Brasilian impressions

Respighi's "Impressioni brasiliane" was composed in 1928 as the fruit of his journey to Brazil and reflects the exotic impressions of the Italian composer. The three-movement suite shows Respighi at the height of his orchestral mastery, which he had already demonstrated in his Roman symphonic poems. With his characteristic sense for tone colors and atmospheric density, he transforms Brazilian landscape and nature impressions into a symphonic language of great sensual appeal.

The score reveals Respighi's typical art of orchestration: A large orchestra with expanded percussion, celesta, piano and harp creates those iridescent sound combinations that distinguish his later works. The three movements "Notte tropicale," "Butantan," and "Canzona e danza" are intended to evoke the nocturnal tropical atmosphere, impressions of the famous snake institute in São Paulo, and folk songs and dances.

The work stands as exemplary of Respighi's impressionistically colored orchestral style of the late 1920s, in which Italian melodic sweetness combines with modern harmony and the most sophisticated art of instrumentation. It is considered one of his most successful examples of translating non-European impressions into the language of late Romantic orchestral music.