Reza Vali Flute Concerto Deylaman

Orchid Classics presents one of two releases showcasing winners of the Carl Nielsen Competition 2019. Praised by Bachtrack for the “subtle elegance” and “luminous joy” of her performances, French flautist Joséphine Olech trained with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Academy and is currently principal flute of the Rotterdam Philharmonic. For her first concerto recording with the Odense Symphony Orchestra and conductor Anna Skryleva, Joséphine Olech chose a trio of 20th-century works reflecting countries with which she feels a personal connection as an artist: Nielsen’s beautiful, witty Flute Concerto (1926); the scintillating Flute Concerto No. 1 (1902) by Dutch composer Theodor Verhey, and Jean Françaix’s dazzling Flute Concerto of 1966.

Rosetti’s symphonies, concertos, chamber works, oratorios, and masses exceed 400 in number; more than half of these were published in the composer’s lifetime. He was praised and rightly so, I might add as one of the most popular composers of the period. His music displays a strong sense of form, contrapuntal finesse, adventurous chromaticism, and imaginative instrumentation. His scores were further commended by his lyrical talent and frequent flashes of humor. But Rosetti was not without his musical faults.

Giulio Briccialdi (1818-1881) was from an early aged destined to became what he was universally called “The Prince of the Flute”. He started his career as flutist and composer by playing in the intervals of opera productions throughout Italy, later he spread his wings and was active in several European capitals like Vienna, Budapest, Munich and London, a celebrated virtuoso mixing with the most important musical figures of his time.

Tatjana Ruhland has been described as "the Paganini of the flute", and in December 2018 the Tagesspiegel, commenting on her interpretation of Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune with the Berliner Philharmoniker, termed her "a fabulous faun" and declared: "Already the first measures justify the jubilation at the end". Now she once again is heard as an interpreter on CPO, this time with more flute concertos by August Eberhard Müller. The critics showered her with praise for Vol. 1, for her rendering of the concertos with "inexhaustible musicality" (klassik-heute.com).

If Mozart gave the concerto of his time its ultimate shape, it is because he transferred to it all the characteristics of the opera aria, giving the cantabile – which he often mentions in his correspondence – most significant importance and transforming the vocal virtuosic runs instrumental figurations. The soloist is a character whose rhetoric gives the orchestral material presented in the introduction a deeper, more intimate and more sensitive dimension. This constitutes the raison d’être of the relationship between the individual and the group, between the solos and the tuttis.

Although operas make up the most substantial part of Mercadante's catalogue, his technically challenging flute concertos are notable examples of 19th-century Italian instrumental music, effectively closing the Classical period for this instrument. Built on the agile writing and bel canto style that characterised the Neapolitan school, the Concerto in D major is unique in Mercadante's catalogue in being for two flutes. The great mutual respect between Mercadante and Rossini is brought vividly to life in the theme used for the masterly Tema con variazioni. The Capricci can be compared with those for violin by Paganini, and the joyous Sixth Concerto makes varied and eloquent use of the orchestra. Volume 1 of this collection can be heard on Naxos 8572731.