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Mostly known for his richly descriptive symphonic poems Fontane di Roma (The Fountains of Rome) and Pini di Roma (The Pines of Rome), Respighi was a versatile composer who translated into music powerful visual experiences and feelings of deep attachment to cherished places. Respighi's symphonic works are praised primarily for their exquisite orchestration, but these compositions also possess a charm which transcends the merely picturesque. This charm is particularly evident in works inspired by Medieval and Renaissance music, such as Ancient Airs and Dances for orchestra.

Born in 1879, Respighi studied from 1891 to 1900 at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna. In 1900 and 1902, he traveled to Russia, where he played the viola in the Imperial Orchestra in St. Petersburg. During his two extended visits to Russia, Respighi studied with Rimsky-Korsakov, absorbing the Russian master's ideas regarding orchestral color. In 1903, Respighi turned to a career of a concert violinist; he also played chamber music, joining Bologna's Mugellini Quartet as a violist. During the early 1900s, Respighi started writing music, but his compositions (chamber and orchestral works) attracted little attention. In 1908-1909, he was in Berlin, where he immersed himself in German musical culture. In 1913, Respighi settled in Rome, accepting a composition professorship at the Liceo (subsequently Conservatorio) di Santa Cecilia. Enchanted by Rome, Respighi found inspiration in the city's unique atmosphere and consequently formulated an original, personal musical language, exemplified by Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), written in 1914-1916.

Respighi's next project was a children's opera, La bella dormente nel bosco (Sleeping Beauty), finished in 1921, and regarded as his best stage work. After the Fontane di Roma, Respighi sought inspiration in early music, introducing Renaissance and Medieval themes into his compositions. In 1917, he composed the first set of his Antiche arie e danze per liuto (&Ancient Airs and Dances for Lute), for piano duet and strings. The second and third sets, for strings, were composed in 1923 and 1931, respectively. Sometimes regarded as adaptations, these compositions nevertheless exude a unique freshness and sincerity.

Works composed in the 1920s reflected both Respighi's fascination with early music and his desire to translate visual sensations into music. Thus, the Concerto gregoriano for violin and orchestra, composed in 1921, and Quartetto dorico, written in 1924, evoke the spirit of ancient music, while The Pines of Rome describes the splendor of the Roman landscape.

In 1924, Respighi was named director of the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, resigning, however, two years later, so he would have more time to compose. Nevertheless, this period included two American tours, in 1925-1926 and 1932, as a conductor and pianist. He also accompanied singers, including his wife, Elsa Olivieri-Sangiacomo, who was also a composer. Works composed during this period include Vetrate di chiesa (Church Windows), for orchestra, written in 1925, and the Trittico botticelliano (Three Botticelli Pictures), composed in 1927 -- a work inspired by three paintings by the great Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. Composed in 1928-1930, Respighi's Lauda per la Nativita del Signore, for two pianos, wind ensembles, vocal soloists, and chorus, develops Renaissance motifs to create a charming, serene celebration of the spirit of Christmas. Elected to the Royal Academy of Italy in 1932, Respighi died in 1936.

Conductor Geoffrey Simon has combined entrepreneurial prowess with his considerable musical talent to build an international conducting career. The founder of his own recording label, Cala Records, Simon is also featured on a number of recordings for mainstream labels Koch International and Chandos. He has appeared as a guest conductor with a number of prominent orchestras around the world.

Born in Adelaide, Australia, Simon studied piano performance at the University of Melbourne. After his graduation in 1968, Simon left for the United States in order to pursue graduate studies in cello performance at the Juilliard School. He describes his time there as formative, but intense: "If you're in New York and you're going to have a neurosis, that's the place to have it -- it was so intense, but at the same time, there were the most wonderful musical experiences happening."

In 1969, Simon moved to Bloomington, IN, so he could further his education as a cello student with noted pedagogue Janos Starker at Indiana University. That same year Simon also founded the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra. He remained music director there until he left for the United Kingdom in 1973.

Taking advantage of his close proximity to Europe, Simon studied with a number of prominent conductors including Herbert von Karajan, Rudolf Kempe, Hans Swarowsky, and Igor Markevitch. He also made a number of appearances with significant British orchestras in the mid-'70s, including the Bournemouth Symphony. Although his London debut took place soon after these successes, Simon was unable to cement himself onto a more permanent career footing. In 1977, he lost the John Player Conductor's Award to Simon Rattle.

Simon returned to the United States in 1978, first as a professor of music at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee (until 1982), and later at North Texas State University in Denton (1982-1984). For three years, beginning in 1986, Simon served as the music director of the Albany Symphony Orchestra in New York. He held a similar position with the Sacramento Symphony from 1992 through 1996. Since 1997, Simon has been a conductor and advisor to the Northwest Mahler Festival.

In between his Albany and Sacramento appointments, Simon founded his own recording label Cala, based in London. In addition to featuring a number of Simon's own recordings, the label has featured some of London's finest instrumentalists in a series known as the London Sound. Simon has also been influential in releasing a large number of previously unavailable historical recordings conducted by Leopold Stokowski.

Some of Simon's later recordings include Danny Boy: The Immortal Irish Song (2006) and Milestones: 30 Years of Chandos (2009).

London's Philharmonia Orchestra is generally considered one of Britain's top symphonic ensembles and has sometimes been named as the very best. Formed by recording executive Walter Legge at the end of World War II, the orchestra benefited from the presence of several top Continental conductors in its first years and has generated an impressive recording catalog from the very beginning. Although London already boasted the world-class London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestras, Legge resolved to create an ensemble that would equal the best in the German-speaking musical sphere. To this end, he recruited top young musicians (some 60 percent of the players were still serving in the British armed forces at the beginning) and, after he was turned down by friend Thomas Beecham, a roster of star German conductors. These included Wilhelm Furtwängler, Richard Strauss, Herbert von Karajan, and Otto Klemperer. At first, Legge avoided the appointment of a permanent conductor, and the players learned to produce superb results under several different kinds of artistic leadership.

Primarily a recording ensemble at first, the Philharmonia began giving concerts that were often innovative in content. The young Leonard Bernstein recorded Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major with the group, and the orchestra gave the world premiere of Strauss' Four Last Songs with soloist Kirsten Flagstad in 1950 at the Royal Albert Hall. In the mid-'50s, Furtwängler died and Karajan departed for Berlin; Legge appointed the 74-year-old Klemperer conductor for life. Klemperer's performances were often idiosyncratic but just as often brilliant, and many of his recordings with the Philharmonia remain in print. A complete cycle of Brahms symphonies under Klemperer was reissued by the firm Broken Audio in the 2010s.

The orchestra ran into trouble in the early 1960s as financial problems arose and several of its best musicians, including hornist Dennis Brain, met untimely deaths. Legge attempted to disband the group in 1964, but the players, encouraged by Klemperer, formed the New Philharmonia Orchestra and continued to perform. The orchestra performed at the Beethoven bicentennial in Bonn, West Germany, in 1970. That year, Lorin Maazel was appointed associate principal conductor to reduce the workload of the aging Klemperer, but he clashed with the orchestra members, who had maintained a self-governing structure. Instead, Riccardo Muti was appointed chief conductor in 1973. Four years later, the original name was restored.

Under Muti, the orchestra often recorded opera and entered upon what was widely regarded as a second golden age. In 1981, under conductor Kurt Sanderling, the Philharmonia made the first digital recording of Beethoven's complete symphonies. Muti was succeeded in 1984 by Giuseppe Sinopoli, whose performances of key British repertory such as the works of Elgar were criticized, but who extended the orchestra's reach in Italian opera. Christoph von Dohnányi ascended the podium in 1997 and took the orchestra on tours of continental Europe and, in 2002 and 2003, to a residency in New York. Bicontinental Finnish conducting star Esa-Pekka Salonen became chief conductor in 2008 and has continued to maintain the orchestra's high standards; his departure was announced for the year 2021, creating an opening at the very top level of English music-making. The Philharmonia continued to record for EMI after Legge's departure but moved to Deutsche Grammophon under Sinopoli and has since recorded for a large variety of labels. In 2019, the Philharmonia backed innovative Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen on her debut release, with Salonen conducting. ~ James Manheim