The first performance was given under conductor Bernardino Molinari in the Augusteo, Rome, on December 14, 1924.
Sections
I pini di Villa Borghese (The Pines of Villa Borghese)
Pini presso una catacomba (Pines near a catacomb)
I pini del Gianicolo (The Pines of the Janiculum)
I pini della Via Appia (The Pines of the Appian Way)
The first movement, I pini di Villa Borghese, portrays noisy children playing soldiers and marching in the pine groves of the Borghese gardens. The second movement, Pini presso una catacomba is a majestic dirge, representing pine trees near a catacomb in Campagna. Lower orchestral instruments, plus the organ pedal at 16' and 32' pitch, suggest the subterranean nature of the catacombs, while the trombones represent priests chanting. The third part, I pini del Gianicolo, is a nocturne set near a temple, on the Janiculum hill, of the RomangodJanus. Double-faced gods open large doors and gates, marking the beginning of a new year. Respighi takes the opportunity to include the actual sound of a nightingale, something that had never been done before. (The score mentions a specific recording that can be played on a phonograph: the "Brunswick Panatrope"). The final movement, I pini della Via Appia, portrays pine trees along the great Appian Way. Misty dawn: a legion advances along the Via Appia in the brilliance of the newly-risen sun. Respighi wanted the ground to tremble under the footsteps of his army and he instructs the organ to play bottom B flat on 8', 16' and 32' organ pedal. The score calls for buccine - ancient trumpets that are usually represented by flugelhorns. Trumpets peal and the consular army rises in triumph to the Capitoline Hill.
Orchestra sinfonica di Torino della RAI , direttore Sergiu Celibidache