Bottesini's Duetto for clarinet and double bass is a delightful piece of fluff, in two sections, the first melodic the second more rhythmic. There's no substance to this music whatsoever but it is strangely enjoyable in a virtuoso way where the playing is more interesting than the music. Debussy's Rhapsodie is a fine piece which has, I believe, been unfairly written off as something merely written for examination purposes and thus not really worthy of our attention. Nothing by Debussy can be ignored by us and this small piece is a tantalising glimpse of a mature Concerto which might have been from this endlessly fascinating composer.

The disk ends with the delicate Tchaikovsky Herbstlied, arranged by Takemitsu, and it is a rather odd bed fellow for the rest of the programme for the feel is neither Tchaikovsky nor Takemitsu, rather a mish-mash which sits uneasily in this programme.

This disk has been assembled from several different sessions and thus the juxtaposition of musics is, I presume, more the accident of what was available rather than any forward planning. Whatever the reason it's quite an attractive collection, and even a piece of little consequence, such as the Bottesini, comes out of the programming very well. Stoltzman is, of course, one of the masters of the clarinet and here we hear him weave his magic and, perhaps, slightly let his hair down, in music which might not necessarily be of the front rank but which is well worth our time. He is very well partnered by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra under the intelligent direction of Kirk Trevor. The sound is very good and this is a welcome change from the kind of hot house virtuoso offerings we so often get from the greatest soloists. Well worth a listen.

-- Bob Briggs, MusicWeb International