Donizetti: Double Concerto · Flute & Clarinet Concertos

Penguin Guide - Rosette Winner

While generally known only as a composer of operas, Gaetano Donizetti in fact also composed a great many other works, totalling more than 600. This anthology of instrumental concertos demonstrates that Donizetti’s command of the exquisite vocal line was not confined to his operas and that he could also write in a carefree, infectiously Rossinian vein. On its first appearance on the Marco Polo label, this recording was described by The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs as “a collection which will give great and repeated pleasure”.

We already know the Concertino for Cor Anglais, which is played here with a delectable timbre and a nice feeling for light and shade. The Clarinet Concertino brings a touch of melancholy to its opening cantilena, yet the finale chortles. The Flute Concertino also opens with an eloquent aria, but the closing rondo is irrepressibly light-hearted, with an infectiously carefree, Rossinian wit. The Oboe Concertino has a vigorous hunting finale, played here with bouncing zest. 

The Double Concertino, in three movements, is the most ambitious work. In short, all these concertos are most winning, as elegant as they are inventive, and all the expert soloists (several of whom seem to be interrelated) smilingly convey the music’s Italian sunshine. The Concertos are framed by two contrasting Sinfonias. Both are played very persuasively, and throughout the collection László Kovács and his Budapest chamber orchestra provide supportive and stylish accompaniments. The recording could hardly be bettered, and the result is a collection which will give great and repeated pleasure. Now at Naxos price it is a great bargain. --Penguin Guide, January 2009