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Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna, but Rome was the love of his musical life. His tone poem 'Pines of Rome' has always been popular, and rightly so: this symphonic panorama of Rome’s haunted ruins and shaded gardens is one of the 20th century’s most joyous orchestral showpieces. But to hear it performed alongside its less familiar companion pieces – the glittering 'Fountains of Rome', and the wild, sensual 'Roman Festivals' – is to see the very life and soul of the Eternal City laid out before you, in full orchestral widescreen. ´óÏó´«Ã½ SSO Associate Guest Conductor John Wilson is a master of orchestral sound; and he’s paired Respighi’s Roman triptych with exquisite works by Donizetti and Puccini.

Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room
Dr Harriet Boyd-Bennett, from the University of Nottingham, discusses Respighi’s Roman music in the cultural and political context of its time (free to ticket-holders, subject to seating availability).

The concert will be recorded for future broadcast on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 3.