Alfredo Casella - Symphony No.2 in C-minor, Op.12 (1909) 

Casella è uno dei grandi musicisti italiani del 900, che gli italiani non conoscono e non ascoltano.

Monumental is the only word I can find to describe this amazing symphony!

I’ve been listening to so-called classical music since I was around 10/11 years old but have never encountered this composer before. That’s the great thing about RU-vid :-)

I was sitting in the front row under Maestro Gianandrea Noseda in Verizon Hall last night to hear this piece performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. In my 45 years of listening to concert music I have NEVER been so awe struck at listening to a piece for the first time. Incredibly demanding for the musicians to play, and that second movement...........oh my. Thank you, Maestro Casella, for penning this piece and thank you, Philadelphia Orchestra, for presenting the US World Premier of this symphony.

Casella was 26 years old when he wrote this symphony. He strongly supported Mahler, and something Mahlerian can be found in that music, in the epic and rythmic sense. This work is exceptionnally mature in a postromantic style for a still young composer. The general style is epic, heroic and optimistic. Brasses play a great role in the orchestra. Anecdotially, we can note the use of bells. This splendid symphony deserves to stay within the repertoire.

Now THAT’S what I call a symphony!

I saw this symphony live conducted by my teacher, Yoonsung Chang, on his inaugural concert of the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra. Simply extraordinary!! I got goosebumbs all the way!!

The composer was 26 when he finished this, The concept reminds me of the towering conclusion of Langgaard's massive first symphony (1911) and he was a teenager when he finished it.

Wonderful symphony, written while his fellow composers wroy=te verist operas !!!! Casella was a great supporter of Gustav Mhler, and that can be retrieved in this symphony, which is not a copy. Simply, Mahler seems to have given him the daring to write such a symphony, which is a masterpiece. Never would we expect such a work from an Italian composer. Wfen you start listening to that symphony, you cannot stop, it is fascinating. The rendering is excellent.

The Ultimate & Greatest Italian Symphony ever composed, with Casella's First Symphony close behind.

Una sinfonia pienamente italiana,di un compositore italiano. Ottima la direzione e l'esecuzione orchestrale.

Beats me that we never hear this performed. Breathtaking

Potente, evocativa, inevitabile il raffronto con Mahler, ma anche con Brahm e forse anche con la nona di Beethoven. Certamente un ritmo innovativo quasi cantabile....bella

Solo commenti in lingua inglese? e commenti di ascoltatori italiani? Ogni volta che ascolto per la prima volta composizioni del nostro Novecento rimango stupito per la loro bellezza e per il loro grandissimo spessore culturale, musica per niente provinciale, ma di respiro internazionale.

Musica impresionante, bella,enérgica,para escuchar mil veces.Poco difundida como siempre.Sino es la de los clásicos no sirve y no se ejecuta.He escuchado además la numero 2 y también me impresiona .Gracias Casella.From Argentina

Casella un grande del 900 Italiano non conosciuto dai tanti ma apprezzato dagli intenditori .

This has to be one of the best symphonic endings ever. omg.

This must be for me the best Italian symphony I've heard so far.

I can live with saying this was awesome!

This is an awesome symphony! How Mahlerian can a composer be, and still create a work that is so imbued with his own concept and personality as to make any resemblance above criticism? Casella gives us his convincing answer to that question here. From the menacing first movement through the cataclysmic second, the troubled "adagio", and the apocalyptic/triumphant finale, its' relentless forward motion and kinetic energy is almost overpowering. I'm sure its' full effect can only be experienced in the concert hall, but this great recording is a welcome alternative.

6 years later I still experiences this work as awesome! It perhaps is a good case for "awesome" not guarantying something going viral. Of course that I believe it is awesome doesn't mean others regard it as awesome. But somebody thought it good enough to record and share with the world.

Heard this on the radio. Bowled away.

Well, that was one hell of a ride!

This symphony is absolutely awesome from teh beginning to thr rnd. The influence of Mahler is obvious, but we do not find these extatic moments nither these prseudo-folkloric themes that we find in Mahler's work. It is indeed a versy great and consistent symphony.

Grande Casella. Mi era quasi sconosciuto. Grazie di averlo postato.

MONUMENTAL;;;OBRA FANTÁSTICA!!!

Absolutely stunning!

Just great! What a discovery! Thanks for uploading!

How lovely!

Hervorragend! Warum habe ich so lange warten müssen, bevor ich von diesem Mahlerschüler gehört habe?

Que gran sinfonía. En el momento justo.

What a fantastic symphony! Terrific!

fantastic, visual music, would be great for a movie soundtrack!

교향곡을 듣는 폭이 이 곡에서 확 넓혀 졌답니다. 한마디로 원더풀이예요!!!

Quel musicien que ce Casella!

Orgoglio Italiano!! Compositore e pianista di gran vaglia, ascoltare gli Studi op. 70, ad es., eseguiti dal Mo. Luca Ballerini.

If you like this symphony you might also like Strauss' Salome, Zemlinsky's Eine Florentinische Tragödie, Schönberg's Pelleas und Melisande op. 5, Schönberg's Orchesterlieder op. 8, Schreker's Chamber Symphony, Szymanowski's Symphony No. 2.

Holy crap- I'm a lifelong Mahler lover and this work is incredibly close to Mahler's middle period in which he wrote his 5, 6th and 7th symphonies. The similarities in dramatic intensity, orchestral color and instrumentation are amazing. This is a wonderful piece.. Does anyone else see the similarities?

Thanks philly.

I agree with all the enthusiastic comments as to the magnificence of this music and also wonder why it remains virtually unknown. (If any criticism can be leveled at this work it is that it could be considered by some to be a bit 'overblown'.) There is only one live performance on RU-vid (from Frankfurt) and while the performance is excellent it has been uploaded with relatively poor technical quality (vision and sound). As to influences by other composers, the composer I 'hear' most often is Korngold, mainly his serious work, but there's one section that would sit well with the score for 'Robin Hood', and other sections are very 'filmic' in terms of the better Hollywood composers of the 1940's. Of course this work predates those composers so they could hardly be 'influences', perhaps it is rather they were influenced by the same composers that influenced Casella (and it's unlikely that Korngold, for example, was familiar with Casella) - it's just that I found the similarities to be striking.

This composer brought a little light, wonder and humor into a period of obscurity and weariness in my life. Listening to it many years later, my sensitivity and admiration I felt for it grew. A difficult listening at first, he lends the orchestral direction of his flayed intelligence, until he draws you inevitably into his universe. Each listening reveals a little more of its mystery, its magic, so this work becomes ineluctably timeless “Imperial”

A questo punto è migliore il primo Casella che quello della Giara e dei Pupazzetti!

Thanks for uploading this wonderful symphony. Why is this so neglected by orchestras? It's riveting right from the opening bars.

Oh my goodness!

wow

U.S. premiere end of October in Philadelphia with their orchestra.

This moment at 35:12 is so incredibly soft.

Great symphony and also the painting,btw, who is a painter?

Drops into Bernard Herrmann mode at 2:07.

Terrific score--stunning painting. What is it?

WWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

listening to the harmony and orchestration i must conclude it's way more R. Strauss influenced than Mahler. almost the Alpine Symphony sometimes.

What a strange picture… what is it?

An epic symphony, NOT however to be confused or associated with anything Mahler ever wrote. This youthful symphony shows tenancies towards neo-classicism coupled with Casella's post romantic era. Splendid ostinatos and rhythmical modulations combine to produce a symphony of true stature that is sadly neglected today.

38:15 Mahler 2

As if Mahler and Strauss were merged into one orchestral canvas.

48:03 Saint-Seans sym 3

More Strauss then some of Strauss pieces😜

he shoulda called this the pirate symphony. screams "IT'S A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME" all the way through lmao

0:07-0:26 5:37 7:50 12:28 13:24 15:31 16:36-17:29 19:26 20:46 27:52 37:06 44:49 45:44 54:23-55:00

I'm not so familiar with Mahler. That's why I will not mention him here. Neither that I hear Mahler nor that I don't hear him. I only know the 10th symphony - the unfinished. I like some parts of it but I don't know if they are the ones which were composed by Mahler or by the guy who finished the symphony.

Luv the painting 🎨😍.....who painted it ????

6:13 41:01 41:21 36:51 37:28 38:27 37:35

Second movement is reaaaaally slow.......

Someone here definitely took heavy inspiration from Mahler...

such poignancy!

Praticamente sconosciuto,come altri musicisti italiani dell'epoca ,perché considerati fascisti. Vi rendete conto ? Incredibile ma vero.

Kim bu İnsanlar

Not sure which piece everyone else is listening too but I am hearing second rate Wagner, Zemlinsky with a splash of R Strauss. Interesting though none the less.

Casella was a Mussolini admirer.

Too pompous, no thanks..