In the framework of the ITALIAN FESTIVAL, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, thanks to the support of the Italian Cultural Institute of Montreal, presents: “Respighi et la Trilogie Romaine” lecture by Norberto Cordisco Respighi.
Tuesday March 14 – 6:30pm
Salon d’honneur – Maison symphonique de Montréal
1600 Rue Saint-Urbain, Montréal
By invitation only
On March 11, 1917, the spectators of the Theater Augusteo of Rome reserved a rather cold reception to the first execution of Fountains of Rome. There was nothing to suggest then the success that this score was destined to know the following year under the direction of Arturo Toscanini. The triumph of the first part of the Roman Trilogy was such that Toscanini then asked Respighi to reserve for him the American première of Pini di Roma (1924), as well as the creation of Feste Romane (1929). Despite the presence of subtitles, these symphonic poems move away from traditional program music and assert an absolutely original character. Having become classics in the repertoire of the world’s largest orchestras, these compositions have also influenced film music.
Norberto Cordisco Respighi
A member of the Respighi family, Norberto Cordisco Respighi is a pianist, musicologist and banker. He graduated in piano at the Conservatory of Siena in the class of Norberto Capelli. He has been based in Paris since 2006, and has developed at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris with Véronique Bonnecaze and in private lessons with Aldo Ciccolini and Jean-Marc Luisada. In a duet with pianist Giulio Biddau, he recorded a disc dedicated to transcriptions for piano four hands of some of the greatest hits of Ottorino Respighi (The Fontane di Roma, I Pini di Roma and Antiche Arie e Danze per Liuto), which will be released under the French label Evidence Classics (Little Tribeca) in 2017 and which is supported by the Institut Culturel Italien de Paris. An expert in 20th century Italian symphonic music, Norberto is currently writing the first biography of Ottorino Respighi in French. Alongside his musical studies, Norberto obtained a master’s degree in finance and strategy from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. He is responsible for the financial management of the Direction Générale of the BNP Paribas Group.