Francesco La Vecchia, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma - Casella: Suite in C major, Op. 13; Pagine di guerra, Op. 25bis; Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 61 (2012)

Alfredo Casella identified three different periods in his composing career, and this disc features one work from each. The Suite in C major is early Casella, a fascinating combination of influences from the French Baroque through Domenico Scarlatti to Mahler. War Pages are images of the horrific mechanized warfare of 1914-18, as seen on silent cinema newsreels: among the music's admirers was Puccini. Casella himself felt that the Concerto, Op. 61 - a commission for the fiftieth birthday of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra - was his 'most complete achievement in the field of orchestral music'. in 2002 Francesco La Vecchia was appointed Artistic Director and Resident Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma. Under his leadership the orchestra has rapidly achieved success in Europe and in highly successful tours to St Petersburg, Madrid, Belgrade, Brussels, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, London, Athens, Berlin, Beijing and Shanghai.