REPRINT SERIES

Ottorino Respighi’s hour-long Sinfonia drammatica, which he completed just before the First World War broke out, appears to anticipate the impending tragedy.

The brilliantly orchestrated composition (with six horns, four percussion, harp and organ) is the Italian composer’s answer to Mahler and Richard Strauss: it could easily have been composed in the German-speaking world. The music lives up to its name – it is dramatic in all respects, with a hint of nostalgia for a world that was on the verge of disappearing forever.