Naxos
2000
Salieri: Overtures
About This Album
This is a reissue of a recording apparently dating from 1993. Naxos is not usually in the business of reissues, since the label's price already puts its material in the lower cost range, but then this effort was deserving of a second life, not least because it offers music one does not usually encounter, that of the underrated and much unfairly maligned Antonio Salieri. A good many people still believe that his portrayal in the movie Amadeus was accurate. It wasn't. Salieri did become deranged near the end of his life and declare that he had poisoned Mozart. His claim was rightly dismissed as the delusion of a sick man. It is often forgotten that beside being the Court Kapellmeister in Vienna and a composer of considerable renown in his time, Salieri was also a teacher of Beethoven and Schubert.

In any event, the music here is of considerable charm, even approaching the level of genius. It is mostly light and cheery in mood, rhythmically and thematically appealing, and skillfully orchestrated.

The first item on the disc, the overture to the 1788 Il Talismano (The Talisman), may be the most immediately catchy of the dozen overtures offered here. Its rhythmic verve and thematic appeal carry it along, even if it sounds like Mozart warmed-over.
Track List

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