Elsa e Ottorino: i Respighi a Palazzo Chigi Saracini, fra riscoperta del passato e invenzione del futuro

Abstract

Ottorino and Elsa Respighi found in Count Guido Chigi Saracini not only a visionary patron and a discerning music enthusiast, but also a true friend. The couple were frequent guests at the Count’s residence and regular attendees of the concerts held at the Accademia Chigiana. Even after Ottorino died in 1936, the bond between Elsa and the Count endured with warmth and continuity.
During the Second World War, it was to Count Chigi that Elsa entrusted all of her husband’s autograph manuscripts to protect them from the risk of looting or destruction. After the war, the Count encouraged Elsa to resume her compositional work, and she, in turn, gifted him several of Respighi’s manuscripts, along with some of her own compositions.
In addition to reconstructing the continuity of this relationship in detail, the present study focuses on a series of works composed by Respighi around 1930, specically conceived for the Concert Hall of Palazzo Chigi Saracini: Lauda per la Natività del Signore, Suite della tabacchiera, and the orchestral transcription of the recitative E se un giorno tornasse. The history of this last piece is closely linked to the figures of Bianca Chigi (the Count’s wife), Luisa Baccara, and Gabriele d’Annunzio.
These works feature a reduced, almost chamber-sized orchestration, reflecting a stylistic turn Respighi had embraced in the late 1920s. This artistic shift ran counter to prevailing market demands, favoring the sonic impact of large orchestral forces and also marked a departure from Respighi’s earlier, more expansive symphonic works.
This essay demonstrates how Respighi’s interest in chamber forms, in unconventional ensembles, in the rediscovery of early music, and the interplay with the visual arts was fully aligned with Count Chigi’s cultural vision and with the atmosphere Respighi encountered during his time at the Accademia Chigiana.

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