Briccialdi / Carbotta / Balzaretti - Virtuoso Flute Works [CD]

Giulio Briccialdi (1818 - 1881) was one of the greatest European flautists of the 19th century. Like all great virtuosos, he mainly wrote for his instrument, alternating the customary variations on well-known themes with original compositions, often of a more melodic and sentimental nature. This release features a fine collection of Briccialdi's works from both these veins: to the first belong Paganini's Danza delle Streghe Op. 138, and the variations on the Carnival of Venice, on Verdi's Traviata and on the Aria of Berta from Rossini's Barbiere di Siviglia. Original works are the three fine Romances for flute and piano Op. 140, here recorded for the first time, inspired by the death of his daughter, and Le attuali dmozioni d'Italia Op. 103, for the same two instruments, written in the 1860s in the incandescent atmosphere that followed the national liberation wars.