Customer Reviews

Respighi: Pines of Rome; Fountains of Rome; Metamorphoseon Modi XII

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been buying recordings of Pines/Fountains since about 1950 and must have twelve of them. This one goes straight to the top of the list, although I wouldn't want to give up those of Munch, Bernstein, Toscanini. This Cincinnati orchestra is an unknown treasure. The very soloistic music is amazingly served by the Cincinnati principals (I'd like to single out the solo clarinet, English horn, and trumpet), the string section (shades of the old Philadelphia Orchestra!) is especially rich, and Lopez-Cobos's tempi are very well-judged. The Metamorphoseon is like a 25-minute Concerto for Orchestra where the orchestra and its soloists continually shine. Telarc's recording puts this at the top of the class acoustically as well.

Both sonically and artistically a masterpiece from one of the world's great orchestral ensembles. Destined to be regarded as one of the finest stereophonic recordings ever made.

As has come to be expected from Maestro López-Cobos and his Cincinnati forces as recorded on Telarc, this is an excellent recording in terms of both performance and sound. López-Cobos seems to have a knack for conducting performances that exhibit a kind of restrained power, never seeming to pull out all the stops, but impressing instead by the controlled energy that is barely contained by the recording. When some of the energy does come out, its effect is all the more dramatic because it has not been expended for mere showmanship. At the end of Pines, for example, there is no huge percussion outburst as in some recordings, but the energy level, undergirded by some awesome bass notes, is every bit the equal of other, flashier performances. With these forces, you come to appreciate the music, not just the sound, of these sonic spectaculars.

As an enticement to those collectors who may already own several recordings of the Pines and Fountains, Telarc has included a recording of a Respighi piece that is not often heard, Metamorphoseon Modi XII, comprising a theme and a dozen variations. It is certainly a piece worth hearing, and its inclusion on this CD should make this disk all the more appealing to Respighi fans.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra proves itself worthy of the status associated with being one of a handful of orchestras to reach a prestigious artistic level. The strings have a gorgeous but precise blend, the woodwinds have a kaleidoscopic array of colors, and the brass really come to the fore in the finale of "The Pines of Rome".

The woodwind section in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is stunning. The principal clarinetist plays the delicate solos in the penultimate movement of "Pines" with a warm, rich sound. Special note must also be made for the english horn solo in the finale, which captures the attention of all by way of its seductive, hypnotic character.

Metamorphosen Modi XII displays many different images. All of the soloists in this piece are virtuosos, and it shows.

Overall, an incredible and vivid recording; worthy of high praise.

This is, overall, a fine album and, once again, the CSO shows itself more than an equal to the supposed "Top 6". The "Metamorphoseon Modi XII" is a rare find and was a pleasant surprise.

The "Fountains of Rome" was well executed and beautifully played and should easily stand along side any interpretation one might want to consider.

The reason for the 3 stars is the "Pines..." Everything begins brilliantly and colorful. The "Catacombs" have the right amount of mystery and darkness. The "Janiculum" is rich and romantic. The "Appian Way" however...well here, Telarc flubbed or mis-calculated. The recording accentuates the low end of the sound spectrum leaving the finer details and splash of brilliance and color no where to be found. The orchestra's performance sounds flawless, but where are the cymbals? Why are the antiphonal brasses so weak? All of this and more leaves the last 2 minutes sound almost muddled. All the power and virtuosity of the orchestra gets swallowed-up in an almost incomprehensible mess. I remember hearing the Pines in performance and the CSO did not sound like this in Music Hall. The fault has to lie with Telarc deciding, apparently, to go for affect rather than clarity. If they had gone the latter route, this recording would deserve to go to the top of anybody's list.

For the "Pines...", a better choice would be the latter of Ormandy's two recordings or the brilliant account by Karajan.

Soniclly, Telarc has done its usual excelent job of providing a near-perfect (for CD)recording. The performance, however, was just average. While 'Pines' was adequate, I found 'Fountains' to be somewhat flat and lacking in emotion. Having said that, I still recommend this album for the sheer sonic pleasure of listening.

Respighi is yet another musician who is overlooked, but who composed beautiful music. Considering the time he spent as a musician and composer (roughly 1899 until his death in 1936) he composed music that could easily be juxtaposed with earlier geniuses such as Debussy, Ravel or Tchaikovsky.
"The Pines" and "The Fountains", Respighi's tone poems, are played superbly with a respect that transcends the technology and settles on your ears like honey on lips.
"Metamorphoseon Modi XII", apparently rare in recording, is a beautiful exploration of theme and variation for orchestra. Each "Modus" is played with exceptional feeling and clarity. These Modi only further cement Respighi's deserved place alongside great composers that went before him.
Jesus Lopez-Cobos and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra have superbly captured the feeling, the emotion of this haunting opus to Rome and, in the Modi, Russian classical harmonies, which in my opinion honor one of Respighi's mentors Rimsky-Korsokov. Other reviews point to Gregorian themes and Richard Strauss' influence in the harmonic techniques, but I believe the Respighi, not just in these compositions, built a library of work that is comporable to any master of figuration, of composition.
The orchestration, tempo and solo work are laid out beautifully and the result is an incredibly relaxing yet somewhat haunting recording. You feel emotion in and from the music. It is breathtaking. A true delight.
Conductor and Symphony should be commended for such a touching interpretation and for the amazing clarity of each instruments contribution to the composition.
The recording is gorgeous, wonderfully mixed, with no background noise and perfect treatment.

***A note - according to the liner notes, The Modi is not readily available in recording, so consider that a treat for yourself when you listen, knowing that not too many others have heard the gorgeous composition.***

A must have addition to any classical library.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS BY RESPIGHI: The Birds; 3 Botticelli Pictures, and/or The Ballad of the Gnomes; Adagio with Variations for Cello & Orchestra; 3 Botticelli Pictures; Suite in G Major for Strings & Organ. "The Birth of Venus" from "Thee Botticelli Pictures" is gorgeous, one of the best compositions I have ever heard.

I've been fairly critical of this combination of artists in other reviews (e.g. Dukas) - not for their virtuosity which is ample and amazing, or their discipline, which is awesome, but for a lack of real warmth and engagement.

Now here comes a disc of music which can all too "easily" be played as a sonic spectacular and virtuoso warhorse, music which, lets face it, is really only of the third rank (enjoyable though it is) - and they confound me by bringing warmth and engagement to it all.

Okay, none of these pieces are from Beethoven's ninth, but no-one can listen to the great peaks of the repertoire all the time, sometimes you have to come down and wallow in less challlenging pictures and sounds and this does the job just fine. The Cincinatti players obviously feel the same way, because they seem to be enjoying not just their own skill but the music as well.

And for once, DSD recording helps. Normally its a bit dry for my tastes but this time Telarc has superbly captured both the dry heat of Rome on some days and also the atmospheric sultriness of others.

All instruments (but especially the oboe) are captured well, but a special mention for one moment when the whole violin desk play like larks ascending (I won't tell you where and when, - it should take you by surprise and make you go "ooh" so I wont spoil it).

And its all so physical too, - my body was responding to the sound with not only spine tingles, but tummy wobbles. Without doubt, some of the best recorded sound it has ever been my privilege to hear.

If i was judging the music, enjoyable though it is, then I'd be more critical but for performance and sound, five stars.

I've been fairly critical of this combination of artists in other reviews (e.g. Dukas) - not for their virtuosity which is ample and amazing, or their discipline, which is awesome, but for a lack of real warmth and engagement.

Now here comes a disc of music which can all too "easily" be played as a sonic spectacular and virtuoso warhorse, music which, lets face it, is really only of the third rank (enjoyable though it is) - and they confound me by bringing warmth and engagement to it all.

Okay, none of these pieces are from Beethoven's ninth, but no-one can listen to the great peaks of the repertoire all the time, sometimes you have to come down and wallow in less challlenging pictures and sounds and this does the job just fine. The Cincinatti players obviously feel the same way, because they seem to be enjoying not just their own skill but the music as well.

And for once, DSD recording helps. Normally its a bit dry for my tastes but this time Telarc has superbly captured both the dry heat of Rome on some days and also the atmospheric sultriness of others.

All instruments (but especially the oboe) are captured well, but a special mention for one moment when the whole violin desk play like larks ascending (I won't tell you where and when, - it should take you by surprise and make you go "ooh" so I wont spoil it).

And its all so physical too, - my body was responding to the sound with not only spine tingles, but tummy wobbles. Without doubt, some of the best recorded sound it has ever been my privilege to hear.

If i was judging the music, enjoyable though it is, then I'd be more critical but for performance and sound, five stars.

One thing this release has going for it is very good audio engineering. The recording has great dynamic impact, very natural tonal balance (firm low bass, strings and brass appropriately bright) very good imaging). However I'm afraid I don't find Lopez-Cobos's interpretation of this music to be utterly compelling. This is not music that profits from an understated reading. I would say this effort compares very unfavorably with the best known interpretations, such as Maazel's brilliant recordings with Cleveland and with Pittsburgh, Karajan's Richly evocative Berlin recording or Reiner's tour de force with Chicago. So much for the Respighi warhorses. As for the "Metamorphosoen" that rounds out this release, I would say its obscurity is well deserved.