Alfredo Casella made the giant leap from swollen, hyper-Romantic large orchestral works to the pared-down textures of neo-classicism in vogue in the 1920s. Conductor Gianandrea Noseda pairs examples of both periods on this new Chandos release, which begins with the 27-year-old Casella’s Symphony No. 2, written in 1910. It runs for almost 50 minutes, laboriously slogging its way through five movements that exhibit a precarious range of influences, from Mahler, who Casella greatly admired, to Russian music (note the tolling bells and solemn orchestral introduction as well as the Scherzo’s lyrical section). Rhythmic ostinatos are a stylistic feature, but so too, unfortunately, are clotted textures.
There are signs of promise in the young composer, exemplified by an interesting Adagio, with a gloomy wind chorale over a timpani ostinato figure and an attractive restatement of the work’s main theme by English horn and solo violin. But the work’s welcome end suggests that rediscovering works from the young Casella’s hyperactive Romantic period will not yield any hidden masterpieces, despite the committed advocacy of Noseda and his forces.
Casella’s true métier seems to be in neo-classical works like Scarlattiana, where his lack of melodic inventiveness is replaced by clothing Scarlatti’s melodies in Ravelian textures to produce an attractive concert piece for piano and small orchestra. Deft orchestration and a glittering piano part make the Scarlatti originals shine brightly, especially in the Capriccio movement, with its Spanish castanets and bright trumpet exclamations, and in the serene Pastorale and the Neapolitan frolic that ends the piece. Martin Roscoe is the capable pianist; the BBC Philharmonic copes well with the excesses of the Symphony and, in its reduced form, is a delightful partner in Scarlattiana. Chandos’ sound is good, better than that in the less demanding chamber work.
