Alfredo Casella(1883-1947): a Catalogue of the Orchestral Music

[Dundonnell]

Casella's music has enjoyed such a renaissance, at least on disc, in the last few years that he might almost class as a 'sung' composer. So long however as his music remains absent from our concert halls he merits inclusion here. No doubt there will be several recordings I have missed.

ALFREDO CASELLA: A CATALOGUE OF THE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC

1905-06:Symphony No.1 in B minor, op.5: 44 minutes   + (Naxos cd)
1908-10:Symphony No.2 in C minor, op.12: 52 minutes  +  (Naxos and Chandos cds)
1909:      Rhapsody "Italia" for orchestra, op.11: 21 minutes   + (cpo, Arts and Brilliant and Venetian Classics cds)
1909-10:Suite in C major for orchestra, op. 13
1912-13:Ballet "Le Couvent sur l'Eau", op.18 (and Ballet Suite and Five Symphonic Fragments for soprano and orchestra, op.19)    +  (Aura cd)
1913:      "Notte di maggio" for voice and orchestra, op.20: 15 minutes  +  (Naxos cd)
1915/18:"Pagine di Guerra" for orchestra, op.23, No. 2
1915/26:"Quattro Liriche Funebri: 'L'Adieu a la Vie'" for soprano and chamber orchestra, op. 26, No.2   + (Nuovo Era cd)
1915/20:"Pupazetti" for orchestra, op.27, No.2  + (Nuovo Era and As disc cds)
1916:      "Elegia eroica" for orchestra, op.29: 16 minutes   +  (Signum and Naxos cds)
1917/21:"A notte alta" for Piano and Orchestra, op.30, No.2: 20 minutes     +  (Chandos, Brilliant and Naxos cds)
1924:      Ballet "La Giara", op.41   +  (La Bottega Discantica cd) (and Ballet Suite, op.41, No.2: 20 minutes     +  (La Bottega Discantica and Naxos cds))
1924-25:Partita for Piano and Orchestra, op.42: 29 minutes   + (Phoenix and MSR cds)
1926:      Concerto Romano for Organ, Brass, Timpani and Strings, op.43: 38 minutes   +  (Koch Schwann, Signum and Motette cd)
                Divertimento "Scarlattiana" for Piano and Small Orchestra, op.44: 28 minutes   + (several recordings)
1928:      Violin Concerto in A minor, op.48: 33 minutes   + (Supraphon and Capriccio cds)
1929:      "Marcia Rustica" for orchestra, op.49
1930:      Serenata for Small Orchestra, op.46, No.2: 24 minutes   +  (cpo, La Bottega Discantica, Nuovo Era and Naxos cds)
1931-35:"Introduzione, Corale e Marcia" for band, piano, double basses and percussion, op.57
1932:      Symphonic Fragments from the Opera "La donna serpente", op.50: 26 minutes    + (Chandos cd)
1933:      "Introduzione, Aria e Toccata" for orchestra, op.55
                Triple Concerto for Piano, Violin, Cello and Orchestra, op.56: 27 minutes    +  (Dynamic, Koch Schwann, Brilliant, Musica Mundi and Capriccio cds)
1934:      "Notturno e Tarantella" for Cello and Orchestra, op.54
1935:      Cello Concerto, op.58: 20 minutes   +  (Naxos, Nuovo Era and Dynamic cds)
1937:      Concerto for Orchestra, op.61: 26 minutes   +  (Chandos cd)
1939-40:Symphony No.3 (Sinfonia), op.63: 44 minutes   + (cpo and Naxos cds)
1940:      "Divertimento per Fulvia" for chamber orchestra, op.64: 14 minutes  (Suite from the Ballet "La camera dei disegni")   +  (cpo cd)
1942:      Divertimento "Paganiniana" for orchestra, op.65: 18 minutes  +  (several recordings)
1943:      "Tre canti sacri" for baritone and small orchestra, op.66, No.2
                Ballet "La Rosa del Sogno", op.67
                Concerto for Strings, Piano, Timpani and Percussion, op.69: 21 minutes     +  (Dynamic, Nuovo Era and Naxos cds)
1944:      "Missa Solemnis Pro Pace" for soloists, chorus and orchestra, op.71: 59 minutes    + (Mondo Musica cd)

[alberto]

I have some addition to Dundonnell fantastic and very useful work.
The catalogue omits the 1923-24 Concerto for Quartet and Orchestra op.40b (Cpo recording).
The other additions are just about discography.
The 1909 "Italia" rhapsody exists on Arts and on Brilliant (on the latter A.Gauk conducting).
The 1912-1913 "Le couvent sur l'eau" exists on the Italian Label "Aura" (coupled to interesting Malipiero, Tommasini and Pedrotti).
The Pupazzetti Cd of "Bottega discantica" label is a version for piano four hands. Exists (existed) another Cd of the chamber orch. version on ASdisc (esoteric italian label, anyway disappeared).
The 1916 "Elegia Eroica" exists on Signum.
The complete 1924 "La Giara" Ballet exists on "La Bottega Discantica"; another Cd of the suite (albeit cut) exists on Bongiovanni.
The 1926 "Concerto Romano" exists also on Signum.
The 1933 Triple Concerto existed on Koch; also on ASdisc Cd a live recording only of the first two movements with the "Trio Italiano" (Alfredo Casella pianist), Kussewitzky and the Boston S.O.
The 1942 "Paganiniana" exists on several other recordings. Two by Kondrashin (Lys Moscow Phil; Philips Royal Concertgebouw. By the way, Kondrashin in my city (which is Casella's birth city) once conducted an an encore with the Moscow Phil. "Polacchetta" from Paganiniana. Besides the Emi-Testament (with Rome Santa Cecilia orch.) exists another Cantelli recording with the NBC (ASdisc Cd). I think that on DG Cd appeared also the world premiere with Karl Bohm and the Wiener).
   

[violinconcerto]

The catalogue omits the 1923-24 Concerto for Quartet and Orchestra op.40b (Cpo recording).

My database says op.40 is a concerto for string quartet (without orchestra). After your post I checked for op.40b and only found notes about a transcription of the op.40 for string orchestra (without any soloists) and no note about a cpo recording in the actual cpo catalogue.
So is op.40b really for string quartet and orchestra?
And can you help me to find this cpo recording?

Thanks and best,
Tobias

[eschiss1]

One of the only two Casella CDs jpc lists currently includes a concerto for strings (presumably Op.40bis 1923-4) (cpo 999195, released 1994) ("arranged by Erwin Stein" according to one site.) (Alun Francis/strings of the Bolzano-Trento Haydn Orchestra). (28:57 in that recording.)

[violinconcerto]

Yes, thats what I meant. No recording of a work for "string quartet and orchestra". Maybe alberto found a note that the op.40 is for "string quartet/string orchestra" with the meaning of "/ = or" and not "/ = and"...

Best,
Tobias

[Dundonnell]

Indeed

My arbitrary policy of omitting orchestrations or transcriptions by other composers of works led me to omit the Concerto for Strings, which is the arrangement by Erwin Stein in 1929 of Casella's sring quartet composed between 1923 and 1924.

[Dundonnell]

As ever, thanks to all and especially alberto for his list of additional recordings

[alberto]

I return biefly to the opus 40b. At  first, and I apologize, I was rather superficial limiting myself to web sources, which may be incorrect.
After the "violinconcerto"  remarks I checked the "Dictionary of Music" in Italian by A.Della Corte and G.M.Gatti (who were personal friends of Casella) issued in.....1930, when Casella was "in full bloom" and influential.
According to said "Dictionary", among the orchestral works, there is a 1927 "Concerto" defined simply as a transcription (by Casella himself) of the Concerto for String Quartet (of 1923-1924).
BTW "Pagine di Guerra", "Pupazzetti" and "Serenata for small orchestra" are transcriptions by Casella of earlier works for piano-four hands ("Pagine" "Pupazzetti") or for five instruments ("Serenata"). In the case of "Pagine di guerra" the original counted four pieces; Casella added a fifth in the orchestral version.

[alberto]

I forgot one addition to the discography.
The "Serenata for small orchestra" is also on a Cd "La Bottega Discantica" (the same which contains the full ballet "La Giara").