Jean-Yves Thibaudet & Pines of Rome

Ottorino Respighi’s *Pines of Rome* (1924) is a four-movement orchestral tone poem that treats the city’s pine trees as landmarks and witnesses, moving from children at play in the Borghese gardens to a catacomb, the Janiculum at night, and the Appian Way at dawn. It is the middle panel of his Roman triptych, built on clear pictorial scenes and bold orchestral color. At David Geffen Hall, Stéphane Denève leads the orchestra on a program featuring Jean‑Yves Thibaudet, placing Respighi’s cinematic craft in a modern New York concert setting. I don’t have confirmed NYC-premiere details for this work; its significance here lies in how it turns landscape into narrative without words.