Italian composer Ottorino Respighi from Bologna is best known for
the exuberant
Roman Trilogy. On this CD violinist Emy Bernecoli with
pianist Massimo Bianchi expose his wavering idiom and trial-and-error
attempts to find his own voice as a student at the Liceo musicale in
Bologna. Rooted in German romanticism with impressionistic shadings,
Respighi’s music here is melodic and reminiscent of Rimsky-Korsakov,
Martucci and Debussy.
As a duo Bernecoli and Bianchi are known for their recordings of the
works of the great Italian composers of the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. Here, both performers demonstrate individual flare along with
joint integrity and unforced collaborative intuitiveness.
With the light and airy notes of the
Giga and
Allegretto
vivace, Bernecoli gives a depth and definition which is matched by
Bianchi’s crisp punctuation. Her full tone never becomes wispy or
gravelly and her vibrato is noteworthy for its evenness and naturalness.
Schumann’s
Sonata in D minor, Op. 121 was an undeniable
influence for Respighi’s own
Sonata in D minor, composed in
1897
. Respighi borrowings including Franck’s harmonic freedom
do not get in the way of this self-assertive piece burgeoning with urgent
vitality. Bernecoli performs the long, sweeping lines with integrity while
voicing the youthfulness of this piece.
From Respighi’s
Sei Pezzi (1901-2) Bianchi plays the
melting figurations of the
Berceuse in D minor and
Leggenda in G
minor from the
Sei Pezzi with delicacy and grace. There are
elements of the salon present along with Respighi’s lavish
mellifluousness. In Parisian fashion, the
Valse caressante in D is
sophisticated, airy and flirtatious as the notes skip off Bernecoli’s
strings.
Published in 1906 by Edition Mozarthaus in Vienna, Respighi’s
Cinque Pezzi opens with an unfolding violin melody placed over a
layer of sturdy, repeated piano chords. Contrastingly, the
Aubade in
D is skittishly gypsy, frivolous and filled with gaiety. Bernecoli gives
every appearance of relishing the trills and the darting flashes of vibrant
colour. Quiet and serene, the
Berceuse,
played by a muted
violin, offers dulcet tones and tinkling embellishments. The disc, and this
sequence, is rounded out with a sonorous
Humoresque in G in which the
composer’s talent as a composer of ardour and integrity of feeling
begins to emerge.
Unfortunately, on this recording the violin seems to be rather too
much to the fore. In the Sonata
Bianchi’s lyrical swells are
overshadowed by an imperiously balanced violin. This sometimes pierces
rather than picks its way through the harmonic backdrop and often jostles
for dominance. However, let me not dissuade too much. This CD offers
Respighi admirers a rare opportunity to hear the very early thoughts and
ideas which would shape his late style.
Lucy Jeffery
