In 2022, I moved to Rome for one year. My first forays into the city were to the pine tree groves that inspired Respighi’s "The Pines of Rome." Respighi's work is approaching its centennial (2024), and the anniversary prompted me to think about how a composer today might respond to the same subject. I chose four different sites, and I was amazed at how dissimilar the trees were at each location. At the Vatican, they are beautiful, cared for, and lush, but also walled off and inaccessible. I imagined church bells and chant melodies, but from a distance, outside the fortress walls. The second movement is inspired by a large greenspace called the Villa Ada. In this park, the pine trees are being removed, because parasites have infected them. I imagine the violin and cello as insects wielding tiny axes, chopping down the trees one microscopic blow at a time. The title of the third movement is a reference to Mussolini's political use of the pine trees, which were planted to adorn his buildings and monuments. Alarmingly, many of these monuments still stand today. The final movement was inspired by the Parco del Pineto, a working-class park where the umbrella-like branches of the trees provide shelter for refugees and unhoused people as they seek residency and shelter in Italy.

Live Recording from the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival (2023)
Jessica Lee, violin
Zlatomir Fung, cello
Juho Pohjonen, piano

Other Pines, IV. The Pines As Refuge (Parco Del Pineto)

Christopher Stark