The three delightful works for strings appearing here come from a trio of modern day Italian composers. Salvatore Messina (1876-1930) died before he could orchestrate his final opera La beffa a Don Chisciotte, but Paolo Pessina (b. 1969) arranged a suite for strings from it, and that's what he conducts here. It's in seven sections and cannot help but appeal to those who love the music of Umberto Giordano and Pietro Mascagni. The adagio, which is derived from an aria in the opera, is absolutely lovely. Next there’s a concerto for strings by the great Nino Rota (1911-1979).
Well known for his film scores, he also composed a large body of outstanding music for the concert hall, and this piece is no exception. The wistful first movement is followed by a robust scherzo and heartfelt adagio, which pays hommage to Johann Sebastian Bach's Air on the G String. It concludes frenetically and in cyclical fashion with references to previous thematic material. Composer-conductor Pessina (see above) is represented here by his Concertango, which is an ingenious contemporary version of an eighteenth-century concerto grosso spiked with rhythms typical of the legendary Argentinian dance referred to in the title. This is particularly true of the second movement where Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi meet Astor Piazzolla. Then, as if to throw us off balance, there's an intermezzo that begins just like Anton Karas' Third Man Theme. The finale is a kind of satanic tango into the abyss that's based on the Dies Irae and ends with a whistle from the archfiend himself. This very clever piece has a lot going for it, and so do the other selections. The performances are so energetic and committed that it's easy to overlook some occasional intonational anomalies, and the sound is quite good. --Classical Lost and Found, February 2007
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