Nobilissima visione
conductor Riccardo Muti
Alfredo Catalani
Contemplazione
Paul Hindemith
Nobilissima visione
orchestra suite
Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini
after
Doppio ritratto: San Francesco in Dante e Giotto
conversation between Riccardo Muti and Massimo Cacciari
While it is true that music always obeys its own grammar, transcending all supposed poetic or visual references, it is also true that the initial spark for most music often comes from something outside of music itself, such as a verse, a landscape, a painting. This was the case for Nobilissima visione: while at the Maggio Musicale in Florence in 1937, Hindemith came across Giotto’s frescoes in the Bardi Chapel at Santa Croce, depicting scenes from the life of Francis after his conversion. Inspired by what he saw, he persuaded Léonide Massine to collaborate with him on a “dance legend” based on the frescoes. He then immediately composed this extraordinary concert suite, a work that Muti cherishes. Radiant and refined, it is imbued with a serene spirituality that culminates in the Saint’s triumph and Canticle.
