The orchestral piece called Introduzione, aria e toccata (op 55, 1933) was composed for the first 2 parts during a tour of England and Ireland (he was in the hotel rooms calm conducive to composition), and back in Rome last.
Casella there including recycles music composed by him previously and rearranged. He will often use this method, imitating composers of the Baroque era.
A somewhat interesting but hybrid composition in a style that makes me think of Prokofiev, Shostakovich also. This recording is a world first.
Follows a partita for piano and small orchestra (op 42, 1924-1925), work of neo-classical style which she rather links with Stravinsky. She was for many years since its composition, the piece for the most played piano. Casella himself played the solo piano premiered in October 1925, with the New York Philharmonic and one of his biggest supporters, the Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg, at its third US tour.
It recurred across Europe, including in Vienna with Clemens Krauss and Berlin with Wilhelm Furtwängler.
This partita is characterized by a central Passaglia, long, slow, and very playful Burlesca (allegro con brio vivacissimo e) on a theme fanfare and tarantella to finish.
It is the Korean pianist Hee Sun You, very agile soloist and virtuoso, who here gives an excellent interpretation.
Two orchestral suites of his only opera "La donna winds" (op 50, 1928-1931) come close the program (first world as well). This is the story of the fairy princess Miranda, whose father allows him to marry the mortal king Altidor only on condition that she must hide her true identity and then submit Altidor to terrible ordeals he must satisfy without cursing, failing which Miranda will be transformed into a snake for a period of 200 years ... A fantastic story that oscillates between tragic and comic.
The six fragments orchestra presented here are, however, only interludes and not related parties of the action of the opera.
The first suite ends with a "marcia guerriera" brillantissime, who as a kinship with that of the Love for Three Oranges, and the second after a "final battaglia e" too bright and very smoothly conducted. All this gives us even more desire to hear more.
Francesco La Vecchia at the head of the Symphony Orchestra of Rome interprets this colorful music with great skill.
The presentation booklet includes two separate texts of presentation of works (one in English and one in Italian) and bilingual presentation interpreters.
Besides the obvious interest of these records, it must be emphasized that more moderate prices of this album Naxos.
