Valse Caressante

Ottorino Respighiis (1879-1936) iSix Pieces for Pianoi was first published in 1903, while Respighi was twenty-four years old, and still very early in his career. These six pieces demonstrate a great variety of styles from the young composer; a salon style valse, a canon, an impressionist nocturne, a neoclassical minuet, a flashy simmering studio, and a lyrical adaptation of an aria from Respighiis first opera. While Respighi is most known for his masterful orchestration with his Roman tone poems; Fountains of Rome (1916), Pines of Rome (1924), and Roman Festivals (1928) his work here with the iSix Pieces for Pianoi demonstrates a young composer in command of harmony and form. Valse Caressante is a classically traditional five-part rondo (ABACA) (Mm. 5-36, 37-68, 69-100, 101-134, and 135-180). The valse begins with a lovely four-measure florid introduction by the violins before the first A theme. The A theme itself is a playful tradeoff between the first and second violins culminating in a long descending eighth-note melody. The B section in the key of the sub-dominant G Major features a cantabile solo from the first cello chased by a solo from the first violin. After the second A theme Respighi arrives at the C theme in the dominant key of A Major; this section features a long dizzying line of melodic turns from the first violins with a simple pizzicato accompaniment from the rest of the ensemble. After the final return of the A section, the piece ends on a brief shimmering codetta.