Notte di maggio is a gorgeous, impressionistic tone poem for voice and orchestra dating from 1913, making it one of Alfredo Casella’s early works. Full of yummy, non-functional harmony, it exudes atmosphere. Olivia Andreini has an attractive timbre that wobbles on most sustained notes, making the work less appealing than it ought to be, but she never turns downright irritating. The work itself, in any case, is consistently fascinating, and the rest of the program is splendid too.
The Cello Concerto is one of Casella’s late pieces, vaguely neo-classical in outline but wholly original melodically and harmonically. Its slow movement is curiously compelling, while the finale, which the composer described as sort of a cello version of “The Flight of the Bumblebee”, lives up to its billing in this virtuoso performance by cellist Andrea Noferini.
Scarlattiana, for piano and orchestra, remains one of Casella’s most popular works, for obvious reasons. The music is scintillating and full of fun, the piano writing brilliant but never facile. With five movements lasting about half an hour, the piece really is a major piano concerto, and while it has been lucky on disc, it ought to be played live more often. Sun Hee You handles the solo part with complete confidence, and as with the other discs in this series, the Rome Symphony Orchestra under Francesco La Vecchia plays the music with the kind of uninhibited enthusiasm that it needs. A beautiful disc, and one that collectors should snap up without delay.
