Most visitors to Rome can't help but be inspired by the city's unique personality and history. Very few are so inspired they knock out a series of orchestral tone poems, but that's exactly what Ottorino Respighi did after moving there in 1913. This episode explores the meaning behind the second, and most famous, of these tone poems: Pines of Rome. A series of musical snapshots that take you on a journey through Rome's fascinating history, and still the cheapest way of visiting it without buying a plane ticket, or time machine.

Ottorino Respighi: Pines of Rome
Performer: Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fritz Reiner
Label: RCA Year: 2006 (recorded 1960)
Catalogue No. G010000694744F