Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari is best remembered for his operas, Il segreto di Susanna, I gioielli della Madonna, and Il Campiello, and because they brought him international success prior to World War I, they firmly established his reputation in this genre. However, in the later years of his life, Wolf-Ferrari turned to writing instrumental music, and this body of work reflected the same wit and geniality that made his stage works popular. The three pieces on this 2012 Naxos release are concertinos for oboe, cor anglais, and ...
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Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari is best remembered for his operas, Il segreto di Susanna, I gioielli della Madonna, and Il Campiello, and because they brought him international success prior to World War I, they firmly established his reputation in this genre. However, in the later years of his life, Wolf-Ferrari turned to writing instrumental music, and this body of work reflected the same wit and geniality that made his stage works popular. The three pieces on this 2012 Naxos release are concertinos for oboe, cor anglais, and bassoon, respectively, and their movement titles and major keys should give an indication of the bright and cheerful nature of the music. These pieces feel rather more like suites in the style of divertimentos, and the movements often seem like clever pastiches of Baroque or Classical dance forms, though Wolf-Ferrari is still recognizably a Romantic in his many lyrical passages and lush orchestration. The performances by oboist Andrea Tenaglia, cor anglais player William Moriconi, and...
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