Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma/ Francesco La Vecchia Naxos 8.572922 ****
The presence of a concertino and a divertimento suggest a composer in lighter mode. And most of the works here find Busoni characteristically expressing his love of the past through the evocation of earlier styles. The Lustspielouvertüre (Comedy Overture), written in a single sitting in 1897, bustles with a Mozartian spirit that's worlds removed from, say, Tchaikovsky's homages to Mozart. And the Tanzwalzer of 1920 is an expression of affection for the Viennese waltz that steers clear of the indulgences Ravel was working on at the same time. The two mini concertos are deftly handled by Giammarco Casani (clarinet) and Laura Minguzzi (flute), and conductor Francesco La Vecchia responds sympathetically to the elegiac strain that's found in Gesang vom Reigen der Geister and the Rondo arlecchinesco.
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