Presented by Leo Samama.
Ottorino Respighi’s work shows us how many Italian composers around 1900 were looking for a unique sound, besides opera. However, there is a prominent influence of German chamber music in the String Quartet in D minor from 1909. The quotation that Respighi printed on the score is significant: “Ernst ist das Leben, heiter die Kunst”, derived from Schiller’s Wallenstein.
Respighi’s musical tone changed right before and during the First World War. Finally, he could work with the experiences from the classes of Rimsky-Korsakow in Russia, the first works he heard of Stravinsky, the world of sounds of the new French music, and the results of his course in early Italian Music.
All this can be found in the remarkable Quartetto Dorico (1924).
Ottorino Respighi – String Quartet in D minor. (1909)
(1) Allegro, (2) Lentamente con tristezza, (3) Presto,(4) Allegro energico
Performed by: Quartetto Nous
CD: Warner Music
Ottorino Respighi – Quartetto Dorico (1924)
Performed by: New Hellenic Quartet
CD: Bis
