Flagello/ University of Houston Saxophone Quartet - Symphony No. 2: Sym of the Winds / Symphony No. 8

Nicolas Flagello's traditional late romantic musical values and powerfully emotional and spiritual expressiveness are explored deeply in this program, from the grimly funereal Odyssey to his intensely somber and turbulent Symphony No 2 and a new arrangement of the dark and tempestuous Concerto Sinfonico, his last completed work. Transcribed for saxophones, Valse Noire was originally a test piece for accordion. Arnold Rosner's superbly crafted and highly individual works draw on archaic models, the Symphony No 8 engaging us from a position of meditative devotion and majestic mysticism. The University of Houston Wind Ensemble has been admired for it's 'striking lightness and delicacy' (Vittorio Giannini's Symphony No 3 (8. 570130)).