Goffredo Petrassi's reputation was established in 1932 when his Partita (available on Naxos 8.572411) won critical acclaim. Petrassi then composed his Concerto for Orchestra, the first of eight,... more

Goffredo Petrassi was 28 when his Partita (recorded on Naxos 8.572411) propelled him to European fame. He fused neo-Classicism with more contemporary traits reinforced by his mastery of polyphony,... more

In the early 1960s Goffredo Petrassi's idiom was almost indistinguishable from that of the Italian avantgarde. Completed in 1964, the Seventh Concerto evolves with mounting tension and a sense of... more

Architetture ('Architectures'), a concerto for orchestra in seven linked sections, was the piece that catapulted the Italian composer Giorgio Federico Ghedini to fame in his home country at the late... more

Sgambati was one of the most important figures in the renaissance of Italian music that began during the second half of the 19th century. This first of two discs blends Italian lyricism with German... more

Giovanni Sgambati, a composer admired by Wagner, was the man Busoni predicted would take Italian music 'towards a bright new future'. Sgambati's Symphony No. 2 is a compendium of Austro-Germanic... more

Volume 2 of Petrassi's orchestral works features the rarely heard and recorded Piano Concerto and Flute Concerto. Geofredo Petrassi (1904-2003) was one of the second-generation of Italian modernist... more

Franco Ferrara' gifts were prodigious. Born in Palermo he was a fine pianist, an even better violinist, playing under Toscanini, and later a conductor whose public performances were curtailed by... more

Iovanni Sgambati was a favourite student of Liszt and was admired by Wagner. The Piano Concerto in G minor is a heroic work; the Sinfonia festiva is confidently written and inspired by the dance-like... more

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... more

Although Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari is known mainly for his operatic compositions (La vedova scaltra is available on Naxos CD 8.660225- 26 and DVD 2.110234-35), he wrote a number of sublimely expressive... more

All six of these orchestral works exemplify Busoni's personalized classicism. The Lustspielouverture (Comedy Overture) is light, and almost Mozartian in clarity, whilst Gesang vom Reigen der Geister... more

These mainly world premiere recordings of five of Malipiero' most characteristic works fill an important gap in the catalogue. The Impressioni dal vero express the composer' feelings amid nature and... more

From mysterious moonlit night to joyous sunlit day, this recording runs the gamut of Alfredo Casella' huge stylistic range. Notte di maggio, composed in the wake of Stravinsky' Rite of Spring, is... more

From the very first notes, with their tolling bells, Casella' Symphony No. 2 is deeply indebted to it's model, Mahler' own Symphony No. 2, whose Parisian premiere was championed by Casella during his... more

This release couples Gian Francesco Malipiero's two contrasting violin concertos with the world premiere recording of his kaleidoscopic orchestral work Per una favola cavalleresca, evoking legendary... more

• Italian composer Alfredo Catalani is today best remembered for his opera La Wally. • Francesco La Vecchia leads the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma in a program of lesser-known but worthy orchestral... more

Saverio Mercadante's substantial contribution to instrumental music is exceptional among other famous Italian opera composers of his time. Both his Omaggio a Bellini and the Gran Sinfonia sopra... more

The fourth installment of the complete orchestral works O. Respighi include some of his most popular works - the Ancient Airs and Dances and the Rossiniana. Respighi's imaginative use of timbre and... more

Muzio Clementi's four surviving mature symphonies were never published in his lifetime and were rescued from neglect through painstaking reconstruction. His sophisticated use of counterpoint can be... more

Goffredo Petrassi was one of the most important Italian composers of the twentieth century. Beginning with the previously unrecorded Divertimento in C, this release focuses on Petrassi's compositions... more

Muzio Clementi was 'The Father of the pianoforte', a performer, teacher, publisher and manufacturer of pioneering importance. But in addition to the works for piano, he also wrote a series of... more

Busoni' monumental Piano Concerto was completed in 1904 and remains the longest piano concerto to have been heard in public.

The revelatory Naxos Casella series continues with two powerful works that grew from the tragedy of two World Wars. Searingly dissonant and 'profoundly human', the Elegia eroica is Casella' memorial... more