Wolf-Ferrari is famous for his operatic works in which he invented a new idiom by transplanting 18th-century Venetian culture into the 20th century. But almost all of the composer’s orchestral music dates from his final years and occupies a different expressive realm. The Suite veneziana resonates with melancholy, and the Triptychon is a contemplative, passionate masterpiece of orchestration. Subtle use of counterpoint transforms the Divertimento into a playful exploration of themes, while Arabesken pays tribute to an old friend, the Venetian painter Ettore Tito (1859–1941). His own elegantly simple melody, known as ‘Tito’s theme’, is turned by Wolf-Ferrari into a sequence of sumptuous orchestral variations culminating in a powerful fugue.
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Reviews
“… The album concludes with Arabesken (1937) … The wide-eyed variations are a display of the composer’s imaginative range of orchestral colors, especially with Haider’s orchestra here sounding at its best in warm, resonant, embracing acoustics. It turns out that Haider is a perfect fit for this happy, friendly, sparkling music.”
Gil French – Fanfare – March/April 2023
“Conductor Friedrich Haider continues his excellent series of orchestral works by Wolf-Ferrari … Wolf-Ferrari can do blood and thunder, but largely shows his gentler side here.” ****
Jeremy Pound – BBC Music magazine (Brief Notes) – October 2022
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