RESPIGHI OTTORINO

A strange fate awaited Respighi: despite having reached the highest summits of the historical twentieth century, his music is still rarely included on concert programs in Italy, and a great deal of it remains unknown to the general public or even forgotten in unpublished manuscripts.
Even more neglected is his production dedicated to the organ, an instrument which Respighi studied at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna from 1893 to 1900, under the guidance of Cesare Dall’Olio (1849 – 1906).
At that time, the institution had in its possession an instrument which had built by Pietro Nacchini in the 18th century (which Giovanni Tebaldini defined as “a barn which calls itself an organ”).
Moreover, the organ curriculum was technically a far cry from that which would be introduced with the reform promoted by Marco Enrico Bossi, the director of the Bolognese Liceo from 1902 to 1911.
The genius of Respighi was nonetheless able to overcome the failings of his training, and the musician’s abilities on the organ were on a par with the great organists of Europe.