A Quiet Strength

Gatti, who brings his Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to San Diego and Cerritos in October, is also chief conductor of the nine-decade old Santa Cecilia Orchestra, the ensemble on this recording; additionally, he will in September of this year become music director of Teatro Communale in Bologna, the city of Ottorino Respighi. In this kaleidoscopic music of Roman “Pines,” “Fetes” and “Fountains,” the young Italian maestro finds exceptional and wide-ranging colors and hues, holding some climaxes in check but releasing them energetically when the right moments arrive. Only occasional raucousness spoils the orchestral playing. Otherwise, the exuberance and many-splendored instrumental writing is delivered full strength but with an admirable restraint.