Scelsi's four orchestral pieces on this cd give the perfect overview of his compositional style performed by the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai, the Italian contemporary music band. The Scelsi edition has been devised by the Isabella Scelsi Foundation, working with the Stradivarius Record Company and is a collection of new original recordings and significant items recorded in the past.The Scelsi Collection is not intended to be a complete set of the composer's complete works but a definitive collection enabling a greater understanding and appreciation of Scelsi's music. Giacinto Scelsi was born into a titled family, studied music in Rome with Giacinto Sallustio, and later studied composition with a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg’s,Walther Klein.Throw into this melting pot the influences of Ottorino Respighi, Alfredo Casella, the surrealists, fauvists and futurists of Paris and the potential for a rich mixture of styles was always ever present. The younger Scelsi was a faithful follower of Schoenberg’s serialism, but after a personal crisis at the end of the 1940s he saw music as something of three dimensions: Pitch, duration and depth of tones. Scelsi also changed faith from Catholic to Eastern philosophies, another aspect of his life which would deeply affect his works and lifestyle. If little is known of Scelsi, then he succeeded in not wishing to become well known. He allowed no photos of himself to appear along with his work and only after his death were a few pictures of the man brought to light.