Respighi: Sinfonia Drammatica – Robert Treviño

Conductor Robert Treviño’s second album release of orchestral music by Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936) together with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI features Respighi’s massive orchestral masterpiece, the Sinfonia Drammatica.

Respighi’s Sinfonia Drammatica is a large, Straussian symphony with a duration of more than 60 minutes. Various commentators have pointed out similarities with César Franck’s Symphony in D minor, especially in terms of its cyclic structure, while echoes of Richard Strauss and Rimsky-Korsakov can be heard off and on throughout the piece, not only in the handling of the orchestra but also in the contours of some of the melodic lines. And while Wagner is not generally considered one of Respighi’s main sources of inspiration, the German composer’s influence can be sensed.