Busoni: Clarinet Concertino & Flute Divertimento

"This very well played selection of rarely heard orchestral works moves chronologically through Busoni's career...As so often with Busoni, the mix of styles is baffling."
(The Guardian)

"[Eine Lustspielouverture] contains some of the happiest music I know...Giammarco Casani and Laura Minguzzi respectively execute their parts superbly and as well as any of their many rivals over the years."
(Gramophone)

All six of these orchestral works exemplify Busoni's personalised classicism. The Lustspielouvertüre (Comedy Overture) is light, and almost Mozartian in clarity, whilst Gesang vom Reigen der Geister (Song of the Spirit Dance) is a delicately scored chamber piece, forward-looking in both style and content. Both the Concertino for Clarinet and the Flute Divertimento reveal Busoni's affinity for solo instruments; the former is deftly organised and the latter more obviously capricious. The spirit of Johann Strauss II haunts the infectious Tanzwalzer and the Rondò arlecchinesco unleashes Busoni's broadsides of wit.