Alto Records returns to international availability critically lauded recordings of three major works for violin and orchestra by late romantic composer Ottorino Respighi, a master of merging memorable melodies with lush, inventive scoring.
“[Andrea] Cappelletti and [Matthias] Bamert’s coupling is salutary in what little remains to apologize for in Respighi’s music when played with real opulence and virtuosity. The fact is that the Concerto belies its name: both have shrewdly perceived that Respighi’s use of modality enables him to explore both early music and folklore. … The lushness sounds much more natural in the context of a late-romantic violin concerto, with a big and bold performance of rich and dramatic gesture. Cappelletti, a striking and accomplished soloist, makes the most of the finale’s punch and vigour, but also of the musing beauty of the slow movement. I now prefer this [version]. … romantic warmth is also a feature of Donald Barra’s Poema, Respighi in neo-baroque lush harmonies with a baroque-size orchestra.”
–Gramophone
