Music of sheer pleasure, the three symphonic poems that Respighi composed (inspired by his adopted city of Rome) were recorded in 1991 by the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Yan Pascal Tortelier (a superb version!), as part of his brilliant series of recordings for Chandos. It is now John Wilson, the new figurehead of the British label, who dares to tackle them, continuing his intense work at the head of the Sinfonia of London (which he has recently reformed), an exceptional orchestra well-known to music lovers who are passionate about the somewhat hidden recordings of the 1950s. The orchestra brought together the capital’s best musicians at the time. Recently, Wilson proposed a beautiful album of rare French works including, for example, Duruflé's Three Dances. This recording opens with latest of the poems, Feste Romane (Roman Festivals), with its concentrated, sharp language, even though it uses a larger orchestra than the other two, including a large percussion stand as well as an organ, a four-handed piano and a mandolin. The work was premiered by the New York Philharmonic on February 21, 1929, under the direction of Arturo Toscanini, and represents “the maximum of orchestral sonority and colour” in the composer's own words. Surprisingly, the Feste Romane are the least known. The audacious orchestration is striking, showcasing Respighi’s inventive and sometimes even rebellious spirit. After becoming as professor of composition in 1913 at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Respighi became friends with Edita Walterowna Broglio (1886-1977), a photographer whose creative work would become the source of inspiration for Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), a poem composed over two years and completed in September 1916. Fontane di Roma testifies to a major stylistic turning point in the composer’s career, coming after works that greatly revealed the influences of the Russians and the modern French composers. Fontane di Roma depicts an intensely colourful world, one that’s much more personal and unforgettably sensual. With this first large-scale and hugely successful Roman symphonic poem, Respighi definitively marked his hold on the renewal of Italian instrumental music. Completed in 1924, Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome), for which Toscanini conducted the first New York audition on January 14, 1926, is the most famous part of the trilogy. Like the other two poems, Pini di Roma is divided into four parts, each of which evokes four emblematic places in the Italian capital, such as the Janiculum Hill, Villa Borghese and of course the Via Appia, which inspired Respighi to create a majestic and grandiose march, with an expressive efficiency that would go on to influence Hollywood composers. John Wilson unveils an effortlessly fluid version of the three poems and the hour goes by very quickly! © Pierre-Yves Lascar/Qobuz