Lorenzo Perosi
(1872-1956)
Suite #5 "Tortona" (c.1908)
Suite #7 "Torino" (undated)
Orchestra Sinfonica 'Nuova Cameristica di Milano'/Arturo Sacchetti
Bongiovanni GB5651-2 68:50
Perosi was better known as a composer of religious music and was once extremely popular. A crisis of faith caused ongoing mental problems and he was in and out of institutions for some time.
Among his orchestral compositions were ten suites representing Italian cities, #5 in homage to his home city. The music is melodious and immediately appealing. The orchestration shows traces of Brahms but the casual listener might guess that it was by Dvořák or someone like Suk or Fibich: Perosi was known to borrow ideas extensively from other composers. Not great music, but certainly well worth getting to know.
