ROSSINI Instrumental Music = La Scala di Seta Overture; Serenata per piccolo compresso; String Sonata in G Major; Le Rendezvous de chasse; Variations for solo clarinet, solo string quartet & orchestra; Variations for Wind Quartet; Semiramide Overture – Budapest Festival Orchestra/ Ivan Fischer – Channel Classics multichannel SACD CCS SA 27708, 65:00 ***** [Distr. by Harmonia mundi]:
Rossini was a genius with delightful melodies – he just spun them out endlessly. He was also a child prodigy similar to Mendelssohn, having written out his six wonderful string sonatas at the age of only 12 – one of them included in this program. The Rendezvous for the Chase is for four French horns and honors the instrument Rossini’s father played. The wind section was a favorite of the composer, and both the variations for solo clarinet and the tuneful Variations for wind quartet illustrates that.
Rossini was a genius with delightful melodies – he just spun them out endlessly. He was also a child prodigy similar to Mendelssohn, having written out his six wonderful string sonatas at the age of only 12 – one of them included in this program. The Rendezvous for the Chase is for four French horns and honors the instrument Rossini’s father played. The wind section was a favorite of the composer, and both the variations for solo clarinet and the tuneful Variations for wind quartet illustrates that.
Opening and then rounding out the program with a couple of Rossini’s sparkling overtures is a great idea. The various instruments become at times the characters in the operas, but without singing – for those of us who prefer our opera that way. The Budapest Festival Orchestra is no low-cost second-string Eastern European ensemble. They have achieved an outstanding reputation, have recorded major symphonies for both Philips and Channel Classics, and have toured the world. Channel Classics’ typical audiophile-level sonics garnish the surround sonics of this melody-rich SACD.
– John Sunier
