’ve written about him rather extensively in the past, so to celebrate his birthday today we’ll present one of his best-known compositions, Pines of Rome, which was premiered in December of 1924. Pines is the second piece in the “Roman Trilogy” (Fountains of Rome, the first one, was composed in 1917; Roman Festivals, of 1928, concluded the cycle).All three sections of the Trilogy are written as a free-form symphonic tone poem, the style popular since the times of Liszt.Pines is programmatic: Rome is famous for its pine trees, and the four parts of the Pines depict them in four different areas of Rome.First is Pines of the Villa Borghese, then Pines Near a Catacomb (Respighi didn’t indicate which ones in particular he had in mind); Pines of the Janiculum follow (Janiculum is a hill in Trastevere, across the Tiber from the ancient part of Rome and next to the Vatican.The top of the hill, with its somewhat run-down little park, affords magnificent views of the city).The final part of Pines of Rome is called Pines of the Appian Way and, according to Respighi, represents a victorious legion marching on this ancient road toward Rome.We’ll hearPines of Rome in the performance by the Chicago Symphony orchestra, Fritz Reiner conducting (Reiner gets the best out of the marvelous Chicago brass in the Appian Way section).
It comes as a surprise that we don’t know the date of birth of another Italian composer, Giovanni Battista Sammartini.It’s especially strange because Sammartini was born in 1700 in Milan – not in the Middle Ages in some small village in the backward Basilicata.Milan at that time was administered by the Austrians, well known for their meticulous bureaucracy.Sammartini’s father, Alexis Saint-Martin, was French and a professional oboist.He gave Giovanni his first musical lessons.By the age of 20, Sammartini was playing oboe in the Teatro Regionale Ducal.When Sammartini was about 25, he was appointed the music master (maestro di cappella) at the famous Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio.He held this position for the rest of his life.As composer of church music, he soon became famous outside of Italy.Many musicians came to Milan to study with him, the most famous being Christoph Willibald Gluck.Sammartini didn’t confine his creativity exclusively to liturgical music; eventually he extended it to other musical forms, especially symphony and chamber music.He composed at least 68 symphonies (that’s the number recovered in the archives of publishing houses) and is credited as an innovator of this form.As a symphonist, he influenced Johann Christian Bach, and even Haydn and Mozart (young Mozart met him in Milan while visiting the city in 1770).In addition to symphonies, Sammartini wrote four operas and many sonatas for violin, cello, flute, and keyboard.Soon after Sammartini’s death in 1775 his music was all but forgotten, and remained such for the next century and a half.In the early 20th century the Italians’ interest in their musical heritage reawakened (Ottorino Respighi did much to uncover the forgotten music of Vivaldi, Monteverdi, and Marcello).In 1913 much of Sammartini’s music was rediscovered in the archives. His music has remained quite popular ever since.Here is his lovely Cello Sonata in G Major.It’s performed by the great cellist Leonard Rose.Leonid Hambro is on the piano.
Respighi and Sammartini, 2013
July 8, 2013. Ottorino Respighi and Giovanni Battista Sammartini. Ottorino Respighi, one of the most interesting Italian composers of the early 20th century, was born on July 9, 1879 in Bologna. We’ve written about him rather extensively in the past, so to
celebrate his birthday today we’ll present one of his best-known compositions, Pines of Rome, which was premiered in December of 1924. Pines is the second piece in the “Roman Trilogy” (Fountains of Rome, the first one, was composed in 1917; Roman Festivals, of 1928, concluded the cycle). All three sections of the Trilogy are written as a free-form symphonic tone poem, the style popular since the times of Liszt. Pines is programmatic: Rome is famous for its pine trees, and the four parts of the Pines depict them in four different areas of Rome. First is Pines of the Villa Borghese, then Pines Near a Catacomb (Respighi didn’t indicate which ones in particular he had in mind); Pines of the Janiculum follow (Janiculum is a hill in Trastevere, across the Tiber from the ancient part of Rome and next to the Vatican. The top of the hill, with its somewhat run-down little park, affords magnificent views of the city). The final part of Pines of Rome is called Pines of the Appian Way and, according to Respighi, represents a victorious legion marching on this ancient road toward Rome. We’ll hear Pines of Rome in the performance by the Chicago Symphony orchestra, Fritz Reiner conducting (Reiner gets the best out of the marvelous Chicago brass in the Appian Way section).
It comes as a surprise that we don’t know the date of birth of another Italian composer, Giovanni Battista Sammartini. It’s especially strange because Sammartini was born in 1700 in Milan – not in the Middle Ages in some small village in the backward Basilicata. Milan at that time was administered by the Austrians, well known for their meticulous bureaucracy. Sammartini’s father, Alexis Saint-Martin, was French and a professional oboist. He gave Giovanni his first musical lessons. By the age of 20, Sammartini was playing oboe in the Teatro Regionale Ducal. When Sammartini was about 25, he was appointed the music master (maestro di cappella) at the famous Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio. He held this position for the rest of his life. As composer of church music, he soon became famous outside of Italy. Many musicians came to Milan to study with him, the most famous being Christoph Willibald Gluck. Sammartini didn’t confine his creativity exclusively to liturgical music; eventually he extended it to other musical forms, especially symphony and chamber music. He composed at least 68 symphonies (that’s the number recovered in the archives of publishing houses) and is credited as an innovator of this form. As a symphonist, he influenced Johann Christian Bach, and even Haydn and Mozart (young Mozart met him in Milan while visiting the city in 1770). In addition to symphonies, Sammartini wrote four operas and many sonatas for violin, cello, flute, and keyboard. Soon after Sammartini’s death in 1775 his music was all but forgotten, and remained such for the next century and a half. In the early 20th century the Italians’ interest in their musical heritage reawakened (Ottorino Respighi did much to uncover the forgotten music of Vivaldi, Monteverdi, and Marcello). In 1913 much of Sammartini’s music was rediscovered in the archives. His music has remained quite popular ever since. Here is his lovely Cello Sonata in G Major. It’s performed by the great cellist Leonard Rose. Leonid Hambro is on the piano.