Reinecke, Busoni, Nielsen: Flute Concertos

Aurele Nicolet [Reinecke Concerto] is even more so and he is memorably poetic in the Lento. The Nielsen Concerto is of a different calibre altogether: there is no finer twentieth-century large scale-work for the flute. Its wholly personal atmosphere is undoubtedly haunting. Nicolet not only plays with superb bravura, but catches the music's individual character admirably.

The surprise here is the Busoni, a miniature, only nine minutes long and written in 1920, six years before the Nielsen. Its quixotic changes of mood are a delight and they are superbly realized by the fine partnership between soloist and conductor, with the Leipzig orchestra creating deliciously vivid woodwind detail. 

I enjoyed this collection greatly. It is very well balanced and superbly recorded, though perhaps the ambience is a fraction too resonant, which means that the CD, splendid though it is, does not add a great deal to the LP or tape except, of course, the background silence. This has already been put down for inclusion in my 1986 ''Critics' Choice'' and I urge readers to try it. In whichever format chosen, it is immensely rewarding. -- Ivan March, Gramophone

MP3 320 · 108 MB