Casella: Triple Concerto; Ghedini: Concerto dell'Albatro

�Ghedini�s colours are so tastefully blended and applied that I found myself listening for a second time, and a third...Casella fans will want this concerto; the Ghedini is a real bonus, though.� --MusicWeb International, 9th January 2014

�a pair of radically different mid-century triple concertos...I Pomeriggi Musicali's fine live performances are scrupulously conducted by Damian Iorio... Violinist Paolo Ghidoni and cellist Pietro Bosna adopt a lyrical approach, in contrast to the more overtly virtuosic playing from pianist Emanuela Piemonti.� --The Guardian, 21st November 2013 ****

Both Alfredo Casella and Giorgio Federico Ghedini are featured in ongoing Naxos series of orchestral works, but this is the first release to couple the two of them. The pieces have much in common�not least, both are concertos using the rare combination of piano trio and orchestra, pioneered by Beethoven�but they are also beautifully contrasted. Casella wrote his Triple Concerto for his own Trio Italiano, who performed it five hundred times on three continents in less than a decade. Ghedini�s Concerto dell�albatro adds the voice of a narrator to the piano trio and orchestra, evoking, in words from Herman Melville�s sea story Moby-Dick, a remarkable encounter with an Antarctic albatross.

Casella: Orchestral Works Volume 3

�The BBC Philharmonic is an outstanding orchestra who maintain excellent form throughout. Their playing of these multicoloured works is ideal. I love the way they can easily generate thrusting intensity then seamlessly shift to episodes of tender serenity. Noseda�s stunning interpretation of the Symphony makes a splendid case for this marvellous work� MusicWeb International, 15th July 2013
 

�This is attractive music and the BBC Philharmonic under Noseda are strong advocates.� BBC Music Magazine, October 2013 ****

Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice - August 2013

�Noseda encourages the BBC Philharmonic to give of their considerable best throughout) the exuberant yet marvellously controlled orchestral playing towards the close of Italia really does raise the roof)...A very strong recommendation.� Gramophone Magazine, August 2013

�The performances are exceptional: even by their own standards, Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic have done nothing finer.� The Guardian, 13th June 2013 *****

�Those who have been following Noseda�s Casella series will be keen to add this disc to the collection...There is a whole spectrum of influences at work on Casella, but they are subsumed into a personal, dynamic style that the BBC Philharmonic conveys with sinew and spirit.� The Telegraph, 20th June 2013 ****

Casella: La donna serpente

"This disc marks the conclusion of Naxos� Casella series, and it has been a wonderful journey. As with the other discs, the performances are excellent. Sun Hee You does a wonderful job in the Partita, offering effortless virtuosity and an aptly light touch�conductor Franceso La Vecchia proves himself more imaginative an accompanist�and he also has the better orchestra and engineering. Casella truly was a great composer. The evidence on this disc is incontestable." --ClassicsToday.com, November 2012

Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, Francesco La Vecchia

This latest disc in the Naxos series of Casella�s orchestral music represents what Casella felt was his �definitive personality�. The Introduction, Aria and Toccata epitomises his �monumental Baroque style� of the late 1920s and early 1930s. A few years earlier, his neoclassical Partita for piano and small orchestra had been a huge hit, with Casella himself touring right across Europe and the USA playing the solo part. In between, he at last � in his late forties � composed his first opera, La donna serpente: the orchestral fragments recorded here colourfully reflect the story�s tragicomic twists and turns.

Casella: Notte di maggio, Cello Concerto, Scarlattiana

"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." --ClassicsToday.com, October 2010

Casella: Concerto for Orchestra, Pagine di guerra & Suite

"Solo work is polished and distinctive, and the ensemble is well blended and disciplined. Conductor Francesco La Vecchia seems to know what he wants to get out of these scores�If you have enjoyed earlier releases in this series, there is no reason to hesitate. If you haven�t heard Casella yet, then what are you waiting for? This disc is as good a place as any to begin." --Fanfare, May 2013

"Playing, interpretation, and sound are all good. This pioneering Naxos survey of the Italian symphonic tradition has opened my ears to a worthwhile composer." --American Record Guide, January 2013

"These performances are extremely fine. Chandos just released the Concerto in its own Casella series�but I prefer Francesco La Vecchia�s more relaxed way with the music. If his orchestra isn�t perhaps as polished as the BBC Philharmonic, his approach gives the piece just that much more breathing room to make an impression. He allows its Italianate lyricism to blossom naturally, while the neoclassical chatter of its rhythms never turns mechanical. The engineering also ranks with the best in this generally excellent ongoing series. Both the Suite and Pagine di guerra are recording premieres. This disc is a treat, and a major release." ---ClassicsToday.com, October 2012

"�here is a tribute to La Vecchia�s judicious balancing of raw pictorialism and real feeling.

The Concerto for Orchestra, dedicated to the Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg, is the most substantial work here. It�s also a summation of Casella�s progress to date; in the highly animated Sinfonia various parts of the orchestra are allowed to shine, those see-sawing string figures reminiscent of Shostakovich at times. That said, there�s a boldness�an ease of invention if you like�to Casella�s writing that confirms he�s mastered his craft; the Passacaglia, artfully worked, is not as dry as one might expect, and the finale takes us on a thrilling ride�La Vecchia and his band are every bit as engaged�and engaging�in this strange, delightfully dishevelled work.

Music of unbridled energy, a big, sense-sating sound and unusually detailed liner-notes add up to a most desirable package. In short, Naxos have given us another cracker�and it�s not even Christmas!

Great fun; buy now and beat the rush." --MusicWeb International, October 2012

Casella: Orchestral Works Volume 1

�...this is a remarkable and engaging work in its own right, with some striking features. In particular, the beautiful opening of the final 'Epilogo' is breathtakingly beautiful...the BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Noseda are both committed and convincing advocates in the premiere recording of this complex score.� --BBC Music Magazine, July 2010 ****

�This 50-minute would-be epic is given a splendidly forthright performance by Gianandrea Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic...[in the concerto] Martin Roscoe is a witty, trenchant piano soloist and the Chandos sound brings out all the piquancy of Casella's artfully un-18th century orchestration.� --Gramophone Magazine, August 2010

�Casella�s music isn�t too often heard here, but the BBC Philharmonic and its Italian maestro, Gianandrea Noseda, are trying to make a difference...Mahler is an evident influence, particularly in the fourth movement. Though styled a finale, it is followed by an Epilogo of hushed beauty, building to a massive, affirmative, organ-buttressed close.� --Sunday Times, 11th July 2010 ***

�[Scarlattiana] receives, of course, a glorious and poetic performance, with the added luxury of Martin Roscoe's participation...anyone with more than a passing interest in this fascinating composer needs to have this remarkable disc.� --International Record Review, July/August 2010

�...under Noseda�s guidance there is cohesion, drive and passion, and the playful Scarlattiana (1926) reveals Casella�s spirited allegiance to the clarity and perkiness of neo-classicism.� --The Telegraph, 13th June 2010 ***