ALFREDO CASELLA (1883-1947): Concerto for Strings, Op. 40, 5 pezzi, Op. 34, GUIDO TURCHI (1916-2010): Concerto breve.

Description: World Premiere Recording of Casella's Concerto (1923) whose title reflects the score's symphonic expansiveness (Edwin Stein later orchestrated it). It and its earlier companion from 1920 come from the period when Casella was searching for a mature style and its spiky, Stravinskian first movement is followed by a Siciliano, a Minuetto and a Canzone which are much more tuneful and neo-romantic. The Pezzi include a lullaby, a Valse ridicule, a Notturno (rather uneasy) and a Fox-trot. The smaller-scale, 16-minute work by Turchi from 1947 uses a five note scheme representing the name Bartok in a work which, closer to Hindemith than anything Casella had done, helped move post-war Italian music in a different direction. Quartetto di Venezia.