I suppose Donizetti
couldn’t be untuneful if he’d tried.
His instrumental concertos (concertinos
in fact) offer irrefutable evidence
of it though in this field he’s almost
an invisible and inaudible feature on
the concert platform. Some, it’s true,
have been reconstructed – the Sinfonia
in G by Bernhard Päuler and the
Concertino for Clarinet has been edited
from the composer’s sketches – the second
movement of which in the original is
described as existing in a "very
defective" state. So in addition
to the occasional nature of these works
and the rather occluded place in Donizetti’s
compositional life we have to contend
with imperfectly preserved scores, reconstructions,
orchestrations and the fact that these
are, in the main, relatively early works.
I can’t pretend that
Naxos has unearthed long buried treasure
but there are still plenty of pleasing
features. The big portentous sliver
of an introduction to the G minor Sinfonia
is one – theatrically it gives way almost
immediately to lively material in a
forward moving Andante. The Flute Concertino
is perky, brisk and vocalised whilst
the very lightly orchestrated Oboe Concertino
is deftly written for the solo instrument
– and as elsewhere the Hungarian soloists
prove worthy ambassadors. The work for
violin, cello and orchestra is very
early and has a gracious and charming
impress but it’s that for cor anglais
which bears a much greater weight of
interest in its bright theatricality,
full of tonguing demands and tests on
the soloist’s legato. The soloist’s
tone takes a bit of getting used to
– there’s something of a quack to it
– but the technical demands are well
met.
I liked and welcomed
the gravity of the Clarinet Concertino
and the kick for the basses in the finale
and the very dramatic and public final
piece, an In Memoriam for Antonio
Capuzzi, violinist and orchestral leader.
Again this is a reconstruction but the
outline and schema of Larghetto-Allegro
Vivace is quite clear.
So no masterpieces.
But good recorded sound and notes and
a pleasant hour’s worth of music with
this unfailingly fluent melodist.
Jonathan Woolf
see also review
by Patrick Waller