Fountains of Rome

Seventy-six miles separate Kodak Hall in Rochester and Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, but a special event is closing the gap. The Rochester and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestras are swapping Music Directors and Concertmasters for the last weekend in October: Maestro Delfs, Juliana Athayde, and the BPO will perform on Schubert Symphony No. 9, “The Great”, while Maestra JoAnn Falletta and Nikki Chooi will conduct and perform Fountains of Rome with your RPO. Get to know Maestra Falletta, celebrating her 25^th season with the BPO!

RPO: The idea of a conductor/concertmaster “swap” is so exciting. What do efforts like this mean for our musical communities?

Falletta: This “swap” is personally very meaningful to me, because Andreas and I studied at Juilliard together, and have stayed in touch ever since. He was (and is) an amazing conductor, wore the greatest leather pants, and we all loved his accent!  I think this “sharing” of the RPO and BPO is a beautiful idea- we are the closest neighbors, and it will be a treat to share an exchange of solo concertmasters as well.

RPO: You’ve led many orchestras around the world. How do you adapt your conducting style to suit different orchestras, including the RPO?

Falletta: As my conducting career has developed, I have become more and more fascinated by each orchestra’s unique personality, based on the artists in the ensemble and their special character and sound. I am going to really enjoy having the musicians “speak” to me in their beautiful playing, and I will listen and adapt so that our performance is their voice.  I know I will be very inspired by the RPO and want these concerts to strongly reflect who they are as musicians.

RPO: What excites you about conducting Respighi’s Fountains of Rome?

Falletta: I have always loved Respighi’s music and I believe that Fountains of Rome is his greatest masterpiece. Respighi wanted to encourage Italians of his time to write orchestral music and he gave them a stunning example of excellence in his Rome Trilogy.  His cinematic treatment of four iconic fountains takes us through an entire day – from dawn in the Valle Giulia to nightfall at the Villa Medici.  His writing is shimmering, sensuous, translucent, and evocative – we can almost feel the tingling spray of the Triton fountain and we are swept away by Neptune in the Trevi. And when the stars begin to come out…pure magic!

RPO: Tell us about your time in Rome and how Respighi captures the city’s essence.

Falletta: I have been to Italy several times and especially love Rome. The Italians say, “for Rome, one lifetime is not enough” and they are correct. Respighi amazingly captures the essence of both ancient Rome and early 19th century Rome through the fountains that have been a part of the landscape for centuries. Rome has that special quality of letting us exist in the present and past simultaneously, and Respighi’s music perfectly captures that.

RPO: As the first female conductor of a major US orchestra, how have you seen the female conductor landscape evolve?

Falletta: When I first began to conduct, I was certain that many women would be entering the field immediately.  But it has taken much longer than I thought. Luckily, that has finally changed – we now see women conductors all over the world working on the very highest level.

RPO: What advice would you offer to aspiring conductors, especially women, just starting their careers?

Falletta: The advice I would share is to be prepared for a life of endless studying, hard work, challenges- and a life of the greatest privilege and joy in living in a field of extraordinary beauty and great artists.

symphony (October 11, 2024) JoAnn Falletta: Trailblazer