Respighi: Pines of Rome; The Birds; Fountains of Rome

Ottorino Respighi (Composer), Louis Lane (Conductor), Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Louis Lane
• Composer: Ottorino Respighi
• Audio CD (July 23, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B000003CT0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,451 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #74 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music > Tone Poems

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available.
Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 23-JUL-2002

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music, Not Noise .... Thank you, Louis Lane & Telarc!, July 21, 2003

By 

T. Beers (Arlington, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Respighi: Pines of Rome; The Birds; Fountains of Rome (Audio CD)

Ever since Toscanini's RCA recordings (early 1950s), these Respighi tone poems have been played as sonic block-busters, with engineering to match. It seems everybody's idea of this music is driven by the last section of "The Pines of Rome," which famously evokes a march of Roman legionnaries via a steady crescendo of orchestral volume that finally explodes in an orgy of brass playing. But there are subtler pleasures in these pieces, especially in "The Fountains of Rome," and in this recording I've finally found Respighi performances that sound like music, not noise. Not that conductor Louis Lane and the fine Atlanta orchestra underplay the parts that need it; there's plenty of drama here, trust me. But Lane was an assistant to legendary conductor George Szell in Cleveland for many years, and he clearly learned how to achieve proper orchestral balances, even when working with the massively large orchestra favored by late Romantic composers like Respighi. For once, Respighi's orchestral texures register with the necessary nuance and subtlety.

Telarc's sound complements Lane's approach with an appropriate acoustic: very "hi-fi," but not in your face. Instead of garishly spotlighting individual sections, Telarc works its magic to ensure that the entire orchestra registers with a marvelous warmth. Given the subtleties of Lane's approach, I think it's no accident that he chose to couple "Pines" and "Fountains" with Respighi's suite "The Birds" rather than with the more glitzy "Roman Festivals." "The Birds" ("Gli Uccelli") is a Renaissance/Baroque pastiche cut from the same cloth as Respighi's perennially popular "Ancient Airs and Dances." So if you love the Respighi of the "Ancient Airs" and abhor the composer of the flashier tone poems, buy this CD. It may just be the Respighi disc of your dreams! Final word: "Louis Lane and the Atlanta Symphony" might not have the cache of Toscanini/NBC, Bernstein/New York, Karajan/Berlin, and God-knows how many other high-powered teams that have recorded this music. But for my money, this very musical Telarc CD beats the competition hands down. Also note that this is one of many late 1980s Telarc digital CDs that the company has reissued in a new budget series. Same great Telarc sound and sophisticated packaging, but at a very nice price!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sparkling, scintillating brilliance . . . chiaroscuro beauty, February 8, 2004

By 

"acominatus" (Johnson City, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Respighi: Pines of Rome; The Birds; Fountains of Rome (Audio CD)

This review applies to the works -Pines of Rome-,
-The Birds-, and -Fountains of Rome- performed by
the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and conducted by
Louis Lane on Telarc.
Listening and enjoyment and enthusiasm are all
subjective elements which can't be "quantified" for
everyone's satisfaction. I can only say that I
have "perfectionist" ears and eyes, so I have
real trouble finding personally satisfying sound
reproduction devices as well as particular versions
of classical works which I "get into." There
are some other versions of this work which I like
very much also, conductor Daniel Gatti's with the
Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, conductor
Giuseppe Sinopoli's with the New York Philharmonic
on Deutsche Grammophon, and conductor Jesus Lopez-
Cobos with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on
Telarc.
What makes me decide to review Lane's recording is
his concern with tempo and dynamics...the transition
from the sunny brilliance of the Pines of the Villa
Borghese to the dark, quiet mystery and softness of
the Pines Near a Catacomb is a wonder, and for me,
breath-taking. The sound clarity and "presence" of
this Telarc recording are outstanding. In the
Pines of the Villa Borghese you can hear the
instruments giving out percussive effects to imitate
the toys of the children. But it is the sunny,
sparkling brilliance and tempo of the orchestra
as well that make this piece scintillating!
Of all of the pieces in the Pines, my own particular
favorite (for its associations) is the Pines of the
Janiculum -- that dreamy, lyrical, almost mystic
portrayal of moonlight among the pines and the
lyrical warbling of the nightingale. I am somewhat
of a connoisseur of the warbling nightingale in these
recordings. I don't like Von Karajan's nightingale; it
does not have the echoing resonance of the symphony
hall, but sounds as if it is recorded in nature; and
the Von Karajan nightingale only tweets, it doesn't
have the glorious, full-throated warble of the
Lane nightingale and some of the other recordings.
The gentle piano introduction to the Janiculum in
the Lane recording, the harmonious pacing -- very
lyrical and peaceful and haunting (in beauty, not
grief or languid weariness), the soulful clarinet,
the caressing strings...all give this recorded
version optimal stars from me.
-- Robert Kilgore.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Resphigi: Pines of Rome, The Birds Lane; Atlanta Sym. Orch., April 17, 2006

By 

John Tentrees (Boston, Mass.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Respighi: Pines of Rome; The Birds; Fountains of Rome (Audio CD)

This is one of the finest performances of these pieces. Under Lane's direction, the Orchestra sounds magnificent and they are in absolute top form. The sound from this Telarc disc can only be described as ravishing. At times, the orchestration, together with the performance and the recording all combine to create some of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard from an orchestral recording. The engineering is magnificent and this is probably the best sound that Telarc has ever achieved. This is an audiophile's dream recording. Buy this disc and it will give you a lifetime of listening pleasure.