Hummel - Piano Sonata No. 5 In F-sharp Minor

Beethoven and Hummel were friends for many years until they had a falling out around 1810. Hummel had been a student of Mozart and Clementi and was known for his delicacy and fluidity on the piano, while Beethoven was better known for snapped strings and broken pianos he left in his wake. Beethoven's playing was thundering, while Hummel's was singing. Beethoven's playing by contemporary accounts could be sloppy and he pounded, while Hummel's was precise and flexible. Both men were virtuosos of the first order in the Vienna of the early 19th century, but they were at opposite ends of the piano playing spectrum. Beethoven was a notoriously difficult person to get along with, and his life is littered with squabbles large and small that caused estrangement from many of his friends.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven also didn't much care for Hummel's compositions, but Beethoven was very sparse with his acceptance of most other composers' music. Perhaps what set Beethoven off the most was that Hummel made arrangements of Beethoven's music, probably on artistic grounds as well as monetary. Copyright didn't exist and Beethoven didn't get any payment for the use of his composition as basis for an arrangement and certainly had no say-so in the arrangement itself.

All of this competition and bickering (as well as the huge difference in their piano playing) caused two camps to form in Vienna. Carl Czerny, student of Beethoven and Hummel and teacher of Liszt, had the opportunity to hear many of the virtuosos in Vienna including Beethoven and Hummel. Czerny wrote about the two opposing camps:

Carl Czerny

Beethoven's style could be characterized as tremendously forceful, full of bravura and fluency, while Hummel's was the epitome of the highest purity and clarity, full of graceful delicacy and elegance. Hummel's playing united Mozart's style with the style of Clementi, so it was natural that some would prefer Hummel's playing to Beethoven's, thus two parties formed which were hostile and vengeful to each other. Hummel's supporters accused Beethoven of mistreating the piano mangling clarity and purity, he brought forth only confusing noise through the overuse of the pedal and his compositions were full of unnatural melodies and vulgarities. In contrast, the Beethoven supporters accused Hummel of stifling all true imagination, his playing monotonous as a hurdy-gurdy, his fingers like spiders and his compositions pale imitations of Mozart and Haydn. 

The historical edge as far as influencing later generations of composers must go to Beethoven, who was such a Titan of music that like his music or not, composers had to come to terms with it. But Hummel was not without his influence. It has not lasted directly lasted as long as Beethoven's but the leading composers of the Early Romantic Age certainly knew and learned from his music. Chopin had a Hummel piano concerto in his repertoire, Schumann struggled to learn the 5th piano sonata and Hummel taught Thalberg and Mendelssohn. Hummel's Piano sonata No. 5 In F-sharp Minor was written in 1819 and is in three movements:

I. Allegro - Hummel begins the movement with a decidedly different opening motif of grace notes attached to octaves in each hand. The music is restless and disjointed as it stops, starts, slows down and resumes tempo. There are many short motifs that run through the exposition, but the listener must pay attention as there is no choice for the performer to repeat the exposition as Hummel writes a double bar line and goes directly to the development. The development goes afield with certain motifs modulating to different keys, and Hummel eventually makes hisway back to the recapitulation. Motifs reappear with changes of key, and the movement ends in F-sharp major. The music bristles with thirds and fourths, especially in the right hand, as well as rapid runs and rhythmic combinations. Hummel manages to write a first movement that sounds more like a fantasy than sonata form.

II. Largo con molto espressione - What appears to be the slow movement of the sonata starts with a surprise; a motif played in double forte.  After the initial surprise, the music assumes the demeanor of a slow movement that is a foretaste of things to come with Chopin and Schumann. The movement is punctuated by loud outbursts and quick runs up and down the keyboard. The movement is full of tempo designations and directions as well as dynamic markings.

III. Finale:Vivace - The preceding two movements were only a warm up to what Hummel has in store in the finale. The music has a relentless push forward in the two main themes, the first of which is hammered out in the high treble and the other in octaves in the right hand played against running notes in the left. There is a fugal episode that appears twice as the music keeps pushing to the final chord. Again the music is full of thirds and fourths, especially a two-bar run for thirds in both hands that is played twice. The first theme returns to round off the movement and leads to octave F's in both hands.

Some say Beethoven was a Classical Era composer, some say he was one of the first Romantics, but Beethoven defies categorization as one thing or the other. His music has elements of both, but he is a composer unto himself. With the writing of this sonata Hummel led the way for the full onset of the Romantic Era. Beethoven wrote some amazing music for the piano, but he never wrote a sonata like this sonata of Hummel's.  

When Hummel learned that Beethoven was on his deathbed, he traveled to Vienna, visited Beethoven three times, the last only three days before Beethoven died.  He promised to take Beethoven's place in a charity concert, and secured Beethoven's signature on a document supporting Hummel's attempt at getting copyright laws passed. Hummel was one of eight musicians that accompanied Beethoven's coffin to his grave.

Liszt - Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses

Franz Liszt's reputation during his virtuoso touring years was one of a gifted musician, perhaps the world's greatest pianist, and ladies' man. There was also another side to Liszt, for he was a devout Catholic all of his life and even took minor orders in the church late in life. This paradox of deeply religious, but never marrying any of the women he had intimate relations with, is but a part of this very complex individual.

In his last years of touring he became acquainted with the Russian Princess Sayn-Wittgenstein. She finally left her husband in Russia in 1848 and joined Liszt in Wiemar where he was acting Kappelmeister to the court. They lived together for twelve years, and had marriage plans that were constantly thwarted by her husband and his powerfully connected family to obtain a divorce.

Alphonse de Lamartine

Liszt worked on the collection of piano pieces he called Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses (Poetic And Religious Harmonies) for many years. He completed the set after he began living with the Princess first at her country house in Ukraine, and later at Wiemar.

Liszt took the title from a book of poems by the French poet Alphonse de Lamartine, and prefaces the collection with a fragment from the preface of the book:

"There are some meditative souls that solitude and contemplation raise inevitably towards ideas that are infinite, that is towards religion; all their thoughts are converted into enthusiasm and prayer, all their existence is a mute hymn to the Divine and to hope. They seek in themselves and in the creation that surrounds them steps to climb to God, expressions and images to reveal him to them, and to reveal themselves to him: I would that I could lend them some of these! There are hearts broken by sorrow, held back by the world, who take refuge in the world of their thoughts, in solitude of soul, to weep, to wait or to worship; I would that they might be visited by a muse solitary like them, to find sympathy in her harmonies and to say sometimes, as they listen: We pray with your words, we weep with your tears, we call on God with your songs!"

The Romanticism of the times can appear rather much to modern readers, but the early 19th century was a time of instilling drama, passion and downright excess in the arts.  Liszt took his cue from the French poet, and wrote ten pieces that run the range of drama, religiosity, and even dips into the abyss of gruesomeness. He was a musician that was inspired by literature and the visual arts to such a strong extent that he used his musical genius to express the feelings and emotions he received from the other arts. That is why Liszt's music is not so much a literal representation of the thing which inspired him, but an attempt to convey the emotions and feelings it gave him.

1.  Invocation - Liszt prefaces the first piece in the set with some lines from a poem by Lamartine of the same name:

Rise up, voice of my soul,
With the dawn, with the night!
Leap up like the flame,
Spread abroad like the noise!
Float on the wing of the clouds,
Mingle with the winds, with storms,
With thunder, and the tumult of the waves.
 Rise up in the silence
At the hour when, in the shade of evening,
The lamp of night sways,
When the priest puts out the censer;
Rise up by the waves
In these deep solitary places
Where God reveals himself to faith!

A call for assistance, a summoning to worship, the interpretations of the title and the music that follows are many. The piece is in E major.

2.  Ave Maria - This piece is a transcription for piano of a choral work composed by Liszt in 1846 for 4 voices and organ. Liszt writes the Latin text over the music thus showing that this is pretty much a literal transcription.

3.  Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude (The Blessing of God in Solitude) - This piece is also prefaced by part of the poem Lamartine wrote by the same title:

Whence comes to me, O my God, this peace that overwhelms me?
Whence comes this faith in which my heart abounds?
To me who just now, uncertain, agitated,
And on the waves of doubt buffeted by every wind,
Sought goodness, truth, in the dreams of the wise,
And peace in hearts resounding with fury,
When barely on my brow a few days have slipped by,
It seems that a century and a world have passed;
And that, separated from them by a great abyss,
A new man is born again within me and starts anew.

The piece is in the key of F-sharp major and begins with a melody in the bass accompanied by the right hand playing in two parts in contrary motion:

The melody continues and gets more complex in texture as the melody is echoed in the bass and the treble in an impressive buildup of sonority. The melody continues and finally winds down to a close in a triple pianissimo. An episode with the tempo indication andante begins with a contemplative melody in the key of D major. This continues until another episode begins, this time in the key of B-flat major that is marked Più sostenuto, quasi preludio that is intended to be played somewhat freely as a prelude. After this episode the F-sharp major melody from the beginning of the piece returns in rolled chords in the treble accompanied by an arpeggios in the bass. The melody continues to build in intensity and passion until the right hand erupts in running sixteenth notes to the melody in the bass. Both hands erupt in breathtaking arpeggios in a cadenza that leads to the coda. Both of the preceding episodes are referred to and the piece comes to a peaceful close. This is one of the pieces of the set that has a life of its own as a recital piece.

4.  Pensée des morts (Thoughts of the Dead) - This piece was originally written under the title of Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses but Liszt revised the work considerably, renaming it  Pensée des morts and making it part of the set, instead of a stand alone piece. The first section is written in the remarkable (for the period) time signature of 5/4, with a few bars of 7/4 time thrown in the mix. This gives the music an instability that is culminated in intensity with the ensuing chords and runs. The explosion of insanity finally ends on B-flats hammered out in both hands. This leads directly to the De Profundis section that has the first three lines of the Latin text of the 130th psalm written over the pounding chords. The English translation of these lines:

From the depths I have cried out to you, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplication.

The music then returns to the underlying tension of the 5/4 time signature until the music morphs into music that imitates the form of the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, a melody played over a triple accompaniment with long notes in the bass. The melody of this section continues as the mood intensifies, ebbs and flows until it returns to a chordal texture as in the De Profundis section, only this time more subdued. The piece ends quietly.

5.  Pater Noster - Another piece originally written for voices and organ, Liszt makes a literal transcription for piano, and includes the Latin text of the Lord's Prayer in the music.

6.  Hymne de l’enfant à son réveil (The Awaking Child’s Hymn) - Another transcription of a piece written originally for female voices with harp and piano accompaniment.

7.  Funérailles (October 1849) (‘Funeral’) -  A work inspired by the aftermath of the Hungarian uprising in October of 1849. Thirteen Hungarian Generals as well as the prime Minister were hung by the Austrians in retaliation for the uprising. Liszt knew some of those that were executed and wrote this in memory of them. The piece begins with the tolling of bells deep within the piano's bass register. The momentum and anguish build until the bottom falls out. The next section is a funeral march, which is followed by a section marked lagrimoso (tearful, crying).  This section grows in intensity and complexity until it gives way to a section that has led some to believe that Liszt also paid tribute to Chopin in this piece as it resembles the thundering left hand octaves of Chopin's A-flat Major Polonaise Opus 53 (Chopin by coincidence had also died in October of 1849). This battle section steadily increases in volume and intensity until the funeral march reappears in three octaves with full chord accompaniment. The lagrimoso section also briefly reappears. The battle section reappearance serves as a coda and a final crescendo, after which the music quietly expires. this is the other piece of the set that is most often played on its own.

8.  Miserere, d’après Palestrina (after Palestrina) - The melody is based on a motet Liszt heard at the Sistine Chapel. It does have a feeling of Paestrina's style in the melody, but no style of Palestrina in the keyboard gyrations of the accompaniment. Included in the simple initial statement of the melody Liszt has included the Latin text of the Miserere. The English translation:

God have mercy on me following thy great mercy,
and following thy compassion, wipe out my iniquity.

9.  Andante lagrimoso - A Lamartine poem also prefaces this piece:

Fall, silent tears,
Upon an earth without pity;
No more between pious hands,
Nor on the bosom of friendship!
Fall like an arid rain,
Which splashes on the rock,
That no ray from the sky can wipe away,
That no breath can come to dry.

This piece is unique to the set as it has no title save the tempo indication. Despite a middle section that tries to brighten the mood, the ending of the piece remains in despair.

10.Cantique d’amour (Hymn of Love) -  Liszt marks the accompaniment quasi Arpa (like a harp), and indeed Liszt made a transcription of this piece for harp. This final piece of the set is in contrast to the preceding sorrow of the Andante lagrimoso. As the Invocation set the stage by way of its hymn like atmosphere, so this Hymn Of Love rounds out the set with a hymn. The melody lies in the middle of the keyboard (something that Liszt did in other pieces too) that is surrounded by the accompaniment. The melody as well as the structure of the piece is rather straightforward; it is the accompaniment and the decorations of it that are ornate.

Brahms - Six Pieces For Piano Opus 118

Brahms wrote nothing for the piano that can be called easy. Brahms piano writings abound with technical difficulties, especially for a small hand, and challenge pianist's musicality. The ultimate in what Brahms demands of a pianist can be seen with his Studies For Pianoforte, Variations On A Theme Of Paganini Opus 35, a work of daring virtuosity and extreme technical demands.

Later in his life Brahms began to mellow somewhat. His music became more introspective, with his six piano pieces of Opus 118 being a prime example. Brahms still makes demands on the pianist, but gone is any outwardly flashy virtuosity. But any pianist that has worked their way through them can tell you they are far from simple.

The pieces have no obvious musical connection between each other; each one is a self-contained work. But the mood of each seems to compliment the next, as Brahms well understood.  They were published in 1893 and dedicated to Clara Schumann.

1.Intermezzo in A minor. Allegro non assai, ma molto appassionato - This opening piece is the only one in the set that is in binary form and with its restless nature acts as a prelude or introduction to the rest of the set.

2. Intermezzo in A major. Andante teneramente - A mellow piece that has a middle section that has the melody played in the right hand and as it plays the left hand plays the melody a quarter beat behind creating a canon along with the accompaniment.  The first eight-bar section is repeated, and then it is developed. The music smoothly flows into a repeat of the opening section of the piece. This piece as well as the rest of the pieces are in ternary form

3.Ballade in G minor. Allegro energico - A passionate piece, with a melody that floats above the crashing chords in both hands. A gentle middle section is in B major. The opening section is repeated, but the middle section comes back as a short coda in the minor to end the piece.

4.Intermezzo in F minor. Allegretto un poco agitato - A restless first section leads to a contrasting middle section that moves at a steady pace. The restless beginning returns and plays until it shifts key into the major mode at the end.

5. Romanze in F major. Andante - The melody is carried by the highest voice and doubled in the bass. Other notes add to the texture of the harmony and enrich the melody. The middle section is in D major and consists of a melody that repeats over an ostinato bass. The melody varies each time it repeats until it melts into a series of trills. The beginning returns and the melody is reinforced by octaves in the right hand.

6.Intermezzo in E flat minor. Andante, largo e mesto - Written in the rare key of E-flat minor, the piece begins with dark rumblings that lead to a march-like middle section that swells in tone and harmony. This collapses into the dark rumblings of the beginning. There are a few shafts of light as the major mode is invoked, but the tragedy of the opening returns. The end is near, as the music swells in volume once more before it fades away into the abyss.

Mendelssohn - Capriccio Brilliant for Piano And Orchestra

The Polish piano vistuoso and composer Fryderyk Chopin was notorious in his negativity towards other composers. Chopin had formed his artistic aesthetic early on, so it's no wonder that his opinions about others who did not share his views were disparaging. One of the composers that met with his admiration was Felix Mendelssohn. Chopin had traveled to Berlin in 1828 to hear him play, but was too shy to introduce himself. When Chopin had his first public recital  in Paris in 1832, Liszt and Mendelssohn both attended. Chopin made a strong impression on Mendelssohn. They met, became friends and stayed in contact for the rest of Chopin's life.

The two composers were only a year apart in age, and both of them had the distinction of maturing as a composer while still in their teen years. Mendelssohn especially matured early on, as two of his most popular compositions, the String Octet and Overture To A Midsummer Night's Dream were both written by the time he was seventeen. They both admired J.S.Bach's music as Chopin played Bach extensively and used the preludes and fugues of The Well Tempered Clavier to keep his fingers limber before recitals. Mendelssohn was a key figure in the revival of Bach's music as he arranged and conducted the St. Matthew Passion in 1829.  The two had a certain classisism as part of their artistic makeup, although it took a different course in each other's work.

There was a composer that also had an influence on both Chopin and Mendelssohn, Carl Maria von Weber. Specifically, it was Weber's Konzertstück For Piano that served as a model for Mendelssohn's works for piano and orchestra. This can be seen in the structure of Mendelssohn's Capriccio Brilliant For Piano and Orchestra. Mendelssohn's work begins with an introduction played andante, that is similar in structure and feeling to the beginning of Weber's  Konzertstück. From the introduction the music segues into the music at a faster tempo and more dramatic in nature, the beginning of the first theme. This first theme is expanded upon with a few different motifs thrown in for good measure until there is a slight slowing of the tempo which signals the opening of the second theme which is first played by the orchestra. This second theme has a resemblance to the march section of Weber's work.  The development section follows, and the recapitulation begins with the first theme followed by the second theme which is transformed to the minor mode and ends the work.

In 1845 Chopin told Mendelssohn in a letter:

“Let me remind you that even if you do possess friends and admirers worthier and closer to you, none is more sincere than I.”

Sadly, both composers also shared an early death. Mendelssohn in 1847 of a stroke when he was 38 years old, Chopin in 1849 of tuberculosis when he was 39 years old. While Chopin's music never really went out of fashion, Mendelssohn's did. Mendelssohn was never a part of the 'New Music' movement of Wagner and Liszt and that Nazi Germany banned his music because of his Jewish heritage didn't do his reputation any good. There has been a revival and reevaluation of Mendelssohn and he is now regarded as a great Romantic Era composers.

Bruch - Symphony No. 2 In F Minor

Max Bruch is perhaps more well known for his works for solo violin and orchestra. His Violin Concerto No. 1 is still popular and the Scottish Fantasy for violin and orchestra still garners performances in the concert hall and on recordings, and during his lifetime was most well known for his vocal music. But he wrote over 200 compositions and made contributions to most of the traditional musical forms of the late 19th century. The style and character of all of his works puts him squarely in the conservative Brahms camp versus the progressive Liszt/Wagner camp. He lived a long life (1838 - 1920) and became somewhat of an anachronism. But his music is very well constructed, and the best works have a late Romantic drama to them that is more appreciated now then in the last years of his life.

Bruch's musical education began with Ferdinand Hiller and continued in music theory with a friend of his father's. Bruch's general education was not neglected, as he learned to speak and understand French and English as well as German. He was nine when he composed his first piece, and held many different positions as kappelmeister and teacher. He retired from teaching in 1911 and devoted the rest of his life to composition.
Bruch's successful  Symphony No. 1 In E-flat Major (1867) was followed by his Symphony No.2 In F Minor (1870).  The work is in three movements:

I. Allegro passionato, ma un poco -  This movement is in sonata form and begins with a short, dark introduction by the timpani and strings. The main theme is sounded out quietly by the strings and then loudly by the full orchestra.  The next theme is a more flowing one that remains in the minor. A third theme appears, just as dramatic as the preceding ones. Other themes enter, the number of which depends on what the listener's ear makes of the material whether it is an actual theme, a connecting melodic bridge to a theme, or a short motif. Themes are developed as the music constantly moves towards the end of the movement, when the opening theme quietly closes out the movement.

II. Adagio ma non troppo - The strings carry the main theme of this movement in music lighter in feeling than the first movement, but still in the minor mode, this time of C minor. Bruch follows the same general procedure as the first movement by introducing themes and developing them in a loose sonata form. The movement closes with a gentle reference to the main theme, and goes directly to the last movement without pause.

III. Allegro molto tranquillo -  The movement begins with a syncopated figure played by the strings. The music swells slightly until the main theme in F major is played by the strings. The woodwinds have their turn with the theme. A theme in dotted rhythm is played by the strings as the volume increases and the horns state an extension of the second theme which is developed until it reaches a climax with the full orchestra in dotted rhythm. The development section begins with the first theme played in the oboe and parts of the theme are then passed to other members of woodwind.  The recapitulation has themes return, some in different keys. The end of the symphony emphasizes the dotted rhythm in the horns and brass while the strings add rapid and surging figures as accompaniment.

The symphonies of Bruch aren't ground breaking works by any means. Thematic material isn't very striking, and his forms and developments aren't overly original. But what is evident is his skill in musical construction and orchestrating, as well as his sense of the dramatic.

Litolff - Concerto Symphonique No. 4 In D Minor

In 1854 the piano virtuoso and composer Henry Litolff made a visit to Wiemar to see Franz Liszt who was acting kappelmeister there, and the two struck up a friendship of kindred spirits. Liszt had this to say about Litolff's Concerto Symphonique No. 4 that was shown to him while still in manuscript form:

"[Litolff's] Fourth Symphonic concerto is a remarkable composition...there is certainly something winged in his [playing]"

Liszt returned the visit to Litolff in Brunswick (Braunschweig in German) where Litolff ran a music publishing house and was a leader of the local music scene. The friendship grew and Litolff invited Liszt back to Brunswick to participate in a music festival he had organized there (he also invited another of his friends Hector Berlioz), where Litolff played Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major in concert, as well as his own Concerto Symphonique No. 4.

It has been said that the sincerest form of flattery is imitation. While Liszt's First Piano Concerto certainly is  not a carbon-copy of Litolff's, it does have some similarities. Both have four movements instead of the customary three, in each case the additional movement is a scherzo. Even the notorious (at the time) addition of a triangle to the Liszt scherzo was first done by Litolff. Perhaps the greatest sign of admiration for Litolff's concerto was the dedication Liszt gave to Litolff of his First Piano Concerto. (see comment below)

Litolff was a man afflicted with wanderlust until his later years. He moved away from his native England when he was seventeen, lived in Paris, Warsaw, Brunswick, and traveled all over Europe playing the piano and composing. He was also married four times, and with his fourth wife ended his days in a suburb of Paris.   

The concerto is in four movements:

I. Allegro con fuoco -  The movement begins with a loud chord from the full orchestra followed by a short cadenza for piano. The strings play a quiet short section that leads to another loud chord for full orchestra, cadenza from the piano, and quiet section from the strings which leads to the full orchestra stating the theme that is the basis of the entire movement. The piano writing is virtuosic, sometimes being of a thematic nature and sometimes being an elaborate accompaniment to the orchestra.  The music is passionate, dramatic and is truly written as a symphony for orchestra and piano obbligato.

II. Scherzo - Presto -  This is the one piece by Litolff that is most often heard on recordings and in concert halls. The music is Mendelssohnian and includes a part for piccolo and triangle, the first time either were used in a piano concerto. The orchestra and piano have a rhythmic and rapid dialog in the scherzo, while in the trio  the orchestra plays more subdued  music, but the piano keeps interrupting the calmness with the jauntiness of the scherzo until it wins out and the scherzo is repeated. A short coda has the piano play rapid  interlocking chromatic octaves before the orchestra and piano end the movement with staccato chords.

III. Adagio religioso - Cantabile - The piano solemnly begins the movement, followed up by the horns playing the lyrical theme. The piano enters once again and plays a variant of the opening theme. The horns are accompanied by the piano as they repeat the theme. The theme drifts in and out as the piano plays runs and arpeggios.  The music reaches a climax as the theme is played again by the horns. A swell from the orchestra and piano accompanies the horns as they play a fragment of the theme. The movement ends quietly with muted strings and broken chords in the piano.

IV. Allegro impetuoso - As in the first movement, Litolff uses one theme as the inspiration for most of the movement, and this one theme is related to the motif in the first movement. This gives the entire work a cohesiveness that is more easily felt than explained. There is a short fugato treatment of the theme later in the movement for orchestra alone as the piano is quiet for a rather long stretch for a concerto. But with such difficulties throughout this concerto, a short break for the pianist isn't all bad. The piano plays all manner of figurations of tremendous difficulty. The piano plays bristling octaves and figures as it moves towards the coda that turns the music to a majestic close in the major mode.

Respighi - Ancient Airs And Dances Suite No. 1

The Russian composer and teacher Rimsky-Korsakov had an unlikely pupil in Ottorino Respighi, who studied composition with Rimsky-Korsakov for five months when he was in Russia serving as the principle violist in the opera orchestra at St. Petersburg. Respighi's works for orchestra show his skill and knowledge of the instruments and a real feel for orchestral color, no doubt enhanced by his studies with Rimsky-Korsakov. Respighi also studied historical music while a student in Italy, as well as the violin. He toured as a performer for a few years as a violinist but soon devoted his career to composition and conducting.

Respighi's first compositions were tone poems as well as operas, modern works that showed the influence of Wagner and Debussy. But Respighi never forgot his studies of historical music, and in 1917 he orchestrated his first Suite of Ancient Airs And Dances. He arranged his suite from collections of Italian lute music that had been printed in the 1880's by Italian musicologists. Respighi uses a modest sized orchestra but to full effect. He arranged very old music in the modern clothes of the 20th century orchestra. The first suite has 4 movements:

I. Balletto detto “Il Conte Orlando" - The original lute piece this movement was was written by Simone Molinaro (c. 1565 – 1615) , a late Renaissance composer, and published in 1599.  The opening begins quietly but grows in volume and weight. A contrasting middle section is in the minor and is of a more somber mood, but the opening music is repeated and brings the dance to a close. It is written for oboes, harpsichord and strings.

II. Gagliarda - This dance is also known as a Galliard. It is scored for pairs of flutes, oboes, bassoon and horns as well as cor anglaise, harp, harpsichord and strings. It was composed by Vincenzo Galilei (c. 1520-1591), who was the father of Galileo Galilie, the famous astronomer and early scientist. The music has a stronger rhythm, and in its day the gagliarda was considered a lewd dance by many because it was a dance full of leaps and exagerated movements. The rhythmic opening is tempered by a middle section that is slightly subdued in tone but still very rhythmic. The music is repeated, and the dance ends.

III. Villanella - This sad and delicate dance is scored for flute, oboe, harp and strings. The original composer is unknown.

IV.Passo mezzo e mascherada - Respighi uses two anonymous tunes in the final movement of the suite. The meaning of the title pazzo mezzo is not known but it may refer to the type of steps found in the original dance. The mascherada is a villanella like the third movement but not as sorrowful. Mascheradas were played at carnival or masked balls. The mascherada is interrupted by the pazzo mezzo until it finally takes over and has the last word.  The final movement is scored for pairs of flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns, one trumpet, harp, harpsichord and strings.