If Alfredo Casella didn’t completely disavow his First Symphony, he did write it off to the point of re-using the gorgeous slow movement (re-scored) in his Second Symphony. No matter. Yes, the music sounds kind of like Borodin meets Richard Strauss, but heavens, it’s a wonderful, tuneful, exciting, brilliantly scored chunk of passionate late-Romantic mayhem, and you’re going to love it. The Concerto is his last major orchestral work, very similar to the neoclassical pieces by, say, Martinu of the same period (think of the Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano, and Timpani). It’s engaging, ebullient, and wistful by turns, and harmonically tart in an ear-catching way.
Happily, the performances here are excellent. Francesco La Vecchia drives the orchestra hard in the symphony, with a big payoff in terms of emotional spontaneity and impact. If the scoring sounds thick in places, well, that’s because it is, but you can’t fault Casella for being too uninhibited. In the Concerto, La Vecchia has a fine piano soloist in Desirée Scuccuglia, and the keyboard is very well integrated into the instrumental fabric. This boldly engineered disc is the first of four surveying Casella’s orchestral music, and we can only look forward to the remaining issues with great enthusiasm. Recommended, without reservations. [7/12/2010]
