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Allegro Io Son / Brownlee, Orbelian

Delos

$18.99 Sep 09, 2016

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee is largely considered by critics and audiences alike to be the world’s leading bel canto tenor. His previous release on Delos was an enchanting array of Rossini arias which garnered him a Grammy nomination. Brownlee has a rich and varied repertoire, which is evident on this release. He has mixed standards such as Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, and L’elisir d’amore and Bellinis’ I Puritani with lesser-performed pieces like Donizetti’s Rita and La Favorite. For this release, as in his previous, Brownlee is joined by Lithuania’s Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra and the Kaunas State Choir. The brilliant interpretations and sensitive reading from conductor Constantine Orbelian lend themselves beautifully to Brownlee’s impeccable voice.

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REVIEW:

The tenor’s renown owes much to his breathtaking flair for executing Rossinian fiorature, but the expansive melodic lines of Vincenzo Bellini and the dramatic bel canto of Gaetano Donizetti are equally apt outlets for Brownlee’s prodigious gifts. Avoiding the forcing that compromises many singers’ endeavors in this repertory, Brownlee’s singing on Allegro io son possesses an evenness spanning the full range that, though perhaps easier to control in the recording studio than in the theatre, cannot be faked. As with the sincerity of his expression, the authenticity of his vocalism is remarkable, especially as it is employed in the performances on this disc.

– Voix des Arts

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Allegro Io Son / Brownlee, Orbelian
Delos Sep 2016
CD
$18.99

Octet Op. 17, Quintet, Allegro
Kontrapunkt Sep 1992
CD
$22.99

Alfonso Rendano: Piano Concerto, Allegro in A minor

Dynamic

$16.99 Sep 19, 2025

Alfonso Rendano was at the forefront of Italy's instrumental composition renaissance in the late 19th-century but remains less well known than his near-contemporaries Giovanni Sgambati and Giuseppe Martucci. He was also a prominent pianist who performed with the illustrious violinist Joseph Joachim. The rhapsodic Piano Concerto, recorded here for the first time in it's original edition, was premiered in a version for two pianos in which the composer was joined by Franz Liszt who called it 'a vigorous, remarkable work, one I greatly appreciate'. The Allegro in A minor was rediscovered in 1969 and dates from Rendano's artistic maturity. The Piano Concerto is performed in Vito Cristofaro's edition and performed by him with Rendano's leading contemporary exponent, Daniela Roma.

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Alfonso Rendano: Piano Concerto, Allegro in A minor
Dynamic Sep 2025
CD
$16.99

Elgar, E.: Introduction and Allegro / Symphony No. 2
Halle Sep 2008
CD
$20.99

Elgar: Enigma Variations, In the South & Introduction and Allegro / Norrington, Stuttgart Radio Symphony

SWR

$9.99 Aug 10, 2018

British conductor Sir Roger Norrington lends impressive insight into three masterpieces by the great British composer Edward Elgar. The programme comprises Elgar's ever-popular "Enigma Variations", the thrilling overture "In the South,” and the refined sounds of his Introduction and Allegro for string quartet and string orchestra. Roger Norrington’s work on scores, on sound, on orchestra size, seating and playing style, has had a profound effect on the way 19th century music is now perceived and, not surprisingly, he is in great demand by symphony orchestras world-wide. He works regularly with orchestras in Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg, Amsterdam, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and London. He is Chief Conductor of the Radio Sinfonie Orchester in Stuttgart and of the Camerata Academica in Salzburg. He is closely associated with the London Philharmonic and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment which has, since January 1997, taken over the work of the London Classical Players.

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Elgar: Enigma Variations, In the South & Introduction and Allegro / Norrington, Stuttgart Radio Symphony
SWR Aug 2018
CD
$9.99

STRING QUARTETS INTRODUCTION & ALLEGRO SONATA FOR
ALTO Feb 2016
CD
$11.01

PRELUDE, ALLEGRO, AND PASTORAL
Centaur Records Jun 2003
CD
$18.99

ADAGIO & ALLEGRO

HYPERION

$18.49 May 08, 2012

With this new volume in their ongoing Romantic Violin Concerto series, Hyperion proudly announces a new collaboration with the brilliant young British violinist Chloe Hanslip, the former child prodigy famously signed to Warner Classics at the age of just fourteen. Here, she lends her now mature talents to the second release in Hyperion's overview of Vieuxtemps' Violin Concertos. Henry Vieuxtemps (1820-1881) was a French violin virtuoso who, after the death of Paganini, was widely considered to be the best violinist in Europe. Besides being a brilliant player, he was a remarkably fine composer, as demonstrated in these, his first two concertos. Alongside the memorable violin fireworks, Vieuxtemps here shows a well-argued musical sensibility that straddles both the Classical and Romantic eras as well as the ability to write gorgeous, almost operatic slow movements in the best bel-canto tradition.

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ADAGIO & ALLEGRO
HYPERION May 2012
CD
$18.49

Zador: Aria and Allegro - 5 Contrasts - Children's Symphony

Naxos

$19.99 May 29, 2012

Eugene Zádor was a remarkable colorist and orchestrator whose Hollywood film work was extensive. He described himself as a 'middle of the road extremist'. The Aria and Allegro is a beautifully crafted work brimming with rhythmic energy. Five Contrasts for Orchestra demonstrates his rich sound world at it's most vibrant; film noir jostling with a big-booted country dance. The lighter a Children's Symphony is one of his most popular pieces - communicative, witty, accessible. We also hear two small and captivating evocations of his native Hungary. Mariusz Smolij is a founding member of the Penderecki String Quartet, former artistic director of the Lutosawski Wrocaw Philharmonic and International Festival Wratislavia Cantans, Poland, and currently serves as Music Director of the Acadiana Symphony in Louisiana and Riverside Symphonia in New Jersey.

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Zador: Aria and Allegro - 5 Contrasts - Children's Symphony
Naxos May 2012
CD
$19.99

Karlowicz: Symphonic Poems - Chopin: Allegro De Concert / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Grzegorz Nowak

DUX

$21.99 Oct 16, 2020

This album includes three symphonic poems by one of the greatest Polish symphonic musicians, pianist Konrad Binienda, performed by pianist Konrad Binienda and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Grzegorz Nowak. In addition, the album features Allegro de concert, Op. 46 by Fryderyk Chopin in Konrad Binienda’s original arrangement. Mieczyslaw Karlowicz is currently most often associated with songs and symphonic poems. Although the musical language of the Polish artist, who died an untimely death, can undoubtedly be considered universal (evidenced by his solo piano compositions, plenty of ingenious harmonic solutions, yet rarely performed now), it was on the basis of the symphony that he mastered his compositional technique. As the pianist himself points out, his version of the Allegro de Concert, unlike many others, is based solely on the principles of the Chopin orchestration. The recording was made during a concert of the Orchestra in the concert hall of the Lodz Philharmonic.

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Karlowicz: Symphonic Poems - Chopin: Allegro De Concert / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Grzegorz Nowak
DUX Oct 2020
CD
$21.99

Holst: The Planets; Elgar: Introduction and Allegro, Salut d

SOMM Recordings

$20.99 Sep 19, 2025

SOMM Recordings is thrilled to collaborate once again with the Tessa Uys and Ben Schoeman piano duo following their highly praised six-volume recording of the nine symphonies by Beethoven arranged for piano duet by Xaver Scharwenka-about which International Piano says, "These readings afford unmitigated pleasure... The articulation and voicing of the players persuades us into thinking we're in the middle of an unleashed virtuoso orchestra." Now, these award-winning South African-born artists present music for two pianos and piano duet from their adopted country, highlighting works by Gustav Holst and Edward Elgar. In the early 1910s, Holst became interested in astrology, and he conceived the idea of a suite for orchestra based on the solar system's individual planets. Originally, he composed The Planets on the piano, using the instrument in his newly-built, sound-proofed room in the music wing at St Paul's Girls School as well as the piano at his home in Thaxted. This version for four hands, two pianos was scored by two of his colleagues at St Paul's, Vally Lasker and Nora Day, who acted as amanuenses, because Holst suffered intermittently from painful neuritis in his right hand. Following the resounding success of the orchestrated version of The Planets, the original piano duet score was overlooked, though it was eventually published separately in 1949-51. In 1979, Holst's daughter, Imogen, reissued the complete two-piano arrangement in one volume, and Tessa Uys and Ben Schoeman perform this version here. Elgar's renown was such that, at the height of his fame, several established musicians were commissioned by publishers to make piano transcriptions of his orchestral music. This was no mean feat, given that Elgar's scores are scrupulously marked as to how he wanted every phrase-sometimes even every bar or note within that phrase-to be played. It was the composer, arranger, and conductor, Otto Singer II, who made the transcription for piano four-hands of Elgar's 1905 Introduction and Allegro, scored originally for solo string quartet and string orchestra. Singer's insight and skill are evident in techniques like transferring string double-stopping to spread keyboard chords, and his piano four-hands version is admirably true to Elgar's evolving contrapuntal and harmonic ideas. In Victorian England, the marriage of a tradesman's son to the daughter of a Major-General in the British Army, who was eight years his senior, might not have appeared a perfect match. Yet, the marriage of Edward Elgar and Caroline Alice Roberts turned out to be a love-match. In 1888, as a wedding present, Edward presented to Carice, as he called her, Salut d'Amour. This enduring melody has inspired numerous arrangements for widely varying instrumental combinations, including this one for piano duet.

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Holst: The Planets; Elgar: Introduction and Allegro, Salut d
SOMM Recordings Sep 2025
CD
$20.99

Handel: L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato

Signum Classics

$27.99 Jun 09, 2015

Following in their series of Gramophone Award and BBC Music Magazine Award winning recordings, Gabrieli's first Handel recording in over a decade is particularly special - recreating in painstaking detail the very first performance of L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, given in 1740, with additional instrumental repertoire including a Handel organ concerto and two concerti grossi. With a reputation as peerless Handelians, Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort & players bring meticulous research to every performance and recording project, and are joined on this disc by a stunning selection of soloists.

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Handel: L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
Signum Classics Jun 2015
CD
$27.99

Handel: L'allegro Il Penseroso Ed Il Moderato / Morris Dance Group [blu-ray]

BelAir Classiques

Blu-Ray

$36.99 May 26, 2015

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Choreographer Mark Morris garnered international fame for "L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato", considered a landmark achievement, and set to Handel's Baroque masterpiece, in which a colorful array of dancers embody the ecstasy of art that transforms. "L'Allegro" was Mark Morris's premiere work as Director of Dance at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, Belgium in 1988, and in the intervening years, has been performed to critical and audience acclaim all over the world. Winner of numerous awards including a Laurence Olivier Award, "L'Allegro" uses Milton's text and features sets inspired by William Blake's later watercolors. Founded in NYC in 1980, the Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) is considered one of the preeminent modern dance companies, its members praised repeatedly for their technique and musicality. Live music and community engagement are vital components of the Dance Group, which has toured with its own musicians, the MMDG Music Ensemble, since 1996. Through Access/MMDG programming, the Dance Group provides educational opportunities in dance and music to people of all ages and abilities while on tour internationally and at home at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn, NY. The performance was filmed July 2014 at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain.

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Handel: L'allegro Il Penseroso Ed Il Moderato / Morris Dance Group [blu-ray]
BelAir Classiques May 2015
Blu-Ray
$36.99

HANDEL: L'ALLEGRO IL PENSEROSO ED IL MODERATO

HARMONIA MUNDI

$21.99 Jun 23, 2023

A hybrid work between oratorio, ode and serenata, L'Allegro is undoubtedly one of Handel's most mysterious works, but also his most inspired. With their accustomed poetry, William Christie and Les Arts Florissants offer us the chance to rediscover this masterpiece, in which the composer transforms metaphysics into painting and ideas into pure emotions.

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HANDEL: L'ALLEGRO IL PENSEROSO ED IL MODERATO
HARMONIA MUNDI Jun 2023
CD
$21.99

Satie: Piano Works / Hao

Naxos

$13.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 30% Nov 09, 2018

Satie’s personal eccentricities have never masked the fact that his music was both revolutionary and anticipatory of later artistic movements, principally Minimalism, Surrealism and Theatre of the Absurd. His piano music offers a perfect distillation of these elements. The Allegro is his earliest known work, offering his first use of quotations, a favored device. The extended pieces Le Fils des etoiles and uspud derive from incidental music, glorying in parodic and grotesque scenes, while his ‘humoristic’ phase of the 1910s is explored in Cinq Grimaces. Only Satie could attempt to fuse a fugue with a waltz, as he does in the Fugue-valse. Duanduan Hao was born in China in 1990. He began his piano lessons when he was four and by the age of six was already drawing attention to his precocious ability. He then studied in Shanghai and in Paris, going on to win many prizes in international piano competitions. He currently lives in New York and studies at The Juilliard School and Columbia University.

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Satie: Piano Works / Hao
Naxos Nov 2018
CD
~~$19.99~~ $13.99

We Are Here

Navona

$16.99 Sep 19, 2025

CORO ALLEGRO: WE ARE HERE is a stirring choral album that amplifies voices of resistance, resilience, and remembrance. Featuring Kareem Roustom's Rage Against the tyrant(s) and Eric Banks' Aluta Continua: The Passion of David Kato Kisule, this collection weaves together protest chants, poetry, and sacred texts to confront oppression and honor those who fight for justice. With performances by Coro Allegro under the direction of David Hodgkins and a constellation of guest artists, CORO ALLEGRO: WE ARE HERE is a call to action, an evocative tribute to the power of music to bear witness and inspire change.

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We Are Here
Navona Sep 2025
CD
$16.99

STRING QUARTETS K421, 428, 465

LAWO Classics

$18.99 Mar 15, 2019

On this recording, the Engegard Quartet present three of Mozart’s six string quartets dedicated to Haydn, the so-called “Haydn” Quartets. The six “Haydn” Quartets were written between 1782 and 1785, while Mozart enjoyed great popularity in Vienna. Mozart had written a series of quartets in his youth, but it had been almost ten years since he wrote the last one. With the “Haydn” Quartets he makes quite different demands on himself, the musicians, and the audience. The structure is not so surprising- here we find fast first movements in what is today called sonata-allegro form, singable slow movements, minuets with trios, and often finale-rondos. But what he fills them with woke Haydn’s admiration and now awakens ours. Haydn’s admiration for his colleague 24 years his junior was expressed through the following words aimed at Mozart’s father Leopold: “I tell you by God as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer I know in person or by name; he has taste and furthermore the greatest compositional knowledge.” Haydn supposedly uttered this after having heard three of the quartets at a house concert at Mozart’s residence, where both Wolfgang and Leopold most likely contributed.

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STRING QUARTETS K421, 428, 465
LAWO Classics Mar 2019
CD
$18.99

Schumann: Cello Concerto, Adagio & Allegro, Fantasiestucke / Yo-Yo Ma

Sony Masterworks

$11.98 Jul 10, 2012

In the Cello Concerto Yo-Yo Ma's playing is characteristically refined, but keenly affectionate too... both he and Sir Colin Davis are thoroughly attuned to the sensibility of this composer and the recording balance is excellent.

-- Penguin Guide [2003/4 edition]
reviewing the Cello Concerto previously released as Sony 89716

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Schumann: Cello Concerto, Adagio & Allegro, Fantasiestucke / Yo-Yo Ma
Sony Masterworks Jul 2012
CD
$11.98

Allegri: Miserere

Gramola Records

SACD

$23.99 Nov 11, 2014

In its latest project, the Chorus sine nomine, one of Austria’s leading choirs, under its director Johannes Hiemetsberger, has turned to a very special work: the Miserere by Gregorio Allegri in an arrangement for saxophone and three choirs a cappella by Vladimir Ivanoff. + The setting of the 51st Psalm from the 1630s, which is uniquely captivating due to its simplicity, was a fixed component of the liturgy of Easter week in the Sixtine Chapel in Rome for over 250 years and soon achieved cult status because of the high penalties on its ‘pirate copy’.

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Allegri: Miserere
Gramola Records Nov 2014
SACD
$23.99

HAYDN: Symphonies, Vol. 8 (Nos. 23, 24, 61)

Naxos

$19.99 Jun 01, 1994

Symphonies Nos. 23 and 24 were written in 1764 for performance before Prince Nikolaus at Eisenstadt, where the Esteráhzy palace boasted a reception hall that could have held some four hundred people, although such numbers would not have been present at w hat was a purely domestic entertainment for the Prince, members of his family and entourage, and his guests. These symphonies form part of a group of eight symphonies written in 1764 and 1765. Symphony No. 23 in G major opens with a triple time Allegro, a lively and cheerful movement. It is followed by a slow movement scored for strings. To this the use of suspensions adds an element of poignancy, as the momentary discords are resolved. The Menuet is a canon between upper and lower parts, with a Trio that has motivic connections with the Menuet that frames it. The last movement makes use of dynamic contrasts, ending with a reduction of volume, instead of the expected emphatic conclusion. In Symphony No.24 in D major Haydn shows once more his ability to produce, even at this early stage of his career as a composer, music of infinite variety and invention, within existing formal limitations. The opening Allegro makes initial use of the wind and string timbres available in a sonata-allegro movement that has it's moments of stronger feeling in the central development. The slow movement makes use of the flute in apart apparently written for the Esterházy flautist Franz Sigl, for whom Haydn also wrote a flute concerto, now lost. Here he exploits the abilities of the player, allowing him a brief cadenza. The following Menuet is repeated after a Trio in which the flute again has apart to play. The two oboes of the orchestra return for a final movement of dramatic contrasts. Symphony No. 61 in D major belongs to a slightly later period of Haydn's life. It was written in 1776, at a time when Prince Nikolaus Esterházy's interests in theatre and opera predominated, with visiting theatre-troupes working at Esterháza and a marionette theatre established there in 1773. Haydn provided music for operas on special occasions, but the seasonal presence of actors and the requirements of the marionette theatre involved the provision of incidental music for a variety of German plays, including translations of Shakespeare. Although the material Symphony No. 61 cannot be directly associated with any of the plays known to have been performed at Esterházy, it belongs to a group of symphonies that do make use of incidental music originally intended to accompany drama. These include Symphony No. 60, Il distratto, using music for Jean François Regnard's play Le distrait and Symphony No. 63, La Roxelane, with music composed for Favart's Les trois sultanes. The vigorous opening Vivace of Symphony No. 61 is followed by a moving Adagio and a cheerful Menuet, with the customary repetition after a contrasting Trio. There is a particularly theatrical final movement that seems to tell it's own story.

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HAYDN: Symphonies, Vol. 8 (Nos. 23, 24, 61)
Naxos Jun 1994
CD
$19.99

BEETHOVEN SYM NO.3 EROICA & NO.8 OP.93

ALTO

$11.49 Oct 20, 2017

dark and intense Eroica, with urgent allegros... The LSO responds with bite and refinement. Excellent bargain (Penguin 3 stars) "Fiery, noble, and imposing was how I described Wyn Morris' earlier recording... and this remake has those qualities and even finer playing and modern recording. [I had dubbed Morris our Celtic Furtwangler, a phrase that later appeared in adverts!]... but the fact remains, Morris knows his Beethoven and conducts it (like Burton speaking Shakespeare) with an ardour and love of tonal splendour that is close to that old revered school of German interpretation: closer than anything we are likely to get nowadays" (Gramophone)

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BEETHOVEN SYM NO.3 EROICA & NO.8 OP.93
ALTO Oct 2017
CD
$11.49

Allegri: Miserere / The Sixteen

Coro

$18.99 May 01, 2003

The haunting tones of Allegri's Miserere are unique and instantly recognizable even to those who know little sacred choral music. Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli is certainly his best known work. Along with his Stabat Mater it combines exquisite contrapuntal poise with a translucent setting of the words, whereby music and text complement each other to the detriment of neither. The chromaticism and blossoming cadences of Lotti's eight part Crucifixus have made it a work loved by both choirs and listeners.

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Allegri: Miserere / The Sixteen
Coro May 2003
CD
$18.99

Beethoven: Archduke Trio - Kakadu Variations - Allegretto, WoO 39
Naxos Jun 1994
CD
$19.99

Kuhlau: Piano Sonatinas Op 55 & 88 / Jeno Jandó

Naxos

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Jun 24, 2008

Some delightful piano works in the spirit of Haydn and Mozart.

This release marks another disc in the lengthening series of Kuhlau’s compositions on Naxos.

Kuhlau, born in 1786 to a musician with the German Army, began his musical education in Lüneburg with piano, and also began to compose at that time. Around 1800 he studied with C. F. G. Schwenke, the man who succeeded C. P. E. Bach in the position as Hamburg Stadtkantor. By 1804, Kuhlau was in the process of launching his career as a pianist in earnest. Blind in one eye since childhood, Kuhlau fled to Copenhagen under an alias to avoid mandatory military service; his half-blindness evidently did not compel the authorities to exempt him. He eventually became a naturalised citizen of Denmark and established his base there for the rest of his life.

Known to this reviewer primarily for his compositions for flute — various discs have been released recently of his flute sonatas and trios on Naxos and other labels. Kuhlau also produced a number of other pieces, primarily for chamber ensembles.

The works on offer on the present disc are short and charming, with most movements lasting no longer than three minutes. Jandó does right, I think, in keeping the performances simple and straightforward. The object of these pieces is not to impress or give a listener a good deal of food for thought. These are meant primarily to entertain. They are likely to be familiar to piano students worldwide. There isn’t much here that would surprise the listener, but there are a few moments of particular interest, such as the unexpected similarity of the opening movement of the Sonatina in A minor, Op. 88 No. 3 to Beethoven’s 1810 Für Elise. Another standout is the opening Allegro maestoso of the Op. 55 No. 6 Sonatina in C which, with its length of just over seven minutes, allows for a bit more mulling over of its thematic material.

The recording aesthetic for this disc is just what one would expect from Naxos: warm ambience without losing presence or definition. Jandó gives these pieces a clean and clear performance. Quite a pleasant disc for casual listening.

-- David Blomenberg, MusicWeb International

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Kuhlau: Piano Sonatinas Op 55 & 88 / Jeno Jandó
Naxos Jun 2008
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Alfano: Complete String Quartets

Naxos

$19.99 Aug 25, 2023

Known more widely as a composer of operas, Franco Alfano also composed a body of chamber music including the three string quartets heard here in world premiere recordings.

String Quartet No. 1 in D major was composed during the First World War between 1914 and 1918. The String Quartet No. 2 in C major In Tre Tempi Collegati, composed in 1925–26, is a smaller scale work than the first, and mostly much more tonal in harmonic structure. The String Quartet No. 3 in G minor was written in 1945 and premiered in Rome on 28 November 1947.

The Quartet comprises violinists Elmira Darvarova and Mary Ann Mumm, violist Craig Mumm and cellist Samuel Magill. The same ensemble can also be heard on the acclaimed Naxos album of Alfano’s Violin Sonata and Piano Quintet (8.572753). Alfano's Cello Sonata and Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano can be heard on 8.570928.

REVIEW:

The first two quartets date from a period that reached from the Great War to the mid-1920s. The opening of the String Quartet No. 1 is a Vivacissimo but the word stands feebly in the face of the torrid, angular tumult that is the first movement. An implacably melodious and fluently flowing Calmo was written as a memorial to his son who died while serving in the Italian military. It is followed by a Largo-Allegro Deciso. The first particle of this movement is a short extension of the mood of its predecessor but soon says a dry-eyed farewell with writing that is, at first, long on a tungsten determination. This is clearly relished by these four players. The music ends with a noble determination that seems to speak of a will to hold it together.

The tonality of the String Quartet No. 2 is placed under less stress than the First Quartet although it is by no means facile listening. It feels inventive. The second movement is marked ‘like a children’s song’. It is a delicate Thumbelina dance of a blossom. The final ‘danse villageoise’ accelerates all the way through.

The 1940s dealt blows to Alfano: much of his music was destroyed in the bombing of Turin and his wife died in 1943. It comes as little surprise that the writing of the first movement of the Third Quartet pierces a path into melancholy. Misty-eyed happiness is recalled but clearly it is not to be experienced again. Joy of a sort is grasped in the next movement, tipping over into the melodic complexity of the powerful Allegro finale. Alfano’s final String Quartet had a Rome premiere in 1947.

The CD’s notes could hardly be more needful – and incidentally meeting that need – when the music is otherwise unknown to all but a few. They are by the disc’s cellist, Samuel Magill. The performances are wondrously fervent, hot-house products. The sound is at your throat, heated and upon you with tiger-like ferocity.

-- MusicWeb International (Rob Barnett)

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Alfano: Complete String Quartets
Naxos Aug 2023
CD
$19.99