ENNIO MORRICONE (b.1928): Music for 11 Violins, Arcate di archi for Cello and Strings, Themes from the Film The Mission and TV mini-series Mosé, NICOLA PIOVANI (b.1947): Il canto dei neutrini for Cello and Orchestra, Themes from the Film Life is Good, NINO ROTA (1911-1979): Concerto for Strings, Themes from the Films Amarcord, La strada and Romeo and Juliet.

Description: Rota’s concerto is well-known by now so the major interest here will be the “concert music” by Morricone and Piovani. The former’s Musica is a five-minute piece from 1958 whose reference points are Webern and Stockhausen while the late Arcate, of equal length, is, in its exploration of soft, quiet bands of music, is not unlike some Baltic minimalism. But Morricone’s concert works are always quite different from his compellingly approachable film scores. Piovani’s language doesn’t change, so his 23-minute “Song of the Neutrinos”, its string orchestra colored by harp, percussion and celesta, suggests a busy narrative (those sub-atomic particles just can’t keep still) with a quiet, nocturnal center reminiscent of Rota. Archi di Santa Cecilia; Luigi Piovano.