When in 1913 Respighi settled in Rome where he would reside for the rest of his life, he would produce a large amount of highly varied music-some of it now well-known, much of it less so. Geoffrey Simon’s championship of the little-known works of celebrated composers has proved highly successful on both record and in the concert hall, and his exploration of Respighi’s catalogue has yielded a number of colourful compositions whose neglect hitherto remains something of a mystery. The works recorded for this Cala Signum Reissue cover a wide range of moods, from the opulence and excitement for which Respighi was noted in his famous Roman Trilogy, to more reflective pieces inspired by nostalgia for the music of the past.
★★★★ “[Three Botticelli Pictures] undoubted masterpiece” – BBC Music Magazine
“The sonics are vivid. The lower brasses register with a nice depth; the organ in the Suite is in, yet not of, the performing space; the first big climax in the Trittico gets firm, full bass support. I remember much of the original Cala series as beimg conspicuously resonant. The present booklet credits Phil Rowlands with “[r]emastering,” and his work seems to have trimmed the bloat: the acoustic remains warm, but never distracting.” – Musicweb International
“[The Three Botticelli Pictures] These little pieces are delightful and deserve to be heard…This is a lovely disc which will delight most listeners, and the Philharmonia Orchestra with conductor Geoffrey Simon…produce a disc that is a real credit to themselves and to the recording engineers. I also enjoyed the well written informative booklet that goes with this re-release” – Classical Music Daily