Myslivecek: Symphonies
Recordings of music by Myslivecek aren't exactly thick on the ground and few can compare with the colorful repertory or the brilliant playing of the Concerto Köln on this disc. Myslivecek was calledIl boemo (the Bohemian)in Italy, where he enjoyed considerable success and where these "sinfonias" (really brief operatic overtures, none lasting more than ten minutes) were written in the 1770s. They are works brimming with melodic invention, surprising contrasts, and delicious gestures. Highlights abound – the teasing string figures of the A major Overture that opens the disc, the perky wind writing for horns, flutes and oboes in the five Sinfonias, and above all, the lively E-flat major Concertino that closes the program, with its expanded wind brigade. Along with some irresistible music, the performances of the period-instrument group offer attractive pleasures of their own, with accurate, smooth strings and dazzling wind playing. The engineering is on the same high level. Here's hoping for more Myslivecek by the Concerto Köln.--Dan Davis