NICCOLÒ CASTIGLIONI (1932-1996): Morceaux Lyriques for Oboe and Orchestra, Grüezi for Oboe Solo, Daleth for Clarinet and Piano, Alef for Oboe Solo, Gymel for Flute and Piano, Rima for Oboe and Piano, Filastrocca for Wind Quintet, Dulce Refrigerium for Piano.

Description: The very individual vocabulary of this less acknowledged Darmstadt colleague of Berio, Nono and Maderna is well displayed in his complete output for oboe, apparently something of a favorite instrument. High-pitched, scintillating ornamentation is typical of his textures, especially notable in his treatment of the orchestra in the Morceaux Lyriques (by a distance the most extended work here), which for all their modernism deserve the title, the solo writing possessing a notably lyrical character. Quotations from earlier music - in this case, from Bach (the piece was written for the 300th anniversary) - are also notable features. The later pieces share this lyrical character to a greater extent than the more experimental ones from the previous decades; the wind quintet's playfulness and the songful character of the solo 'Grüezi' contrast strongly with the isolated squeaks and technical challenges of Daleth and Gymel, or the virtuosic Alef of 1967 (written for Holliger, so no surprise there). In all the pieces, the composer's concern for the utmost crystalline clarity is always an apparent and appealing feature of the music. Tuija Hakkila (piano), Ernesto Molinari (clarinet), Peter-Lukas Graf (flute), Arnold Quintet, Omar Zoboli (oboe), Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana; Meir Minsky. 1992 Divox release.