PIZZETTI
Concerto dell’estate. Per l’Edipo re di Sofocle:
3 Symphonic Preludes.
Clitennestra:
Prelude.
La festa delle Panatenee
•
Myron Michailidis, cond; Thessaloniki St SO
•
NAXOS 8.572013 (69: 15)
A few issues back I reviewed a new DVD of Pizzetti’s late operatic success,
Assassinio nella cathedrale
(Decca 074 3253). Meanwhile, Hyperion has just reassigned its full-priced 2000 release of Pizzetti orchestral music with Vanska/BBC Scottish SO to its budget division, as Helios 55329. Now we have another recording of orchestral music from this 20th-century Italian master on a budget label, emphasizing (with the exception of the
Per l’Edipo re di Sofocle
preludes) different works. It’s a good time to consider Pizzetti’s compositional merits.
Ildobrando Pizzetti (1880-1968) studied initially at the Parma Conservatory, where he showed a marked interest in 16th-century Italian sacred works and secular monody. These proved a formative influence on his compositional style, as did the harmonic structure of his French contemporaries, notably Debussy and Dukas. It was in a 1908 article considering the latter’s
Ariane et Barbe-bleue
that Pizzetti first expressed his own guiding principles to operatic creation, and in
Fedra
, premiered at La Scala in 1915, that he unveiled his declamatory style, a version of heightened speech patterns, neither aria nor recitative, but rich in lyrical suggestion. Similarities in approach to
Pelleas et Melisande
are apparent. Equally apparent is the composer’s rejection of
verismo
through his elevated subjects, restrained manner, and “return to our musical roots” philosophy.
All of this can be sensed in the earliest and latest music on this release. The three preludes for
Per l’Edipo re di Sofocle
were commissioned for a stage production in 1903, composed the following year, and issued in 1924. It is the earliest published music by Pizzetti, lacking in the composer’s later subtlety and richer palette, but there are memorable themes, passages of effective counterpoint (notably in the first prelude), and a tension that is admirably developed and maintained through a host of rhetorical means.
Clitennestra
was the result of a renewed interest in Pizzetti’s music after the tremendous impression made by
Assassinio nella cathedrale
(1957). Completed in 1964, the prelude to Pizzetti’s last opera is a passionate work, a miniature tone poem mixing darkness, anxiety, and pageantry with the composer’s customary orchestral brilliance. That we are only now witnessing its recording premiere has far less to do with the work’s intrinsic quality than it does with the short-sighted policies of the Ricordi publishing house at the time, who refused to lower the very high lease rates on Pizzetti’s music, all under copyright, despite the first real interest in it for many years.
However, the gem on this release is the 1928
Concerto dell’estate
, or “Concerto of Summer.” I first heard it along with the 1913 suite from
La pisanelle
back in the 1960s on a London Stereo Treasury LP featuring Lamberto Gardelli with the Suisse Romande Orchestra: then London STS 15292, now on Decca Eloquence 476 9766. This re-release was enthusiastically reviewed by Phillip Scott in
Fanfare
30:3. I would go farther than Scott, who praises its sense of color, melodic wealth, and avoidance of Respighi’s “attention-grabbing dynamic extremes.” (Though as an ironic aside, it’s worth noting Pizzetti took over Respighi’s professorial chair of advanced composition at Rome’s National Academy of St. Cecilia in 1936, upon the latter’s death.) Pizzetti’s skill at development is far stronger than that of his compatriot and friend, maintaining interest in his three movements across a 30-minute span, including occasional cross quotes, without problem. I would single out in particular the third movement, built around an original galliard, for its rhythmic verve, dramatic contrasts, and unforgettable main theme—but the entire work really deserves to be heard regularly. It is at least as good as
The Fountains of Rome
and
The Pines of Rome.
Finally,
La festa delle Panatenee
(“The Festival of the Panathenaea”) here receives its recording premiere. Composed for a 1936 open-air performance in Paestum among the remains of three temples dedicated to Hera and Athena, Pizzetti made extensive use of what were believed at the time to be authentic Greek modes. As often happens in musical movements aimed at reconstruction, authenticity has proved elusive. Both themes and harmonies are identifiably Pizzetti, though none the worse for that. It lacks the vitality and distinction of the
Concerto dell’estate
, but remains an attractive if secondary piece in the composer’s
œuvre.
These performances are the first I’ve heard by the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra. They sound like a strong second-rate ensemble, with good playing across the board both among soloists (the unnamed violinist in the third of the three
Per l’Edipo re di Sofocle
preludes deserves especial praise) and sections. Blending is moderately effective, while phrasing is often staid and blockish. Michailidis leads committed readings, notable for their color and dynamic range, if compromised slightly by an overly dry acoustic. His tempos in the
Concerto dell’estate
are very similar to those Gardelli employed more than 40 years ago, but the Suisse Romande musicians displayed a passionate urgency and beauty of sound (yes, they most certainly could muster this under the right circumstances) that are lacking here. In turn, Vanska has the benefit of a first-rate international orchestra in the
Per l’Edipo re di Sofocle
preludes, but Michailidis comes up on top, as the Finnish conductor’s slow tempos tend to drag things down.
Factor in two premieres and good interpretations on this release, and you have a winner. I’d still urge the purchase of Vanska for the
Rondo veneziano
, the
Prelude a un altro giorno
, and above all, the suite from
La Pisanella
, but since it’s now reduced in price, and this Naxos is a bargain to start with, you’re really not out much in buying both.
Barry Brenesal
