Roma (Rome) Concert Suite

• Bizet originally composed this as his Symphony No. 2 in C, 1860-68. It was published posthumously as Roma: 3me Suite de Concert (Rome: Third Concert Suite), 1880.¹
• Bizet conceived the idea behind this symphony when he was staying in Italy after winning the Prix de Rome in 1857.²
• The suite is a symphonic tour of Italy, with movements for Rome, Venice, Florence, Naples.³

Movements

1. Andante tranquillo – Allegro (Rome)
2. Scherzo (Florence)
3. Andante (Venice). Another title Bizet used for this movement was “A Procession.”
4. Carnival (Naples)⁴

1. Hugh Macdonald, “Bizet, Georges,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed July 25, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051829.
2. Hugh Macdonald, “Bizet, Georges,” Grove Music Online.
3. Philip Huscher, “Georges Bizet: Symphony in C Major,” Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2017), accessed July 31, 2019, https://cso.org/globalassets/pdfsshared/program-notes/2016-17/ProgramNotes_MalkkiMarsalis.pdf.
4. Roger Nichols, liner notes to Bizet: Favorite Orchestral Works, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson, EMI 094142, CD, 2008.