Sgambati's Second Symphony from the Italian magazine "Amadeus"

[alberto]

To my surprise the Italian magazine "Amadeus" has just released (March 2015 issue) a Cd containing Giovanni Sgambati's Symphony n.2 (in the Franceso Attardi's edition-revision) plus the Piano Concerto (Martina Filjak,pianist, Orchestra Sinfonica "Giuseppe Verdi", Milano, conductor Francesco Attardi).
It is a live recording made in Milano , last Autumn (I knew about the concert, I didn.'t expect the recording).
The Second Symphony (four movements, timing 37' 46'') appears not less attractive and tuneful than the first; maybe more assured. It got just two performances (Rome and Koeln) in Sgambati's life time and was resurrected only in 2014 in Rome (in another realisation which Naxos apparently has recorded).

[Alan Howe]

Here's a link to Amadeus' home page where you can hear an excerpt from the CD:
http://www.amadeusonline.net/rivista

[sdtom]

thanks for the link Alan
Tom

[Mark Thomas]

The Symphony sounds like a vibrant piece of work, and a worthy successor to the First. Don't I remember that Naxos plan to bring it out soon?

[Alan Howe]

You do indeed.

[Alan Howe]

Sgambati 2 is a most attractive, vibrant work in a very personal idiom combining Lisztian bravado and Wagnerian horn-writing with an open-hearted Italian warmth of utterance and generosity of spirit. For those with no access to Amadeus magazine, it'll be worth keeping an eye on the Naxos release schedule for the recording conducted by LaVecchia. Thanks, meanwhile, to alberto for drawing our attention to this performance of a truly magnificent work.

[Alan Howe]

I'd say that Symphony No.2 is a more concentrated, mature piece than No.1. Very interesting that it was written at roughly the same time as Brahms' 3rd. I can hardly think of two more contrasting outworkings of the symphonic idea. Sgambati stands with the New German-influenced colourists and yet incorporates their sonorities into a traditional (scherzo*-second) four-movement scheme. I honestly can't think of anything like it - probably because there was just no solid tradition of Italian symphonism. Sgambati was, as it were, composing into a void, filling it with all the sounds he picked up from Liszt and Wagner. It's a wonderful synthesis.

To whom would this symphony appeal? To fans of, say, Dvorak or Tchaikovsky, definitely - although he's not like either. But he does write melodies and clothes them in such wonderful orchestration. And I'm sure I heard passages that prefigure Respighi. No, honestly! See if you can find them when you get to hear this magnificent score. Clue: they're in the second movement!

*not that the second movement is titled scherzo.

[Alan Howe]

See also if you can spot what sounds awfully like the arrival of Siegfried in the life-affirming finale...

[Mark Thomas]

Sgambati's Second is a real find, and it gets a vibrant, enthusiastic performance from Attardi and his Milanese orchestra. Alan has characterised the work very well: this is swaggering, positive music, largely free of introspection and none the worse for that. Throughout Sgambati is generous with attractive and appropriate melody and his orchestration is brilliantly inventive.

The opening Andante sostenuto – Agitato movement is marginally the most successful in my book. It has a symphonic sweep and propulsive forward momentum to it which is immediately attractive and yet it rewards repeated listening. There is a terrific brass-led rhythmic idea, repeated a couple of times, which is a very clear pre-echo of one of Kalinnikov's symphonies and, although that's clearly a co-incidence, it does give an idea of how transparently colourful Sgambati's orchestration is. The fast second movement (Allegro vivace assai) is most Resphigi-like in its colouring (yes, Alan!), but again I was reminded of the later Russian nationalists (Glazunov this time!) in its turn of phrase. The pastoral/dance not-very-slow movement (Andante con moto) could, for me at least, have had a little more depth to it to counter-balance the high spirits so evident elsewhere in the work, but that may be down to Attardi's interpretation, and we'll have to wait for the Naxos recording to see if there is more to it than I heard. The final Allegro returns to the world of the first movement with music full of confident vigour. If I have a small criticism it is that Sgambati is melodically at his weakest here: the themes seem to be chasing their tales, like those in some of Raff's flimsier finales. That said, it's an appropriately upbeat close to a very upbeat work.

Playing the "sounds like" game can be a dangerous one, I know, but anyone who enjoys the rich, full orchestration and melodiousness of Stanford, say, will be very at home here. Also, equally surprisingly, there are very clear similarities with the rhythmic panache of Kalinnikov and Glazunov. Of course these composers are both geographically distant and of a later generation, which only underlines that Sgambati is a compositional one off, composing major orchestral works in an Italy still dominated by opera. If you can't get hold of this performance, don't miss out on hearing this hugely enjoyable work, and make sure you buy the Naxos recording when it comes out.

[Alan Howe]

With the four Jadassohn symphonies and now Sgambati 2, 2015 has begun rather well, symphonically speaking.

[Alan Howe]

A few more plays have raised this symphony even higher in my estimation. The finale I find especially exhilarating and memorable - and the orchestration is extremely exciting.

I remember having a discussion with the late Dr Alan Krueck about Sgambati and Martucci some years ago. His opinion was that Sgambati was the more important figure. I remember at the time wondering if that was really the case. I am now more than ever convinced that Dr Krueck was correct. He would have loved Symphony No.2.

[alberto]

Just recently I read somewhere that the "Italian program" which sadly was the last concert ever conducted by Gustav Mahler in his life (in New York) should have comprised (alongside Sinigaglia, Martucci , Bossi and the world first performance of Busoni's Berceuse Elegiaque) Sgambati's First Symphony , but the parts didn't arrive in time and Mahler deputized with Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony. That very program (with the Mendelssohn)  in the Mahler centennial year 2011 was conducted by Muti (in New York) and by Noseda (in various Israeli towns). 

[Alan Howe]

What a shame neither Muti nor Noseda conducted the Sgambati instead. He could do with their advocacy!

[Alan Howe]

Back to Sgambati 2. Strange how often I think I'm listening to Elgar - especially in the finale...

[Alan Howe]

Here's Roz Trübger's take on the symphony:

About the Symphony no 2. The symphony opens in the key of Eb minor with a slow introduction that could suggest a choir singing the words lux perpetua. This is followed by the first movement proper, marked Agitato in which major and minor 3rds vie for dominance. The Second movement is a Scherzo with delicate, simple themes that seems to derive their inspiration from Italian folk melody but which become imbued with a twisted character as the major and minor 3rds battle it out again. The Third movement also has folk-like qualities but now the atmosphere is introspective with the main theme entrusted to the throaty tones of the Cor Anglais. The 4th movement begins in typical Finale manner full of light-hearted energy but, a few bars into what may be described as the development section, the music seems to break down and then set off again in an entirely different, exciting direction. It sounds as though Sgambati is filled suddenly with an unstoppable creative energy that rushes forward to a fanfare conclusion The whole work is characterised by chromaticism, ironic dissonances, memorable melodies, thematic development and a preference for deep, rich textures.
http://www.trubcher.com/Giovanni_Sgambati_s/93.htm