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Ottorino Respighi (July 9, 1879 - April 18, 1936) was an Italian composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
, musicologist and conductor
Conducting

Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors....
. He is best known for his orchestra
Orchestra

An orchestra is an Musical ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an theatre of ancient Greece reserved for the Greek chorus....
l Roman trilogy: Fontane di Roma
Fontane di Roma

Fontane di Roma is a 1916 work by the Italy composer Ottorino Respighi, now considered part of the Roman Trilogy of symphonic poems along with Feste Romane and Pini di Roma....
 - "Fountains of Rome"; Pini di Roma
Pini di Roma

Pini di Roma is a 1924 work by the Italy composer Ottorino Respighi, and is considered one of the masterpieces of the Roman Trilogy of symphonic poems along with Feste Romane and Fontane di Roma....
 - "Pines of Rome"; and Feste Romane
Feste Romane

Feste Romane is a work for very large symphony orchestra composed in 1926, by the Italy composer Ottorino Respighi. It is a tone poem depicting scenes from Ancient Rome of the Roman Empire....
 - "Roman Festivals". His musicological interest in 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century music led him to also compose pieces based on the music of this period.

Born in Bologna
Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Po Valley , between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, exactly between the Reno River and the S?vena River....
, he studied composition with Giuseppe Martucci
Giuseppe Martucci

Giuseppe Martucci was an Italians composer, conductor , pianist and teacher. As a conductor he helped to introduce Richard Wagner's operas to Italy, and also gave important early concerts of English music there....
, and briefly with Max Bruch
Max Bruch

Max Christian Friedrich Bruch also known as Max Karl August Bruch, was a German Romantic music composer and Conducting who wrote over 200 works, including three violin concertos, one of which is a staple of the violin repertoire....
 and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov , also Nikolay, Nicolai, and Rimsky-Korsakoff, was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as "The Five." Noted particularly for a predilection for folk and fairy-tale subjects as well as his extraordinary skill in orchestration, his best known orchestral compositions...
.






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Respighis
Ottorino Respighi (July 9, 1879 - April 18, 1936) was an Italian composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
, musicologist and conductor
Conducting

Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors....
. He is best known for his orchestra
Orchestra

An orchestra is an Musical ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an theatre of ancient Greece reserved for the Greek chorus....
l Roman trilogy: Fontane di Roma
Fontane di Roma

Fontane di Roma is a 1916 work by the Italy composer Ottorino Respighi, now considered part of the Roman Trilogy of symphonic poems along with Feste Romane and Pini di Roma....
 - "Fountains of Rome"; Pini di Roma
Pini di Roma

Pini di Roma is a 1924 work by the Italy composer Ottorino Respighi, and is considered one of the masterpieces of the Roman Trilogy of symphonic poems along with Feste Romane and Fontane di Roma....
 - "Pines of Rome"; and Feste Romane
Feste Romane

Feste Romane is a work for very large symphony orchestra composed in 1926, by the Italy composer Ottorino Respighi. It is a tone poem depicting scenes from Ancient Rome of the Roman Empire....
 - "Roman Festivals". His musicological interest in 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century music led him to also compose pieces based on the music of this period.

Born in Bologna
Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Po Valley , between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, exactly between the Reno River and the S?vena River....
, he studied composition with Giuseppe Martucci
Giuseppe Martucci

Giuseppe Martucci was an Italians composer, conductor , pianist and teacher. As a conductor he helped to introduce Richard Wagner's operas to Italy, and also gave important early concerts of English music there....
, and briefly with Max Bruch
Max Bruch

Max Christian Friedrich Bruch also known as Max Karl August Bruch, was a German Romantic music composer and Conducting who wrote over 200 works, including three violin concertos, one of which is a staple of the violin repertoire....
 and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov , also Nikolay, Nicolai, and Rimsky-Korsakoff, was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as "The Five." Noted particularly for a predilection for folk and fairy-tale subjects as well as his extraordinary skill in orchestration, his best known orchestral compositions...
. Principally a violinist until 1908, he then turned primarily to composition. He lived in Rome from 1913.

Biography

Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna
Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Po Valley , between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, exactly between the Reno River and the S?vena River....
, Italy. He was taught piano and violin
Violin

The violin is a Bow string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
 by his father, who was a local piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
 teacher. He continued studying violin and viola with Federico Sarti at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna, composition
Musical composition

Musical composition is:* an original piece of music* the musical form of a musical piece* the process of creating a new piece of music...
 with Giuseppe Martucci
Giuseppe Martucci

Giuseppe Martucci was an Italians composer, conductor , pianist and teacher. As a conductor he helped to introduce Richard Wagner's operas to Italy, and also gave important early concerts of English music there....
, and historical studies with Luigi Torchi, a scholar of early music. In 1900, Respighi went to Russia to be principal violist
Viola

The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.The casual observer may mistake the viola for the violin because of their similarity in size, closeness in pitch range , and nearly identical playing position....
 in the orchestra of the Russian Imperial Theatre in St Petersburg during its season of Italian opera
Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
; while there he studied composition for five months with Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov , also Nikolay, Nicolai, and Rimsky-Korsakoff, was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as "The Five." Noted particularly for a predilection for folk and fairy-tale subjects as well as his extraordinary skill in orchestration, his best known orchestral compositions...
. He also had composition lessons with Max Bruch
Max Bruch

Max Christian Friedrich Bruch also known as Max Karl August Bruch, was a German Romantic music composer and Conducting who wrote over 200 works, including three violin concertos, one of which is a staple of the violin repertoire....
 in 1902 in Berlin. Until 1908 his principal activity was as first violin in the Mugellini Quintet, before turning his attention entirely to composition.

Respighi moved to Rome in 1913 and lived there for the rest of his life, after being appointed a teacher of composition at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world.It is located at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, Italy, and was founded by the papal bull, Ratione congruit, issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prominent in Western musical history: Gregory the Great, for whom t...
. He married a former pupil, singer Elsa Olivieri-Sangiacomo
Elsa Respighi

Elsa Respighi was an Italy composer. She was the wife and former pupil of Ottorino Respighi.A singer and composer herself, Elsa Respighi created ballets of Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances Suites and completed his final opera Lucrezia in 1937....
, in 1919. From 1923 to 1926 he was director of the Conservatorio. In 1925 he collaborated with Sebastiano Arturo Luciani on an elementary textbook entitled Orpheus.

Respighi maintained an uneasy relationship with Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, Order of the Bath Sovereign Military Order of Malta Order of the Tower and Sword was an Italy politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
's National Fascist Party
National Fascist Party

The National Fascist Party was an Italy party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Fascism . The party ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under an authoritarian system....
 during his later years. He vouched for more outspoken critics such as Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini

Arturo Toscanini was an Italian people conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th Centuries, he was renowned for his brilliant intensity, his restless perfectionism, his phenomenal ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory....
, allowing them to continue to work under the regime. Feste Romane
Feste Romane

Feste Romane is a work for very large symphony orchestra composed in 1926, by the Italy composer Ottorino Respighi. It is a tone poem depicting scenes from Ancient Rome of the Roman Empire....
, the third part of his Roman trilogy, was premiered by Toscanini and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 1929; Toscanini recorded the music twice for RCA Victor, first with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra is an orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is historically considered to be one of the "Big Five " American orchestras....
 in 1942 and then with the NBC Symphony Orchestra
NBC Symphony Orchestra

The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini....
 in 1949, and RCA released both versions, first on LP and then CD. Respighi's music had considerable success in the USA: the Toccata for piano and orchestra was premiered (with Respighi as soloist) under Willem Mengelberg
Willem Mengelberg

Joseph Willem Mengelberg was a Netherlands conducting....
 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue , occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street , two blocks south of Central Park....
 in November 1928, and the large-scale theme and variations entitled Metamorphoseon was a commission for the fiftieth anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five "....
.

In his role as musicologist, Respighi was also an enthusiastic scholar of Italian music of the 16th-18th centuries. He published editions of the music of Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi

Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi , was an Italian composer, viol, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the music of the Renaissance music to that of the Baroque music....
 and Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed il Prete Rosso , was a Baroque music composer and Venice priest, as well as a famous virtuoso violinist, born and raised in the Republic of Venice....
, and of Benedetto Marcello
Benedetto Marcello

Benedetto Marcello was an Italy composer, writer, advocate, magistrate, and teacher....
's Didone. Because of his devotion to these older figures and their styles of composing, it is tempting to see him as a typical exponent of Neo-classicism
Neoclassicism (music)

Neoclassicism in music was a 20th century development, particularly popular in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers drew inspiration from music of the 18th century, though some of the inspiring canon was drawn as much from the Baroque music period as the Classical music era period ? for this reason, music which draws infl...
. In fact, Neo-Renaissance or Neo-Baroque
Neo-baroque

Neo-Baroque is a term used to describe artistic creations which display important aspects of Baroque style, but are not from the Baroque period proper?i.e., the 17th and 18th centuries....
 would probably more accurately describe his compositions that are based on earlier work. Respighi generally kept clear of the musical idiom
Idiom

An idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be determined by the literal definition of the phrase itself, but refers instead to a figurative language meaning that is known only through common use....
 of the classical period, unlike most neo-classical composers. He preferred combining pre-classical melodic
Melody

In music, a melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity....
 styles and musical form
Musical form

The term musical form refers to two related concepts:*the type of composition *the structure of a particular musical piece .There is some overlap between musical form and musical genre....
s (like dance suite
Suite

In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet, or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements ....
s) with typical late 19th century romantic
Romantic music

In music, romanticism is a term, often considered misleading, and concept derived from literature traditionally defined by attributes including, "interest in nature, medieval chivalry, mysticism, [and] remoteness [ Social alienation and Solitude]"....
 harmonies
Harmony

In Western music, harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously, and chord s, actual or implied, in music. The word is related to the word "harmonic" which implies related wavelengths of waves....
 and textures
Texture (music)

Texture is one of the basic elements of music. People use texture to describe the amount of rhythms played at a specific time. In music, texture also means the overall quality of sound of a piece , most often indicated by the number of melody in the music and by the relationship between these voices ....
.

He died in his Roman villa named "I Pini". A year after his burial, his remains were moved to his birthplace Bologna and reinterred at the city's expense.

Works


Opera

  • Re Enzo (1905)
  • Semirâma (1909)
  • Marie Victoire (completed in 1913, but not produced until 2004)
  • La bella dormente nel bosco (1922)
  • Belfagor (1923)
  • La campana sommersa
    La campana sommersa

    La campana sommersa is an opera in 4 acts by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. Its libretto is by Claudio Guastalla, based on the play Die versunkene Glocke by German author Gerhart Hauptmann....
     (1927)
  • Maria Egiziaca
    Maria egiziaca

    Maria egiziaca is an opera "in three episodes" by the Italy composer Ottorino Respighi. The libretto, by Claudio Guastallo, is based on a Medieval life of Saint Mary of Egypt by Domenico Cavalca....
     (1932)
  • La fiamma (1934)
  • Lucrezia (1937) (completed posthumously by his wife, Elsa
    Elsa Respighi

    Elsa Respighi was an Italy composer. She was the wife and former pupil of Ottorino Respighi.A singer and composer herself, Elsa Respighi created ballets of Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances Suites and completed his final opera Lucrezia in 1937....
    )


Ballet

  • La Boutique fantasque
    La Boutique fantasque

    La Boutique fantasque or The Magic Toy Shop was a ballet conceived by L?onide Massine who wrote the choreography and the libretto....
     (1918), which borrows tunes from the 19th century composer Rossini. This had its premiere in London on June 5, 1919.
  • La Pentola magica (1920)
  • Belkis, Regina di Saba (1930), his last work for ballet
  • Le astuzie de Columbina
  • Sevres de la vieille France


Orchestral

  • Symphonic Variations (1900)
  • Preludio, corale e fuga (1901)
  • Suite in E major (Sinfonia) (1901 rev. 1903)
  • Burlesca (1906)
  • Ouverture carnevalesca (1913)
  • Sinfonia Drammatica (1913-14)
  • The Roman trilogy (three symphonic poems evoking Roman places and times of day)
    • Fontane di Roma
      Fontane di Roma

      Fontane di Roma is a 1916 work by the Italy composer Ottorino Respighi, now considered part of the Roman Trilogy of symphonic poems along with Feste Romane and Pini di Roma....
       (Fountains of Rome) (1915-1916)
    • Pini di Roma
      Pini di Roma

      Pini di Roma is a 1924 work by the Italy composer Ottorino Respighi, and is considered one of the masterpieces of the Roman Trilogy of symphonic poems along with Feste Romane and Fontane di Roma....
       (Pines of Rome) (1923-1924)
    • Feste Romane
      Feste Romane

      Feste Romane is a work for very large symphony orchestra composed in 1926, by the Italy composer Ottorino Respighi. It is a tone poem depicting scenes from Ancient Rome of the Roman Empire....
       (Roman Festivals) (1928)
  • Ancient Airs and Dances
    • Suite No. 1 (1917), based on Renaissance
      Renaissance music

      Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 - 1600. Dates of classical music eras, given the lack of abrupt shifts in musical thinking during the 15th century....
       lute
      Lute

      Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
       pieces by Simone Molinaro
      Simone Molinaro

      Simone Molinaro was one of the greatest lute composers of the late Renaissance in Italy.His music was used as the basis for part of the Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 1 by Ottorino Respighi....
      , Vincenzo Galilei
      Vincenzo Galilei

      Vincenzo Galilei was an Italy lute, composer, and music theory, and the father of the famous astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei. He was a seminal figure in the musical life of the late Renaissance, and contributed significantly to the musical revolution which demarcates the beginning of the Baroque music era....
       (father of Galileo Galilei
      Galileo Galilei

      Galileo Galilei was a Grand Duchy of Tuscany physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution....
      ), and additional anonymous composers.
    • Suite No. 2 (1924), based on pieces for lute, archlute
      Archlute

      The archlute is a European plucked string instrument developed around 1600 as a compromise between the very large theorbo, the size and re-entrant tuning of which made for difficulties in the performance of solo music, and the Renaissance tenor lute, which lacked the bass range of the theorbo....
      , and viol
      Viol

      The viol is any one of a family of bow , fretted, stringed instruments musical instruments developed in the 1400s and used primarily in the Renaissance music and Baroque music periods....
       by Fabrizio Caroso, Jean-Baptiste Besard, Bernardo Gianoncelli, and an anonymous composer. It also interpolates an aria attributed to Marin Mersenne
      Marin Mersenne

      Marin Mersenne, Marin Mersennus or le P?re Mersenne was a France theology, philosopher, mathematician and Music theory, often referred to as the "father of acoustics" ....
      .
    • Suite No. 3 (1932), which differs from the previous two suites in being arranged for strings
      String instrument

      A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones....
       only and somewhat melancholy in overall mood. It is based on lute song
      Lute song

      The lute song was a generic form of music in the late Renaissance music and very early Baroque music eras, generally consisting of a singer accompanying himself on a lute, though lute songs may often have been performed by a singer and a separate lutenist....
      s by Besard, a piece for baroque guitar
      Guitar

      The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
       by Ludovico Roncalli
      Ludovico Roncalli

      Count Ludovico Roncalli , or simply Count Ludovico, was an Italy nobleman who published a collection of suites for five-course baroque guitar, Capricci armonici sopra la chitarra spagnola , in 1692....
      , and lute pieces by Santino Garsi da Parma
      Santino Garsi da Parma

      Santino Garsi da Parma was an Italian lutenist and composer of the late Renaissance.His music was used as a basis for part of the Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 3 by Ottorino Respighi....
       and additional anonymous composers.
  • Ballata delle Gnomidi (Dance of the Gnomes) (1920), based on a poem by Claudio Clausetti
  • Rossiniana (1925) - free transcriptions from Rossini
    Gioacchino Rossini

    Gioachino Antonio Rossini was a popular Italian composer who created 39 operas as well as sacred music and chamber music. His best known works include Il barbiere di Siviglia , La Cenerentola and Guillaume Tell ....
    's Les petits riens
  • Vetrate di chiesa (Church Windows) (1925), four movements of which three are based on Tre Preludi e sopra gregoriane for piano (1919)
  • Gli Uccelli
    Gli Uccelli

    Gli uccelli is a suite for small orchestra by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. Dating from 1927, the work is based on music from 18th-century and represents an attempt to transcribe birdsong into musical notation....
     (The Birds) (1927), based on Baroque pieces imitating birds
  • Trittico Botticelliano (1927)
  • Brazilian Impressions (1928)
  • Metamorphoseon Modi XII: Tema e Variazioni (1930)


Concerto

  • Piano
    • Piano Concerto in A minor (1902)
    • Fantasia Slava (1903)
    • Concerto in modo misolidio (Concerto in the Mixolydian mode
      Mixolydian mode

      The Mixolydian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It has the same series of Major second and Minor second as the major scale, except the fifth note is taken as the tonic or starting pitch of the scale ....
      ) (1925)
    • Toccata for Piano and Orchestra (1928)
  • Violin
    • Violin Concerto in A minor ("Concerto all'antica") (1908)
    • Concerto Gregoriano (1921)
    • Poema Autunnale (Autumn Poem) (1920-5)
  • Suite in G major for organ and string orchestra (1905)
  • Adagio con variazioni (1920), for cello and orchestra
  • Concerto a cinque (Concerto for Five) (1933), for oboe, trumpet, piano, viola d'amore
    Viola d'amore

    The viola d'amore is a 7- or 6-string instrument musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the Baroque music. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin....
    , double-bass, and strings


Vocal/Choral

  • Christus (text by Respighi) (1898-99), Biblical cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra
  • Aretusa (text by Shelley
    Percy Bysshe Shelley

    Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major England Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest Lyric poetry in the English language....
    ) (1910-11), cantata for mezzo-soprano and orchestra
  • La Sensitiva (The Sensitive Plant, text by Shelley
    Percy Bysshe Shelley

    Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major England Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest Lyric poetry in the English language....
    ) (1914), for mezzo-soprano and orchestra
  • Il Tramonto (The sunset, text by Shelley
    Percy Bysshe Shelley

    Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major England Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest Lyric poetry in the English language....
    ) (1914), for mezzo-soprano and string quartet (or string orchestra)
  • Dietŕ silvane (Woodland Deities, texts by Antonio Rubino) (1917), song-cycle for soprano and small orchestra
  • La Primavera (The Spring, texts by Constant Zarian) (1922) lyric poem for soli, chorus and orchestra
  • Lauda per la Nativitŕ del Signore (Laud to the Nativity) (1930), a cantata
    Cantata

    A cantata is a vocal music music composition with an musical instrument accompaniment and often containing more than one movement ....
     for three soloists (soprano
    Soprano

    A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
    , mezzo-soprano
    Mezzo-soprano

    A mezzo-soprano is a type of European classical music female voice type whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above ....
    , tenor
    Tenor

    The tenor is a type of male voice type and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C to the A above in choral music, and up to high C in solo work....
    ), chorus (including substantial sections for 8-part mixed chorus and TTBB male chorus), and chamber ensemble (woodwinds and piano)


Chamber/Instrumental

  • String Quartets
    • String Quartet in D Major in one movement (undated)
    • String Quartet No.1 in D Major (1892-98)
    • String Quartet No.2 in B flat Major (1898)
    • String Quartet in D Major [1907)
    • String Quartet in D minor (1909) subtitled by composer "Ernst is das Leben, heiter ist die Kunst"
    • Quartetto Dorico or Doric String Quartet (1924)
  • Tre Preludi e sopra gregoriane, for piano
  • Violin Sonata in B minor
  • Variazioni, for guitar
  • Double Quartet in D minor (1901)
  • Piano Quintet in F minor (1902)
  • Six Pieces for Violin & Piano (1901-06)
  • Quartet in D Major for 4 Viols (1906)
  • Several instrumental sonatas
  • String Quintet for 2 Violins, 2 Violas & Violoncello (undated)


Note: The bulk of the above compositions have not been published and are in manuscript at the conservatories in Bologna and Rome. Three String Quartets (1907, 1909 & 1924) and the Piano Quintet have been published.

Selected Recordings

Note: The Roman Trilogy is one of the most ubiquitous works in the catalogue, and has been recorded by all the major world ensembles under many prominent conductors. The recording of the first two with Fritz Reiner
Fritz Reiner

Frederick Martin ?Fritz? Reiner was a prominent Conducting of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century....
 and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five "....
 is one of the most respected in the catalogue and features prominently in recommended listings in such publications as the Good CD Guide and the Penguin Guide to CDs.

  • I Pini di Roma/Feste Romane/Fontane di Roma - Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
    Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

    The Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is one of the best-known orchestras in Italy. It is based at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome....
    /Antonio Pappano
    Antonio Pappano

    Antonio Pappano is a United Kingdom conducting and pianist of Italian parentage currently serving as music director at the Royal Opera House in London, and l'Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome....
    , (EMI Classics
    EMI Classics

    EMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed european classical music releases....
    )
  • I Pini di Roma/Fontane di Roma - Chicago Symphony Orchestra
    Chicago Symphony Orchestra

    The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five "....
    / Fritz Reiner, (RCA
    RCA

    RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Today, the RCA is owned by the France conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson....
    ) (on JVC
    JVC

    , usually referred to as JVC, is an international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927....
     in Japan)
  • I Pini di Roma/Feste Romane/Fontane di Roma - Montreal Symphony Orchestra
    Montreal Symphony Orchestra

    Orchestre symphonique de Montr?al is a symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with Montreal's Place des Arts as its home....
    / Charles Dutoit
    Charles Dutoit

    Charles ?douard Dutoit is a Switzerland conducting, particularly noted for his interpretations of French and Russian 20th century music. He has made influential modern recordings of Hector Berlioz's Rom?o et Juliette and Maurice Ravel's ballets Daphnis et Chlo? and Ma M?re l'Oie....
    , (Decca
    Decca Records

    Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
    )
  • I Pini di Roma/Feste Romane/Fontane di Roma - NBC Symphony Orchestra
    NBC Symphony Orchestra

    The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini....
    / Arturo Toscanini, (RCA)
  • I Pini di Roma/Feste Romane/Fontane di Roma - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

    The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"....
    / Enrique Bátiz
    Enrique Batiz

    Enrique B?tiz Campbell is one of the most famous orchestra conducting in Latin America, who has won international popularity and fame. He began piano studies at age 8 with Francisco Agea, continuing 10 years later with Gyorgy Sandor....
    , (Naxos)
  • Brazilian Impressions/Metamorphoseon - Philharmonia Orchestra/ Geoffrey Simon
    Geoffrey Simon

    Australian conductor Geoffrey Simon is a musical director resident in London....
    , (Chandos
    Chandos Records

    Chandos Records is an independent European classical music label based in the United Kingdom, founded by Brian Couzens. Their catalog contains a range of classical music - for example, much orchestral, choir and chamber music by such relatively lesser-known British composers as Herbert Howells, Gerald Finzi, Charles Stanford and Arnold Bax co...
    )
  • Ancient Airs and Dances I-III (Antiche Aire e Danze) - Philharmonia Hungarica
    Philharmonia Hungarica

    The Philharmonia Hungarica was a symphony orchestra, based in Germany, which existed from 1956 to 2001.It was first established in Baden bei Wien near Vienna by Hungary musicians who had fled their homeland after it was 1956 Hungarian Revolution....
    / Antal Doráti
    Antal Doráti

    Antal Dor?ti Order of the British Empire was a Hungary-born conducting and composer.Dor?ti was born in Budapest, where his father was a violinist with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra....
    , (Mercury Records
    Mercury Records

    Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US, and are both subsidiaries of Universal Music Group....
    )
  • Ancient Airs and Dances I-III (Antiche Aire e Danze) - National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland
    National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland

    The RT? National Symphony Orchestra is the concert music orchestra of Radio Telef?s ?ireann. Considered one of Europe's major symphonies it is the primary symphony orchestra of Dublin and, true to its name, the leading orchestra of the Republic of Ireland....
    / Rico Saccani
    Rico Saccani

    Rico Saccani is an United States Conducting who served as Music Director/Artistic Adviser of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra between 1996 and 2005 and was principle guest Conductor of the Hungarian State Opera from 1985 to 2005....
    , (Naxos)
  • I Pini di Roma/Fontane di Roma/The Birds (Gli Uccelli) - London Symphony Orchestra
    London Symphony Orchestra

    The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Arts Centre....
    / István Kertész
    István Kertész

    Istv?n Kert?sz was a world-renowned Hungary orchestral and operatic conducting....
    , (Decca)
  • Church Windows (Vetrate di Chiesa) - Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
    Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

    As the fifth-oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall , recordings, and international tours....
    / Jesus Lopez-Cobos
    Jesús López-Cobos

    Jes?s L?pez-Cobos is a Spanish Conducting.L?pez-Cobos was born in Toro, Zamora, Zamora , Castile-Leon, Spain. He studied at Complutense University of Madrid and graduated with a degree in philosophy....
    , (Telarc)
  • Three Botticelli Pictures (Trittico Botticelliano)/The Birds - Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
    Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

    The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is an England chamber music orchestra.The group was founded in London by Sir Neville Marriner, attracting some of the most accomplished players in London, many of whom considered themselves to be refugees from conductors....
    , Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
    Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

    The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is a 40-member United States chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, California, praised by the music critic Jim Svejda as "America's finest chamber orchestra."....
    / Sir Neville Marriner, (EMI Classics)
  • Belkis, Queen of Sheba - Suite / Metamorphoseon - Theme & Variations - Philharmonia Orchestra/ Geoffrey Simon
    Geoffrey Simon

    Australian conductor Geoffrey Simon is a musical director resident in London....
    , (Chandos
    Chandos Records

    Chandos Records is an independent European classical music label based in the United Kingdom, founded by Brian Couzens. Their catalog contains a range of classical music - for example, much orchestral, choir and chamber music by such relatively lesser-known British composers as Herbert Howells, Gerald Finzi, Charles Stanford and Arnold Bax co...
    )
  • Suite in G for Organ and Strings - Robert Boughen / Queensland Symphony Orchestra
    Queensland Symphony Orchestra

    The Queensland Symphony Orchestra was an Australian orchestra, based principally in Brisbane in the state of Queensland.The QSO played its first concert on 26 March 1947, with the orchestra consisting of 45 musicians, conducted by Percy Code....
     / Vanco Cavdarski, (ABC Classics)
  • Pines of Rome/ Fountains of Rome/ Metamorphoseon Modi XII - Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
    Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

    As the fifth-oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall , recordings, and international tours....
    / Jesús López-Cobos
    Jesús López-Cobos

    Jes?s L?pez-Cobos is a Spanish Conducting.L?pez-Cobos was born in Toro, Zamora, Zamora , Castile-Leon, Spain. He studied at Complutense University of Madrid and graduated with a degree in philosophy....
     (Telarc)


Biographical Sources


  • Respighi, Elsa (1955) Fifty Years of a Life in Music
  • Respighi, Elsa (1962) Ottorino Respighi, London: Ricordi
  • Nupen, Christopher (director) (1983) Ottorino Respighi: A Dream of Italy, Allegro Films
  • Barrow, Lee G (2004) Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936): An Annotated Bibliography, Scarecrow Press


External links