'' Overture Respighiana'' (''Overtura Respighiana'') was composed by

Salvatore Di Vittorio Salvatore Di Vittorio (born 22 October 1967 in Palermo) is an Italian composer and conductor. He is music director and Conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of New York. He has been recognized by Luigi Verdi (Philharmonic Academy of Bologna) as ...

in 2008, as an homage to

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions r ...

. The work was written one year before Di Vittorio's completion of Respighi's rediscovered first Violin Concerto in A Major.

Instrumentation and duration

The

overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...

is scored for two flutes (II Piccolo), two oboes (II English horn), two clarinets in A, two

bassoons The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuos ...

, two horns in F, two trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, timpani, 3 percussion (triangle, antique cymbals, glockenspiel, snare drum, tambourine, cymbals, bass drum, and tam tam),

celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

, and

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

. Duration is approximately 7 minutes.

History

The overture was composed as an homage not only to

, but Respighi's homage works on Gioachino Rossini (''

La Boutique fantasque ''La Boutique fantasque'', also known as ''The Magic Toyshop'' or ''The Fantastic Toyshop'', is a ballet in one act conceived by Léonide Massine, who devised the choreography for a libretto written with the artist André Derain, a pioneer of Fa ...

'' and '' Rossiniana''). The beginning of the overture captures the orchestral sounds of the introduction of '' Pines of Rome'', though with new melodies, simultaneously citing elements of Respighi's ''Rossiniana''. Through fanfares, the music leads to a variation of the March from ''La Boutique fantasque''. A brief sarabande styled interlude is given, inspired from the Valse Lente movement of ''La Boutique fantasque''. The final section involves a tarantella dance in the style of Rossini, which ends with a rocket crescendo. The overture demonstrates Respighi's influence on Di Vittorio, also through Rossini's influence on the music of Respighi.

World premiere and recording

The overture received its world premiere by the Chamber Orchestra of New York under the composer, on February 13, 2010, at the Church of St. Jean Baptiste in New York. The overture was recorded for

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

:8.572333.

Publisher

This work was published in 2008 by Edizioni Panastudio in Italy.

References

External links

Official website of Salvatore Di Vittorio

Official website of Ottorino Respighi

Gruppo Editoriale Panastudio

Chamber Orchestra of New York "Ottorino Respighi"

Naxos Records
{{Italic title Compositions by Salvatore Di Vittorio 2008 compositions Concert overtures Respighiana