Welcome to our latest episode of "In Your Home with the Erie Philharmonic."

I'm Daniel Meyer and it has been my pleasure to lead you through these performances produced in partnership with our friends here at WQLN PBS.

This concert features music composed by Italian composers spanning from Antonio Vivaldi, born in the 17th century, all the way up through Nino Rota, who was still writing film scores in the 1970s.

Now, we don't see a whole lot of lutes around these days, but in the Renaissance, they were a common instrument.

A lute, generally speaking, is any type of stringed instrument that is plucked or strummed, has a neck with a fingerboard, and has a hollow oval-shaped body.

Ottorino Respighi, born in 1879, was fascinated with lute music from the Renaissance, so much so that he wrote orchestrations of Renaissance lute songs over 250 years old.

Some of his music was even inspired by Renaissance paintings like Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and "La Primavera."

We will now play three movements from his "Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite Number 3."

Respighi did not write the music.

Rather, he took ancient lute and guitar music and reimagined it for the modern symphony orchestra.

The first tune in this suite was a popular Italian melody from the 17th century.

The next is a Sicilian-style melody also from the 17th century.

And the final movement we'll play for you was first published by an Italian composer and guitarist named Ludovico Roncalli.

And you'll probably be able to hear how Respighi created those original strumming effects with his own clever arrangement.

Here's music from Respighi's "Ancient Airs and Dances."

In 1873, the famous opera composer Giuseppe Verdi was in Naples attending rehearsals for a production of his latest operatic sensation, "Aida."

When the star soprano fell ill, the entire production had to be immediately suspended and Verdi found himself with unexpected time on his hands.

He chose to spend this time writing a string quartet.

It was an unusual choice for a composer who had built his entire reputation on his success in the opera house, but creativity poured out of Verdi in this side project and we now have his sole string quartet, a passionate and exquisitely crafted dialogue between four single string players.

We'd like to offer the first movement from this quartet for you now.

Played by violinists Emily Cornelius and Joshua Huang, violist Esther Nam, and cellist Erica Snowden-Rodriguez.

In 1804, the great Italian opera composer Giachino Rossini was invited to spend a summer at the villa of one Agostino Triosi.

Triosi was a wealthy merchant who also happened to play the double bass, and Rossini was able to write six sonatas for strings that made use of the friends that were on hand: two violinists, one cellist, and Triosi playing his bass.

It's a slightly unconventional group, but I think that you'll find this music is charming and it perhaps owes a debt to the style of composers like Mozart and Haydn.

At this point, Rossini had not yet reached the fame and fortune that works like "The Barber of Seville" would bring.

In fact, when Rossini wrote this music you are about to hear, he was only 12 years old.

Who was Giovanni Boni anyway?

It turns out that there seems to be a bit of a debate who actually wrote the next music you're about to hear.

Apparently, there were multiple musicians working in Italy at the beginning of the 18th century and it's not always clear what music belongs to our mysterious Giovanni Boni.

I suppose it's academic at this point though because we have a lovely sonata for oboe and keyboard that beautifully represents the style of Italian music in this era.

And we are so pleased to feature one of our leaders of our own woodwind section in this next piece.

Here's our principal oboe, Danna Sundet, performing with pianist Beth Etter, recorded together in Wexford, Pennsylvania.

Another Italian composer known almost exclusively for his operas was Giacomo Puccini.

Today, Puccini's "Madame Butterfly," "Tosca," "La Boheme," and "Turandot," among others, are staples in the operatic world.

It's hard to imagine any opera company that doesn't feature at least one of these incredible works in a given season.

But the next piece you're about to hear is an exception.

It's called "I Crisantemi," or "The Chrysanthemums," and it is dedicated to the memory of a dear friend of the composer who had died.

"Chrysanthemums" was designed to be played by a string quartet and it's achingly beautiful.

It's clear from the tenderness of this music that this friend meant a lot to Puccini, and the music was special enough to recast later as material in his opera of 1893 titled "Manon Lescaut."

Here we play the version for full string orchestra in this rare, purely instrumental offering from one of opera's most celebrated composers.

Even if you don't recognize his name, it's likely you've heard the music of Nino Rota.

Born in Milan in 1911, Rota became one of Italy's most prolific composers, particularly associated with film.

He wrote the scores to some of the most important movies of the 20th century, including Visconti's "Rocco and his Brothers," Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" and "The Godfather: Part II," Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" from 1968, Fellini's "La Dolce Vita," "Satyricon," "Amarcord," and "Roma."

Nino Rota also wrote concert works, and this next toccata for bassoon and piano is a charming example of some music that he wrote that was not intended for the silver screen.

Here's our own principal bassoonist Laura Koepke and pianist I-Fei Chen performing on the campus of SUNY Fredonia where Laura is a professor.

The music of Antonio Vivaldi is as popular today as it's ever been.

If you make your way through any major European capital during the height of tourist season, you'll have endless chances to catch a performance of his "Four Seasons" with a local group of musicians playing in a beautiful church.

We are about to play a brief concerto for you without soloists.

It's nicknamed his "Concerto alla rustica."

What makes this music so rustic?

Well, we're not even sure that Vivaldi gave this concerto the nickname, but it does feature a wonderful rollicking finale that sounds as if the country folk have just emerged from their homes and are ready to join in a great big dance party.

See if you agree that this rustic concerto deserves its nickname.

Thank you for joining us on this musical trip through Italy.

I hope you have enjoyed exploring this music as much as we have enjoyed performing it for you.

We look forward to when we can see each other again at our home in the Warner Theatre and throughout Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Thanks to our friends at Edinburgh University and WQLN PBS who have been great partners in helping us bring our music to you here in Erie and across the globe.

We'll see you next time for another episode of "In Your Home with the Erie Philharmonic."