Successful and Fulfilling

On the rediscovery of the Italian symphonic tradition,
by GIUSEPPE PENNISI

Opera and especially melodrama have been considered as the main forms of Italian musical expression since the Renaissance. There is, of course, a wealth of Italian religious and chamber music going back nearly to the Middle Ages because Italy is a Roman Catholic country and until recently was divided into many small states, competing with one another for the musical offerings in their opera house, concert halls, and churches. Also within individual states there was musical competition and rivalry: due to the Italian geography -- a mountain Peninsula where transport and communications have been quite difficult until the twentieth century -- many municipalities developed into semi-independent communal republics, each with their own theatre and concert hall. For instance, in the comparatively small and hilly region of Marche (with 1.2 million residents) there were over one hundred theatres...

ALFREDO CASELLA

OTTORINO RESPIGHI

GOFFREDO PETRASSI

RICHARD STRAUSS

ROME

ITALY

ORCHESTRAL MUSIC

20TH CENTURY