Karl Amadeus Hartmann

Concertino

This piece, previously considered lost since its first performance, was described thus in reviews of that concert: ... The composition is modern and the humour appears to be that of the composer himself. Michel Nicolay, who has extraordinary technical skill and fabulous breathing control, leads this difficult work by the Munich composer Hartmann and is supported by the accompaniment of seven wind instruments. The bassoon provides rather a humorous bass line in the first section, with the whole work tending somewhat towards the burlesque. The second section contains some really astonishing passages.