Fontane di Roma (English Fountains of Rome) is a 1916 work by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, now considered part of the Roman Trilogy of symphonic poems along with Feste Romane (Roman Festivals) and Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome). Each of the four sections is meant to depict one of Rome’s fountains during different periods of the day and night.
Arturo Toscanini originally planned to conduct the work in 1916, but the Italian composer refused to appear for the performance after a disagreement over his having included some of Wagner's music on a program played during World War I. Consequently, it did not premiere until March 11, 1917 where it appeared at the Teatro Augusteo in Rome with Antonio Guarnieri as conductor. Although the premiere was unsuccessful, Toscanini finally conducted the work in Milan in 1918 with tremendous success.
The piece was first performed in the United States on February 13, 1919. Toscanini recorded the music with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall in 1951; the high fidelity recording was issued on LP and then digitally remastered for release on CD by RCA Victor. The work has since become one of the most eminent examples of the symphonic poem.
Read more about Fountains Of Rome: Instrumentation, Piano Arrangements, Sections
Famous quotes containing the words fountains of, fountains and/or rome:
“The fountains of my hidden life
Are through thy friendship fair.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I’m hurt, hurt and humiliated beyond endurance, seeing the wheat ripening, the fountains never ceasing to give water, the sheep bearing hundreds of lambs, the she-dogs, until it seems the whole country rises to show me its tender sleeping young while I feel two hammer-blows here instead of the mouth of my child.”
—Federico García Lorca (1898–1936)
“There was a young man in Rome that was very like Augustus Caesar; Augustus took knowledge of it and sent for the man, and asked him “Was your mother never at Rome?” He answered “No Sir; but my father was.””
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626)