The music captures both the harshness of her reality and the magic and fantasy of her transcendence. The other works on this disc are less rhapsodic but no less enjoyable. The cool colors of the celesta and the vibraphone take Holmboe's concerto into a similarly nocturnal world, albeit one with more exotic or even tropical tints. Both Kulesha's and Holmboe's concertos ask Petri to sing one melody into her instrument as her fingers play another one - quite a feat, I imagine, and a beautiful effect. Petri's performances are definitive, and Okko Kamu, an under-rated conductor, leads the English Chamber Orchestra in colorful accompaniments.
Sound quality is fine and has the flavor of the studio rather than that of the concert hall.
Don't let bad memories of playing the recorder in elementary school keep you away from this disc - it's a beauty. Use of text, images, layout, format, look, or feel of these pages, without the written permission of the copyright holder, except as specified in the Copyright Notice , is strictly prohibited. All Rights Reserved.