This recording is a live performance from Munich, Philharmonie im Gasteig, captured between October 7-11, 2013.
Notable Performances
Verdi himself conducted the premiere of his 'Messa da Requiem' on May 22, 1874, choosing the Milanese church of San Marco for its acoustics over a concert hall or theater.
Composition History
Giuseppe Verdi initially proposed a collaborative Requiem to honor Gioachino Rossini, involving 13 composers, but the project failed to be performed.
Compositional Technique
The 'Liber scriptus' movement in Verdi's 'Messa da Requiem' was originally a four-part fugue but was later replaced by the mezzo-soprano solo version known today.
Composition History
Verdi's 'Messa da Requiem' was inspired by the death of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian author whom Verdi deeply admired as 'a model of virtue and patriotism'.
Performer Biography
Mariss Jansons, the conductor of this recording, was born in Riga in 1943 to conductor Arvid Jansons and studied violin, piano, and conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Verdi's 'Dies irae' sequence in the Requiem uses four distant trumpets offstage to create a theatrical and spatial presence, evoking the vision of the Last Judgment.
