Bach - Berio - Boulez: Marek svejkar's bold and brilliant debut The clarinet is one of the instruments with the broadest spectrum of sonic possibilities in terms of it's range of dynamics and pitches. It received the greatest attention during the era of Classicism both in solo parts in concertos and in the roles of a chamber music partner and an orchestral instrument. It had to wait until the 20th century for works featuring it's unaccompanied solo voice in it's full range of colours. Outstanding among the composers who created such works are two figures who fundamentally shaped musical thinking in the latter half of the 20th century: Luciano Berio and Pierre Boulez. Commemorating the 100th anniversaries of both men's birth, this recording covers their complete music for solo clarinet. Berio and Boulez sought new ways to organise music in time and space, and both took inspiration from poetry. Boulez gave symbolic expression to their quest: "It must be our concern... to jettison the concept of a work as a simple journey starting with a departure and ending with an arrival." One of the things that inspired Berio's idea of "polyphonic music for a monophonic instrument" were works by J. S. Bach. One of them, Partita in A minor for solo flute, is heard on this recording in juxtaposition with the modernism of the 20th century. The clarinettist Marek svejkar is a laureate of the Premier Prix from Paris's prestigious Conservatoire National Superieur, and he has been a winner of international competitions including events in Markneukirchen, Germany, and in Carlino, Italy. He has appeared as a soloist with the Czech Philharmonic and with Jiri Belohlavek, and having participated at the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic, he is now enrolled at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome under the tutelage of Alessandro Carbonare. The elite circle of European clarinettists is now within Marek svejkar's reach.

This arresting new album presents a major addition to the solo flute repertoire, bringing together the visionary artistry of flautist�Noemi Gyori�and the intricate, evocative music of composer�Sinan Savaskan. Spanning nearly five decades of Savaskan's compositional output, the album explores the full expressive range of the flute it's lyric warmth, it's structural clarity, and it's capacity for sonic transformation-often in dialogue with subtly woven electronic elements. At the heart of the album lies�Sonata '... una rilettura indipendente', a five-movement tour de force that is both architectural and deeply intuitive. Conceived as part of the composer's epic cycle�Many Stares through Semi-Nocturnal Zeiss-Blink, this work embodies Savaskan's radical approach to form and harmony an evolving narrative shaped by transformation, resonance, and reflection. Written specifically for Noemi Gyori, the Sonata draws upon her exceptional virtuosity and interpretative insight, and represents a rare synthesis of structural rigour and emotional intensity. Alongside the Sonata are two additional works, each revealing a distinct facet of Savaskan's sound-world.�The Sleep of Reason, for solo flute, offers a tightly coiled musical meditation, born from a nocturnal journey and haunted by socio-political undercurrents and subconscious recollections.�Always at Dusk, No.3, for alto flute and electronics, distills a fleeting emotional memory into an atmosphere of suspended time, echoing the concept of�duree�rather than chronological sequence. The electronics, composed entirely from transformations of flute sounds, serve not as backdrop but as an active, organic extension of the instrument's breath, resonance, and timbral possibilities. Whether experienced through speakers or headphones, the recording invites deep listening preferably in dim light, as Gyori suggests offering an immersive sonic space where listener, performer, and composer meet. An album for connoisseurs of contemporary music,�Sonata '... una rilettura indipendente'�is a profound collaboration between two artists whose shared sensitivity reshapes what solo flute music can mean today.

The award-winning duo of flautist Silvia Schiaffino and guitarist Renato Procopio present a musical travelogue ranging from Western to Eastern Europe before journeying further afield to Japan, Iran and Korea. As well as masterpieces such as Bartok's Romanian Folk Dances, and a rip-roaring Monti Csardas, this evocative selection includes the colourful and piquant, such as the music of Sakura, as well as Procopio's own vibrant arrangement of Korean folk songs.

This album features five superb contemporary works for flute, viola, and piano, all in beautiful performances.

This second album of early 19th century bassoon concertos by Jaakko Luoma and Tapiola Sinfonietta includes four concertos written for Frans Carl Preumayr (1782-1853), proficient and talented bassoonist who moved to Stockholm in 1802. Most of the works were taken with him on his grand tour as a soloist throughout Europe 1829-1830. Probably the best-known of the works were written by his Finnish father-in-law Bernhard Henrik Crusell and Franz Berwald, Sweden's most famous composer of the Romantic period. However, the impressive bassoon concerto by the Swiss-born edouard Du Puy is a gem that has been very rarely heard. In a similar fashion also the German-born composer Eduard Brendler has been largely forgotten by history. All four works are powerful, interesting, and demanding solo compositions which are also giving light to the music life in one of the Nordic music capitals 200 years ago.

Classical guitarist emilie Fend and clarinettist Andreas Hermanski share an ambitious artistic vision to promote their relatively unusual instrumental combination through the commissioning of new repertoire. Including world premiere recordings, this programme presents neo-Classical dark and light contrasts in Giacomo Susani's Sonata, and striking evocations of nature in Antonio Giacometti's The Prideful Cry of Amazonian Forest. Psychological landscapes can be found in Jan Freidlin's Kafka Sonata alongside Roberto Sierra's Duo-Sonata, with all works exploring the diverse expressive potential of this exciting ensemble.

On She / Her, South African clarinetist Maria du Toit and Dutch pianist Vera Kooper explore music from around the world, exclusively written by women. The pieces performed here are rarely played, and for about half of them this is the world-premiere recording. Although some of these composers enjoyed popularity during their lifetimes, such as Ivy Priaulx Rainier, with the passage of time, their music vanished into near oblivion. Rainer's exhilarating and at times meditative Suite is the centre of this album. With compositions ranging from 19th-century France to present day Nigeria, the exploration of this obscure repertoire became a mission - to celebrate and appreciate the music of talented and neglected female composers and bring these wonderful pieces to life again.

The young flutist Alissa Rossius Dausgaard presents her GENUIN debut album, featuring her own transcriptions of Johannes Brahms' violin sonatas for flute and piano. Alongside pianist Gerhard Vielhaber, she interprets these autumnal-romantic treasures with sensitivity and broad phrasing. The duo highlights the characters of the three sister works with great attention to detail - an exciting repertoire addition for musicians and audiences alike!

With the release of The Queen's Favourites in 2021, La Petite Ecurie provided listeners insight into the original repertoire for the Oboe Band, which was very much in vogue at the time of Queen Anne (c. 1700). The debut album received five Diapasons in the renowned French magazine and numerous positive reviews. The International Double Reed Society described their "beautiful tone, precise intonation, rhythmic vigor, and wonderful sense of style." The inspiration for the latest album by La Petite Ecurie, No Strings Attached, originates from the preface of Johann Christian Schieferdecker's thirteen Musikalische Concerte, in which he expressed that: "They were composed with such care that, in the absence of the necessary people, they could also be performed with only 4 voices, namely 3 Hautbois and 1 Bassoon". With this sentence, Schieferdecker encapsulates the fundamental idea that strings are sometimes redundant! No Strings Attached presents music by composers from Germany (Schieferdecker & Keiser), France (Boismortier & Dornel), Italy (Vivaldi) and England (Handel & Purcell), whose compositions showcase the endless virtuosic capabilities of the Oboe Band.

The flute concertos heard on this album were written by composers who lived and worked in East Germany during the four decades of it's existence. These world premiere recordings of concertos by Gunter Kochan, Gisbert Nather and Siegfried Matthus are performed by the stellar German flautist Claudia Stein with the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt conducted by David Robert Coleman.

With light-hearted ease, Chimaera Trio immerse themselves in a fairytale world of goblins, elves, ghosts and mythical creatures. Reflecting much more than just intimate friendships and family ties, these trios by Mendelssohn, his close friend and esteemed colleague Niels Wilhelm Gade and his brother-in-law Emil Hartmann expand into an almost infinite cosmos of Nordic-romantic myths and legends in which everything is interwoven with everything else.

The name of Friedrich Berr (1794-1838) is well known to young clarinettists across the world, as the author of solos, duets and methods for students to learn the instrument. His more elaborate pieces have largely been forgotten, except for a Rossinian fantasia which has often been mistaken for the work of his more illustrious friend. Now Luigi Magistrelli sets the record straight with a collection of fantasias and arrangements, most of them taking operatic pieces by Auber and Rossini for their subjects, a set of 'Instructive Variations' and an arrangement of the Overture to Rossini's L'assedio di Corinto, for two clarinets, where he is joined by his sister Laura Magistrelli. The album opens with a fantasia on Auber's La muette de Portici, and continues in similarly spectacular vein with a fantasia on Rossini's William Tell. Luigi Magistrelli explores the significance of Berr's arrangements in a booklet essay: 'Examining the many clarinet compositions of Berr, nowadays completely forgotten, I selected the most interesting ones. Most of them are structured with a typical form involving introduction, theme and variations of both well-known and less known operas of his epoch. The Solos and Fantasies have appealing melodies and quite demanding technical passages well-conceived for the clarinet's expressive resources.' As an experienced soloist, teacher and chamber musician, Luca Magistrelli has led several albums of clarinet-centred chamber music for Brilliant Classics. 'This offbeat disc

Bernardini meets Dreyer: a distinguished period-instrument oboist explores the music of a little-known Florentine forebear. Domenico Dreyer was born in Florence in 1701 to an Italian mother and German father, at a time when Italy was experiencing a golden age for the oboe, led by technical innovations in the design of the instrument. The family was musical, but why he picked up the oboe is unknown, as is most of his early life. At any rate, these sonatas are preserved in manuscript form under his name - his only surviving music - and may have been published in 1727. What we do know is that Dreyer travelled with his brother, a singer and impresario, across Europe and as far as St Petersburg. In the early 1730s Dreyer was playing in Venice, where he most likely met Vivaldi, and a musical link between the two men is illustrated by these six appealing sonatas. At any rate, Bernadini is drawn to these sonatas, as he explains in a booklet introduction, 'because they combine ornamented and very expressive slow movements with fast movements of great virtuosity, using the possibilities of the two-key oboe to the extreme.' Bernadini draws out various thematic correspondences between particular movements of the sonatas and various parts of Vivaldi's output, while observing a more general Vivaldian flavour to the writing. We might know more but for Dreyer's sudden and unexplained death at the age of 34, 'due to an unfortunate event,' according to the best historical record available. The sonatas may be enjoyed on their own terms, however, as stylish examples of Italian Baroque chamber writing at it's zenith. They are performed here by Bernadini on a copy of a 1730 instrument by Giovanni Maria Anciuti (1674-1744), the most important Italian wind instrument maker of the time. Not only is this the closest available instrument to Dreyer's sonatas in terms of place and date, but it is also one of the few 18th-century oboes to feature the low C sharp, which Dreyer notates at the end of the Fourth Sonata. He is joined by a quartet of fellow Italian period- instrument specialists, who supply a richly varied continuo section. - Domenico Maria Dreyer (ca. 1680 - ca. 1740) was the son of the German tenor Johann Conrad Dreyer, born and raised in Florence. His life was closely linked to that of his younger brother Giovanni Filippo Dreyer, a castrato, impresario and opera composer. The brothers worked for a long time at the courts of Moscow and St. Petersburg and later in Italy. - Six oboe sonatas and two recorder sonatas have survived from his oeuvre. The oboe sonatas are of great musical beauty and stylistically belong to the Venetian High Baroque period of his contemporary Antonio Vivaldi. It is assumed that they were composed around 1725. - Each sonata typically follows a four-movement structure, alternating between slow, lyrical passages and lively, dance-like sections. This format allows for a rich exploration of the oboe's tonal capabilities, from it's warm, mellow low registers to it's bright, penetrating highs. Dreyer's sonatas often feature elaborate ornamentation and intricate melodic lines, demanding both technical proficiency and expressive nuance from the performer. - Played by the famous Italian oboist Alfredo Bernardini (founder of the Zefiro Ensemble) and a continuo group consisting of cello, archlute and harpsichord/organ.

The Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin continues it's PENTATONE Mozart series with the composer's 29th and 33rd symphonies. These works are coupled with his ravishingly beautiful Clarinet Concerto, performed by Ernst Schlader in the original edition for basset clarinet. Schlader, a specialist in historical instruments, has written an essay on the basset clarinet for the album booklet that includes a rare historical image showing the original shape of the instrument used in the years after the concerto's premiere. The first release of this series was longlisted for the Preis der deutschen Schalllplattenkritik. The Akademie fur Alte Musik is generally seen as one of the best period-instruments ensembles of today, and has a substantial Pentatone discography, including CANTATA with Bejun Mehta (2018), Handel's Concerti grossi Op. 3 and 6 (released in 2019 and 2020), Telemann's Miriways (2020), Handel's Messiah (2020), Haydn's L'isola disabitata (2021), La Passione with Christina Landshamer (2022), a recording of Mozart's Paris and Haffner symphonies and Oboe Concerto with Xenia Loffler (2023), and Telemann's Ino (2024).

Addendum! After already 12 CDs comprising the Dopplers' complete music for flute(s), including various arrangements, Flutist and mastermind Claudi Arimany presents additional works he discovered in different libraries after the last release. Arimany spent decades researching this project, inspiring many famous musicians to become involved in it's realization and he close now again another gap in musical history.

A unique combination on record of chamber music by the Swiss composer, surveying the development of his voice and career through the medium of the flute. One of music's late starters, Martin grew up as the tenth child of a Swiss pastor and his wife, surrounded by the music of Bach and Mozart. Only once Ernest Ansermet had founded the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande in 1918 did the 28-year-old Martin begin to discover and become captivated by the sensuality of Debussy and Ravel, and this stylistic dichotomy continued to play out in his own music. Among the most polished and individual of his early works is the set of four love-sonnets composed in 1921 to poems by the 16th-century balladeer Pierre de Ronsard. Already the influence of modernism is apparent on the angular and even ascetic shape of Martin's melodic invention, and yet a gentle, atmospheric mood pervades the cycle; this, too, would become a hallmark of his sound-world. In 1939, Martin began what would become a series of instrumental ballades with the competition piece which is still his best-known work for flute. In the same year, he followed it up with a Ballade for alto saxophone which he then arranged for flute; both works are fine examples of Martin's ability to reconcile serialism with tonality. A neoclassical (or rather, neo-Baroque) spirit infuses the Sonata da Chiesa of 1940 with solemn, Protestant gravity, yet the flute part still sings with the lyricism of the early Sonnets. From after the war, the Trois Chants de Noel (1947) distil the mystery of Christmas into three brief settings of texts by the Swiss poet Albert Rudhardt (1894-1944). A trio of Minnelieder (1961) masterfully strips Martin's language to the bone in a distinctive 'late style', where flute and guitar support and punctuate the sung line with an archaically flavoured modernity. Almost all these works have attracted no more than one or two recordings, but gathered together by these expert Italian musicians, they paint a new and compelling portrait of Martin as a spiritually engaged modernist. - Frank Martin (1890-1974) was a Swiss composer, who lived for most of his life in The Netherlands. Hs oeuvre spans orchestral works, oratorios, and chamber music. Martin's style defies easy categorization, blending elements of neoclassicism, serialism, and Gregorian chant. His vocal works reflect his spiritual depth and musical mastery. - Frank Martin wrote a not a large but a significant number of works for flute, including the Ballade for flute and piano (1939), the Deuxieme Ballade for flute and piano (1939) and the Church Sonata for flute and organ (1941). Of these three, only the Ballade is an original work for flute, as the Deuxieme Ballade and the Church Sonata are the author's transcriptions of earlier scores. Also included in this new recording are works for soprano and instrumental ensemble, featuring flute, oboe, harp, viola and cello. - A fascinating collection of a highly original voice in 20th century music! - Played by Daniele Ruggieri, Monica Bacelli and several excellent Italian instrumentalists.

Mozart's flute concertos are of course a Holy Grail for flutist Francois Lazarevitch, one that he has decided to tackle together with his ensemble Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien in connection with their work on sources of interpretation. He has recorded the two concertos for flute and orchestra on a one-keyed flute, a copy of an instrument made in Mozart's time, and the concerto in C for flute and harp on an eight-keyed flute - a flute with a C foot - with Sandrine Chatron playing a period harp by Francois-Joseph Naderman. As Mozart left no original cadenzas for the flute concertos, Francois Lazarevitch has here created his own, drawing inspiration from the cadenzas Mozart composed for his piano concertos. The Menuets and Gavottes in the final movements are particularly highlighted by the ensemble's expertise in music for dancing: "after a first movement that is a little solemn and a second that is more lyrical, the final movements are often a moment for release in dance," concludes Lazarevitch.

One of Britain's best-known musicians, Nicholas Daniel OBE won the BBC Young Musician competition in 1980, after which he quickly established his career, travelling all over the world, broadcasting widely, and making his debut at the BBC Proms. He has premiered hundreds of works for the oboe and made many critically acclaimed recordings of both new and familiar music. As a soloist he has appeared with the world's leading orchestras, performing a huge range of repertoire and premiering works written specially for him by many of the world's greatest composers. He is a founder member of the Britten Sinfonia, Haffner Wind Ensemble, Orsino Ensemble, and Britten Oboe Quartet. This programme features a wide selection of chamber music by Robert Schumann, alongside the Three Romances by Clara Schumann. At the time these pieces were written, there was a rapidly growing interest in amateur music making in the home, fuelled by a burgeoning middle class. Brahms, Schumann, and Mendelssohn all contributed significantly to the array of works published for this market, and it was quite normal practise for parts to be substituted for whatever instruments happened to be available. So, although the Three Romances, Op. 94 are the only works here originally composed for the oboe, the programme is not only musically rewarding in it's own right, but also in keeping with what the Schumanns would have considered normal practise.

It may be a cliche to write of the clarity of Gallic writing for the flute - the kind of elegance found in the music of composers like Debussy, Faure, Gaubert, Jolivet, Messiaen and Taffanel - but French music for flute does indeed have a sound of it's own. The flute works of Nicolas Bacri, born in Paris in 1961, uphold the proud tradition of his predecessors with textures of crystalline transparency and poised, almost weightless, melodic lines - and reserves of sardonic bite and freewheeling energy as required.

Late 18th century Italian composer Luigi Boccherini produced a vast catalogue of compositions, several of which were chamber works featuring the flute. Australian flautist Sally Walker, whose first appearance on AVIE was in collaboration with harpist Emily Granger on the album Something Like This, has taken a deep dive into the provenance of Boccherini's works for her instrument to produce a 90-minute, 2-for-the-price-of-one volume of music that is infinitely elegant, virtuosic and beautifully refined. The relatively rare yet imaginative Six Quintets, Op. 19, for two violins, flute, viola and cello vary in their configuration, some intimate, others on a grander scale reminiscent of the composer's orchestral music. Also included are the first "Divertimento Notturno" from the Sextet, Op. 38 for violin, viola, bassoon, flute, horn and double bass; and, as a "bonus" the Quintet G.443 for flute, oboe, violin, viola and cello, a work attributed to Boccherini. Although it's authorship is contested, as Sally says, "it is such a beautiful work that we wanted to include it anyway."

Vivaldi was one of the first composers to focus on the transverse flute as a viable solo instrument, and he may have even been the first to dedicate a whole publication to the flute family. His Opus 10 was published by Michel-Charles Le Cene in around 1728, though in reality many of the works in the collection were revised versions of earlier compositions, with Vivaldi capitalising on the popularity of the flute and rewriting material previously used for other instruments. Adding descriptive elements to the movement names, often connected to natural phenomena - such as 'La tempesta del mare' - was another way of boosting sales, something the composer had already discovered with his publication of The Four Seasons some years earlier. Vivaldi wrote over 500 concertos during his lifetime, and his expertise in this field is particularly evident in the exchanges between the ritornello and the orchestral tutti: while the ensemble comes together perfectly in the tutti, the soloist is really given a chance to fly in the soaring ritornelli, showcasing the instrument to it's fullest. Performing these works is Italian flautist Mario Folena, principal flautist of the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto since 1982. He has previously collaborated with many prominent ensembles, including I Solisti Veneti and I Filarmonici di Verona, and is a respected teacher of the Baroque flute, having given summer courses at the Fondazione Cini in Venice and the conservatoires of Padova and Parma. He is joined by L'Arte dell'Arco, led from the front by violinist Federico Guglielmo, whose exuberant and thoroughly researched Vivaldi performances have previously garnered high praise. - The LP version of one of the most successful Vivaldi recordings in the Brilliant Classics catalogue. - Vivaldi's six Concertos for flute Op.10 nearly attain the same popularity as the Four Seasons. Published in Amsterdam in 1728 they contain some of Vivaldi's most famous concertos: Il Gardellino, La Notte and the Tempesta di Mare. Music of wonderful invention, drama, tone painting and instrumental virtuosity. - Played on original instruments by soloist Mario Folena, a pupil of Jean-Pierre Rampal and Rene Clemencic, principal flutist of the famous Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, and veteran of the Historically Informed Performance Practice. Federico Guglielmo leads his ensemble l'Arte del'Arco, lifelong champions of the Red Priest from Venice. - Performance is based on the new Critical Edition of Vivaldi's works, revealing many new details and insights.

18th-century sonatas by a pair of musical brothers, in stylish historically informed performances from 1994. Very little music by the brothers Groneman is known in modern times beyond the pieces on this album, which have survived simply because of their popularity with flautists of their day. Pleasing both to hear and to play, these sonatas exert an additional fascination today for the insights they give into the taste and technique of the 18th-century flautist. Johannes Albertus Groneman (c.1708-1781) and Johannes Fredericus Groneman (1711-1778) were both probably born in Cologne, where their father was a military-band musician. Albertus developed his skill as a violinist beyond mere proficiency, and left to ply his trade as a jobbing musician in what is now the Netherlands. Having settled in Leiden around 1731, he wrote virtuosic pieces for violin and flute which proved popular enough to be published and republished in London and Paris. He performed throughout Holland, and then moved from Leiden to The Hague, where he was awarded a lucrative and coveted position as church organist. This career of steady accomplishment and gathering renown came to a sudden and tragic end in 1756 when he was committed to an asylum, where he lived out his days in penury. Meanwhile Fredericus is a much more shadowy figure to us: the three books of his flute sonatas listed in contemporary publishers' catalogues have disappeared, as have any details of his life and career. Of his gifts as a musician, there can be no doubt, to judge from the sonatas presented here, showing as they do an up-to-date knowledge of the latest musical trends set by masters such as Tartini and Geminiani, and yet display an expressive style entirely their own. Likewise, the two flute duets by Albertus Groneman demonstrate why his music proved to be so popular during his lifetime: they are in turn gracious, surprising, virtuosic and sweetly-singing, and display the full range of the flute's possibilities. Like Telemann's duets of the same period, they are full of fantasy and.wit and testify not only to the worthiness of their creator, but also to the taste of the 18th century flutist who loved them so well. Originally issued on the Dutch label NM Classics, this reissue restores a valuable window into the vibrant culture of chamber music in 18th-century Holland, performed by specialists in the field. - Johannes Albertus Groneman (baptized 1711-1778) and his brother Johannes Fredericus were born in Hamm (Germany) into a musical family. They enjoyed an education typical of musician's sons in the 18th century, learning from their father the trade, playing several instruments and instructed in composition, harmony and singing. Through his teacher Carl Rosier Albertus was introduced in the Netherlands, where he settled in Utrecht in 1729, later moving to Leiden. It is during this Leiden period that most of Groneman's music which survived, and indeed probably all of the music of this recording, was composed. Upon his arrival in the famous university town, Groneman was able to establish himself with ease in the highest social circles, enjoying the friendship and patronage of patricians and professors, while wealthy merchants and musicians of international repute became godparents to his children. He bought a Stradivarius violin and an especially beautiful harpsichord made by famous Flemish harpsichord maker Ruckers. He published virtuoso music for violin and flute which proved popular enough to be published and republished in London and Paris. - The Flute Sonatas consist of three movements, brilliant allegros framing a melancholy and moving andante full of bold harmonies. The style is gracious and sweetly-singing, displaying the full range of the flute's brilliant possibilities. - Performed by Jed Wentz, a pioneer in the performance practice of notably French Baroque music for his instrument. His many recordings for Brilliant Classics (J.S. Bach and C.P.E. Bach, Blavet, Couperin, Boismortier, Braun, Roman) have established him as one of the foremost interpreters in this field. - Recorded in 1994, a reissue from the NM Classics catalogue, the label for music from the Netherlands.

The oboe quartet W.B. 60 No.1 by Bach's youngest son, Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782), is no longer baroque at all, despite the musical education he received from his father and older brother Wilhelm Friedemann. His music thrives on sparkling melodies and an accompaniment bursting with ideas, which gives each instrument in his quartet compositions a high degree of independence and charming solos. Mozart's oboe quartet also reflects the new, virtuoso possibilities of the elegant and sensitive classical oboe and combines them with the lyrical sound of the strings. The fact that we know little music by Johann Baptist Wanhal (1739-1813) today does not do justice to the extensive oeuvre of this composer, who was successful during his lifetime. Born in Bohemia and died in Vienna, Wanhal was one of the most progressive musical personalities of his time. The last piece on this recording, Mozart's Adagio K. 580a in a version for cor anglais and strings, exists only as a fragment and shares thematic material with K. 618, Ave Verum Corpus, which was written in 1791, six months before Mozart's death, and which is thought to anticipate elements of the Requiem.

The flute concertos by Jacques Ibert, Andre Jolivet and Joaquin Rodrigo together embody a distinctive musical heritage written for the flute in the twentieth century, exploring the instrument's limits. These works are now heard together for the first time on one album. Flautist Sami Junnonen is joined by the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra under the direction of conductor James S. Kahane. The album features Ibert's 'Concerto for flute and orchestra', which is now considered to be one of the most esteemed concertos in the flute repertoire; Jolivet's virtuosic and rarely-recorded 'Concerto for flute and string orchestra'; and Rodrigo's 'Concierto pastoral for flute and orchestra', which has gained a formidable reputation among flautists for it's exceptional technical requirements.

Antonio Vivaldi's musical production for bassoon comprises no less than thirty-nine solo concertos. Within the musical landscape of it's time, this impressive musical legacy stands out like the silhouette of a mountain shrouded in mystery. If we consider that in Italy there is almost no evidence of the bassoon being used in the solo form after the 1680s, Vivaldi's contribution acquires a significance that is both extraordinary and enigmatic. When and for which events were his concertos composed and performed? And also, for which performers was such a vast, original and technically demanding production intended? It is not easy to find an answer to such questions. The composer's renewed interest in this instrument must have then derived from an encounter with a first-rate virtuoso, someone whose talent helped to stimulate the creation of an original repertoire, characterised by an extremely high technical and qualitative standard. These were definitely performers who were able to work in close contact with the composer over a sufficiently long period of time. Indeed, Vivaldi's writing was influenced and modelled on their technical skills, as testified by the eight concertos included in this recording.